July 1st, 2003
Go West Young Manby Sean Jaeger
Take my advice: go west, for the best Hampton. You know it’s time when you see that endless snake of red brake lights in front of you. Traffic starts to back up right after the canal on the way to the maniac merge. Arteries clog with a deadly mixture of citidiots and trade parade. Just turn off right there. Take exit 66, turn right around and head west,. toward where the sun sets on the best Hampton, Westhampton Beach.
You could ask, what are you going to miss out there along the long slow route 27? But the real question is what are you gaining on the west side of the canal?
You like that pretty Main Street they love in East Hampton? They don’t call it Route 27, the Montauk Highway for nothing. Don’t look now but in the summer there is no place to park. Drive down the street and you will feel like you might as well be parked while you watch the people walking on the sidewalk pass you on the right as they browse in shop windows. You soon realize you aren’t going much faster or further than the parked cars. And the gas pumps aren’t the only places with sky high prices.
Bridgehampton makes a nice wide spot in the road, with a great library, but after that the high point is Bridgehampton Commons.
In Southampton they roll up the side walks before the sun goes down in the summer, whether they need to or not.
But go West to Westhampton Beach and Main Street, is Main Street, with angled parking and big parking lots out of the way behind the shops on both sides. You want to play on the highway, get out of town to the Montauk Highway running past the village instead of right down the middle of downtown. For speed you can really move on the big 4 lane Sunrise Highway in the Pine Barrens, a few miles north.
You want to eat? Probably the best restaurant East of Queens is The Crazy Dog, a gourmet version of the Chelsea diner, right at the gateway to Westhampton Beach. Even in the winter the Olde Speonk Inn, just down the road, is jumping at the bar every night and groaning with good food at the tables. In the summer, if you want a dining room with a view, head over the bridges to Dune Road, let the valet park your car at Tierra Mar at Atlantica, and dine on the beach, looking out over the dunes at the Atlantic Ocean. Drive further down Dune Road for the same view at Dune Deck, with Starr Boggs. For good creole eats, year round, and music weekends, head out to the airport, BYOB, and dig in at Belle’s Caf?ÉÀÜ perched on the runway and snuggled in under the control tower. Watch the Lears come in and the C-130’s go out. There’s a view.
The beach you say? Well amble on down to Rogers Beach, with showers and bathrooms, and even hotdogs and hamburgers (maybe not for 7-11 prices but, hey, it’s on the beach). Surfers and spongers head further west to jetty four, or they head back east to the alphabet roads on the west side of the canal. From Rogers beach you can walk five miles East in the sand, past the fishing docks to Sunwaters and Oaklands Restaurant, where you can sit on the deck and look east toward Meadow Lane in Southampton. Or you can walk five miles west, to Cupsogue beach at the tip of Westhampton Dunes and look west toward next stop, Fire Island. Ten miles of the finest sand beaches in the world and most of it almost totally deserted even Memorial Day to Labor Day.
A broker friend from Manhattan just bought another house in Westhampton Beach, his second or maybe his third time around. But first he just had to go take a look at Bridgehampton, Wainscott, Water Mill and Southampton.
“The effin traffic just isn’t worth it.” he finally concluded.
“I come out to relax. Not to get stuck in traffic.” He said.
He decided he could get more fun and less hassle for his money right back in Westhampton Beach.
Share houses and party animals, you say. Look elsewhere. That infamous ABC mini series on the Hamptons was actually shot within a stone’s throw of the Sunrise Highway in East Quogue, about as far out of the way as you can get.?Ç¬† Most of the groupers these days swim around north of the highway and east of the canal, if they haven’t moved to the Jersey shore.?Ç¬† But in Westhampton Beach you can go to the beach, come back, take a shower and sit on your deck watching the sun set and the smoke rise off the steaks on the barbie while your friends heading east are still waiting for the light to change in Watermill.
Last summer, I was standing at the tiny bar of a Chinese restaurant waiting for a take out of hunan beef, hot and sour soup, and fried dumplings. It wasn’t even nine o’clock in the evening.
“Quiet.” I said.
“Always quiet now” .The guy behind the bar said. “Used to be rush hour started after the beach and midnight the rush hour was even bigger, whole tables coming in starving, after drinking and dancing?Ç¬†?Ç¬† Now it’s families. Everyone comes at seven. They leave at eight.”
Westhampton Beach was already becoming a family town before a night club bar called Marrakesh bottomed out a few years back. Used to be midnight on Main Street Friday night you could barely walk on the sidewalk. Every shop was open. Sometimes I miss it, like other places and other times, Stanley’s Bar, Slugs and The Mudd Club on The Lower East Side and The East Village Other. Some stores are still open till Midnight on the really big summer weekends.
But now the village has a temple, The Hampton Synagogue, and a lot of places you can walk to the temple from, a good thing. It’s a small village and people pay a premium for it. Right now prices are not quite the same as further east but the C.E.O. of The Real Estate Store, Rocco Oliverio, with offices in Westhampton Beach, Quogue, Hampton Bays and Water Mill says things are changing.
“The west of the canal is hot and it can only get hotter. Only so many people can fly airplanes?Ç¬† and helicopters to the East Hampton airport. For everybody else, who wants to sit around for two hours on a single lane highway when you come out to the Hamptons for fun and sun on the beach? And believe me I think the casino in Hampton Bays is going to go through and that’s going to make it even harder. It already takes an hour or more to get over the canal.”
But that doesn’t mean the bang for the buck is gone. How about a boat house on more than half an acre of waterfrontin the?Ç¬† Remsenburg estate section, with a boat slip for a basement and endless bay and ocean views for under a million? That’ll get you a hunk a hunk a burnin’ junk on Peconic Bay East of the canal. Less than three million will get you almost two acres on the ocean in Quogue with five bedrooms, four and a half baths and a fifty foot pool. Or in Hampton Bays not far from the sweeping Ponquogue Bridge there’s an acre on the water with stunning bay views, a sandy beach, a dock,?Ç¬† a pool , a tennis court and not one but three houses with about a dozen bedrooms all told, for only a million and a half dollars.
But it doesn’t end there. Back here in the wild west just because you got here doesn’t mean you are stuck here, trapped by that endless line of cars on Montauk Highway.?Ç¬† Movies? Two screens at the Twin Arts in Westhampton Beach and always something happening at the magnificently renovated Westhampton Beach Center for the Performing Arts, anything from a movie to a master class with Billy Joel. United Artists in Hampton Bays has five more screens. There is another handful at Movieland Mastic fifteen or twenty minutes down the road west or you can load up on wine at the North Fork Vinyards and go the multiplex in Mattituck. Construction is due to start on an even bigger one in Riverhead, now undergoing a huge commercial building boom.
Speaking of Riverhead, there’s a place to go when you are ready to shop until you drop. Tanger Mall provides over the top outlet shopping, from Pottery Barn furniture and fittings to Ralph Lauren Polo to Coleman’s for camping. Closer to town you’ve got Walmart and Kmart and BJ’s for bulk buying binges. Throw in a Home Depot for all that work around the house and TJ Maxx to get that bargain feeling. And coming soon, Target,?Ç¬† known to some east of the canal as Tarjay. Add to the list Polish Town,?Ç¬† 3000 miles West of Krakow, for good smoked cold cuts and sausage.
You can find a little bit, or more, of everything. Want antiques, to browse or buy at maybe a little less than Manhattan or Atlantic Avenue prices? Go west to Eastport, or further west to Barntique, a collection of small shops, shoppes and barns filled with antiques in the Moriches. Need a horse fix? If the traffic on Snake Hollow Road is too much for you get a head start and try the North Fork Classic in Calverton the week before the Hampton Classic in Bridgehampton. There is a drag race strip in Westhampton and a short track oval with demolition derbies in Riverhead. Take flying lessons or go up in a glider at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, once home to Dr. Strangelove SAC bombers and with a runway?Ç¬† so long a Concorde could and did land there as well as Air Force One with President Clinton. Or if you want barn storming airports head down the road to two grass strips side by side between Eastport and East Moriches.
In one way you could even say the west is a little bit like Soho, which was the place to go long before it became the place to be.
Back in the good old days Charles Addams had a house in Westhampton Beach and in the even older days so did P. T. Barnum. He knew what he was talking about when he said there’s a sucker born every minute. There’s probably one going East over the canal right now.
Not that there aren’t great things on the eastern shore of the Hamptons, like Mecox Bay and “the Cut”. Simon’s great Beach Bakery in Westhampton Beach has a branch in the East, and believe it or not for the best croissants this side of La Coupole in Montparnasse go to the bakery counter at the Bridgehampton Commons King Kullens.
After all, whichever way you are driving, in a car, on the Jitney or even?Ç¬† lounging in the new cars on the?Ç¬† LIRR, the Hamptons neither begin nor end at the canal.


in Tỉnh Ninh Bình, Vietnam
- Trang An Landscape Complex (Unesco heritage, 5 mi)
- Citadel of the Ho Dynasty (Unesco heritage, 27 mi)
- Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi (Unesco heritage, 52 mi)
- Ha Long Bay (Unesco heritage, 85 mi)
- Decimal Coordinates (Latitude, Longitude):
- 20.299 and 105.952 (Lat./Lng.)
- Coordinates by Time:
- N 20° 17' 56" and E 105° 57' 7"
- Currency and Currency Code:
- Dong - VND
- Spoken languages:
- Vietnamese, English, French, Chinese, Central Khmer
- Local electricity:
- 230 V - 50 Hz (plugs: G)
- Mobile phone / cellular frequencies (MHz):
- 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 3G, 4G
- Local Time: 12:05 AM (Thursday)
- Timezone: Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh
- UTC/GMT offset: 7 hours
- Sunrise and Sunset:
- 5:36 am and 6:23 pm
- Antipode Coordinates:
- -17.639 and -71.338 (Lat./Lng.)
- Closest place to antipode coordinates:
- This place on Geonames.org
Safety Score: 2,7 of 5.0 based on data from 9 authorites. Meaning we advice caution when travelling to Vietnam.
Travel warnings are updated daily. Source: Travel Warning Vietnam. Last Update: 2022-08-17 08:08:07
Touring Thiên Tồn
Thiên Tồn in Tỉnh Ninh Bình is a town located in Vietnam about 51 mi (or 81 km) south of Hanoi, the country's capital place.
Time in Thiên Tồn is now 12:05 AM (Thursday). The local timezone is named Asia / Ho Chi Minh with an UTC offset of 7 hours. We know of 6 airports nearby Thiên Tồn, of which two are larger airports. The closest airport in Vietnam is Cat Bi International Airport in a distance of 62 mi (or 99 km), North-East. Besides the airports, there are other travel options available (check left side).
There are several Unesco world heritage sites nearby. The closest heritage site in Vietnam is Trang An Landscape Complex in a distance of 5 mi (or 7 km), South-West. Need some hints on where to stay? We compiled a list of available hotels close to the map centre further down the page.
Being here already, you might want to pay a visit to some of the following locations: Thanh Pho Ninh Binh, Lam, Me, Goi and Tam Diep. To further explore this place, just scroll down and browse the available info.
Local weather forecast
Todays Local Weather Conditions & Forecast: 32°C / 90 °F
|Morning Temperature||27°C / 80 °F|
|Evening Temperature||29°C / 85 °F|
|Night Temperature||28°C / 82 °F|
|Chance of rainfall||2%|
|Air Pressure||1005 hPa|
|Wind Speed||Gentle Breeze with 6 km/h (4 mph) from North-West|
|Cloud Conditions||Overcast clouds, covering 98% of sky|
|General Conditions||Light rain|
Thursday, 18th of August 2022
33°C (91 °F)
28°C (82 °F)
Light rain, light breeze, few clouds.
Friday, 19th of August 2022
32°C (90 °F)
28°C (83 °F)
Light rain, light breeze, overcast clouds.
Saturday, 20th of August 2022
32°C (90 °F)
27°C (81 °F)
Moderate rain, light breeze, broken clouds.
Hotels and Places to Stay
Videos from this area
These are videos related to the place based on their proximity to this place.
Du lịch Tràng An - Ninh Bình
Trung tâm bến thuyền Tràng An nằm cách cố đô Hoa Lư 3 km theo hướng nam, cách thành phố Ninh Bình 7 km theo hướng tây dọc đại lộ Tràng An, cách thị xã...
Vietnam: feet rowing at Tam Coc, Ninh Binh (sd-video).mp4
Watch feet rowing woman at Tam Coc, North Vietnam. A boat tour goes underneath low limestone rocks in a beautfiul green landscape. Ninh Binh is not too far from Hanoi, so you can do it in one...
Toursime de Ninh Binh
Toursime de Ninh Binh Vietnam. Vidéo crée par Phan Vũ http://bonjourdevietnam.com.
Emeralda Hotel Resort in Ninh Binh, Ninhbinh package tour travel
http://www.vietnamhotels.biz Vietnam Tour, Vietnam Travel, Vietnam hotels, Package Tours Vietnam www.asiapacifictravel.vn Your Relible Travel Partner in Vietnam, Laos,Cambodia,travel to vietnam,...
UNESCO World Heritage Site Trang An, Ninh Binh - Dark Cave (Hang Tối)
The first and longest cave at Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage since 23 June 2014. Situated on the southern shore of the Red River Delta, Trang An is a spectacular...
Trung tâm Anh Ngữ Smartlink Ninh Bình - monthly event
Smartlink Ninh Binh - English center organized monthly event for every one to join and exchange in English with native speakers. The event "Free exchange with Mr. Ernie Owens" focuses on the...
Videos provided by Youtube are under the copyright of their owners.
These are some bigger and more relevant cities in the wider vivinity of Thiên Tồn.
This place is known by different names. Here the ones we know:


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Lower Section of Riverview Trail
which connects to Firelane Trail Extension
to access Lower Frick Park. This is a mixed use trail and is smooth, fast, and wide. Use caution on the bridges on this trail as they become very slick when wet. Keep a look out for hikers and dog walkers as they tend to frequent this trail.
The Firelane Trail Extension
and Lower Riverview Trail can be combined as a good way to climb up to trailheads for Bradema
and Roller Coaster
instead of using the central Falls Ravine Trail
, which is a steeper climb.
To get to Iron Gate
, climb up Bench Trail
from the intersection of Lower Riverview Trail, Bench Trail
, and Nature Trail
Watch for crossings of Roller Coaster
trail along this trail.


well, in the same part of the county, anyway. Marcie, you'd better check the local news before you try to venture out this way from now on! Not to dredge up more dirt on this subject, but it's hitting closer to home than I ever thought it would. It just adds one more freakish element to the fantasy-land atmosphere in this place everyone's come to refer to as "The O.C." Do ya think there'll be a spot for her on "The Real Housewives of Orange County" ??? I can tell you I won't be shopping in La Habra any time soon!


Online Member portfoliosSee Member Portfolios
World Monuments Fund
- Published 3rd August 2011
World Monuments Fund Britain hosts a talk by…
Don McCullin & Barnaby Rogerson
Southern Roman Frontiers
On Monday 12 September, 7pm
At Royal Geographical Society, London
Don McCullin’s reputation as the greatest photographer of conflict has been replaced recently with an image of McCullin as the great traveller. He is now as familiar with far-flung parts of the globe as he once was to life in the war zone. His recent book Southern Frontiers: A Journey Across the Roman Empire explores the fringes of the Roman Empire, with contributions from Barnaby Rogerson, a historian of North Africa. From the ruins of Baalbek in the Lebanon to Aleppo in Syria, the book sweeps through Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya – many WMF Watch Sites feature.
Ticket offer for RPS members: £10
Full price £15, maximum of 2 tickets for per member
To book, please call 020 7730 5344 and quote ‘RPS’ or book online at www.wmf.org.uk/activities and select the ‘RPS member’ option.


Drought Raises Worries of Return to Summer of 2007
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012
Memories of 2007 are starting to surface as Georgia water levels drop.
Five years ago, Georgia was in a water crisis, one that lingered until heavy rains came in 2009, lifting spirits and lakeside docks that long had sat dry as the water's edge receded.
Lakes and aquifers refilled. "Lanier got full. West Point got full. Eufaula got full," recalled Roger Martin, executive director of the nonprofit Chattahoochee Riverwarden environmental group.
Strict water conservation measures were lifted. Lake recreation revived.
Then came 2010. "In late 2010, early 2011, La Nina set up in the Pacific," Martin said of the ocean cooling that alters U.S. weather patterns. "And when La Nina sets up, usually it means we're headed for a drought."


Saturday, 3:15pm – 1 hour
Saturday, 3:15pm – 1 hour
Josh Sisskind, Jeff Wegerson, Indraneel Purohit, Tim Smith, Ilya Zverev, Yuri Astrakhan
Get Your Colleagues Mapping: How to run a corporate mapathon
In this session, we will describe how we successfully executed a mapathon across multiple office locations with employees of all backgrounds. Highlights will include how we selected our task, getting C-Suite buy in, and lessons learned.Road Work Ahead
Cities open and close parts of their road network on a daily basis to keep their cities moving. Today, it is difficult to easily produce and consume closure data across city governments, consumer facing mapping apps and service providers. This is why we built SharedStreets Road Closures — an open source web app built for cities to produce data on road closures easily and consistently. We'll talk about this app, the data it produces, and how it can be used.Buildings! Buildings! More Buildings, This time in Canada!
Machine Learning at scale can be a great way of extracting information from satellite imagery. Microsoft open maps team at BING, BING Maps would like to share the journey and experiences as we processed millions of pixels to extract buildings in Canada. They are available on our GitHub page.Tracking Down SEO Contributers
Search Engine Optimization is a big business and a common tactic of improving the ranking of their clients is to get links to their client's websites in as many places as possible. Unfortunately, this is often done in a lazy way as volume is the name of the game for many of these companies. This talk will examine the difficulty in tracking down one of these companies and working with them to comply with OSM best practices.You don't know OpenStreetMap
The open map has a very simple data model. It has a list of tags. It has many tutorials. After a year or five of participating in our project you might get an idea you understand OSM from bottom to top. The thing is — you don't. Never. Even after nine years of writing news, writing code, managing communities, I find something new every day. And I find my beliefs about the project wrong. Let's see how you can be mistaken in believing you know OpenStreetMap.Making sure your work is understood by others
OSM has tens of thousands of unique keys, and uncountable number of "known" values (like those for type, denomination, ...). This lightning talk will show how to make sure all these tags are understood by others in just a few seconds using OSM wiki. No wiki markup needed!


The digital service Entrustet, which lets users prepare their last wishes for their online assets, has been bought by the online storage firm SecureSafe. According to its co-founder Nathan Lustig, this makes it the first Start-Up Chile company to get acquired.
As you may remember, we first mentioned Entrustet when its team moved from Wisconsin to Chile to participate in Start-Up Chile’s first acceleration cycle, alongside a pilot batch of 25 international startups which received a $40,000 grant from the Chilean government. At the time, Lustig had shared its initial experience on Quora:
“I’m the cofounder of www.Entrustet.com, a startup based out of Madison, WI. We moved to Santiago Chile as part of the Startup Chile program back in November. We moved because the Chilean government was offering $40k for us to move for six months, plus we were attracted by the talent, cheap living expenses and the ability to work in a foreign country. We were also able to escape the Wisconsin winter for the Chilean summer. We’re very interested in cheaper development costs and potentially having part of our company stay in Chile.”
Since then, the program has considerably grown; not only did its latest calls for projects welcome a much larger number of teams, but they are now also open to Chilean startups. In total, its ambition is to accelerate 1,000 companies by 2014.
More generally, its results so far have been quite noteworthy. Among the startups which have already completed the program, over 40 have already shipped a product – for instance Bungolow, Hadza and Toldo. Companies such as Junar and InBed.me have also managed to secure VC funding, while others, such as TNW BizSpark Rally finalist Babelverse, are attracting increasing attention.
Still, Entrustet is the first alumnus that has been acquired. Its buyer is the Zurich-based digital planning company SecureSafe, which is part of the software security group DSwiss. According to Lustig, both companies are very complementary:
“SecureSafe does quite well in Europe, but was looking to expand operations into the U.S. What Entrustet could offer most was both an enthusiastic userbase, our partnerships with estate attorneys and the rest of the industry,” he said. By joining forces, they will let users “plan for [their] digital assets that [they] can be assured will be carried out when [they pass away,” he added.
While you may be wondering what’s in it for Chile, it seems Entrustet was well worth the grant it received. Sure, you could see it as an American startup selling to a Swiss group, but it also contributed to build the Chilean startup ecosystem, which is the central goal of Start-Up Chile.
One of its key purpose is to promote Chile as an attractive destination for foreign businesses. In this context, it makes sense for the government to invest taxpayers’ money into creating an advocate network. For example, Lustig was a speaker during the official event during which Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera personally welcomed Dave McClure and his Geeks on a Plane delegation (see our previous story).
While it was certainly one of Lustig’s most memorable moments in Chile, it also helped spread the word about Chile and its startup scene in Silicon Valley – as a matter of fact, a sizable number of applicants come from the US.
Of course, one of the program’s hopes is that some of these startups will remain in Chile once the acceleration cycle ends. Although Entrustet moved its operations back to the US, Lustig’s personal case is a sign of the program’s positive consequences on talent attraction:
“We came back to Wisconsin in the US and kept working on the business. We kept contact with our friends and contacts here in Chile and after it became clear that we were being acquired, I came back to Chile and have been working at the head of marketing for Welcu in their expansion across Latin America while I look for new ideas.”
As we reported, the Chilean event management startup Welcu is one of the most promising startups in its home country. After participating in 500 Startups’ summer program, it is now in the process of expanding to Argentina, Colombia and Brazil. In other words, chances are that Start-Up Chile’s grant to Entrustet was well worth its while when it comes to boosting entrepreneurship across the country.


Database for Modeling of Trade and
by Lecturer Dr. Itthi Trisirisatayawong et al in
1997 *(The Full Text view in Thai Language only)*
research is composed of three components namely i) the development of a spatial
database of IndoChina Region and Thailand ii) the development of a small GIS
software and iii) the analysis of the movements of agricultural products.
Result from the first part of the project
is a database containing positional and attribute data of map features. Result from
the second component is a program named CUGIS which can retrieve data from the
aforementioned database and display it on computer screen. The last part, however,
cannot be carried out without making some assumptions because the published yearly data
are not complete.
The project results serve as a basis upon
which further research may continue.


Owners of the 131 radio stations sanctioned for operating with expired licenses as well as other offences, would have to cough up about GHc1.18 billion or forever shutdown their businesses.
34 radio stations have already had their licenses revoked by the National Communication Authority (NCA), for not renewing their licenses even after several notices, while others have been fined.
NCA said it took the decision after conducting “spectrum audit” into the radio space.
“The National Communications Authority (NCA), has sanctioned a total of 131 FM Authorization Holders found to have committed various infractions pertaining to their authorizations to operate as contained in Section 13 of the Electronics Communications Act (2009), Act 775,” NCA said in a statement.
About 26 radio stations in the Western Region were sanctioned by the NCA for various infractions.
This was followed by Greater Accra and Volta Regions which had 16 each stations affected.
Ashanti and Northern Regions also followed with 15 stations each being sanctioned, Eastern 13, Central, 11, Brong, 11, Upper East, 4 and Upper West 4.
Below is an infographic summarizing how much radio stations in each region are to cough up:
By: Godwin A. Allotey & Melvin M. Clottey/citifmonline.com/Ghana


National Hurricane Center
ABNT20 KNHC 302332
Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
700 PM EST Sat Nov 30 2019
For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.
This is the last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of
the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Routine issuance of the
Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2020. During the
off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as
Marine Forecast for Spiegel Grove Reef as requested 18:41:44, Feb 19
|NWS Forecast for: 5NM NE Molasses Reef Light FL|
Gulf of Mexico
Issued by: National Weather Service Key West, FL
Last Update: 1:15 pm EST Feb 19, 2020
|Tonight: E wind 10 to 15 kt. Partly cloudy. Seas around 2 ft.|
Thursday: ESE wind around 10 kt becoming S in the afternoon. Mostly sunny. Seas 1 to 2 ft.
Thursday Night: S wind 5 to 10 kt becoming NW after midnight. Isolated showers. Seas around 1 ft.
Friday: NNW wind 10 to 15 kt. Isolated showers. Seas 1 to 3 ft.
Friday Night: N wind around 25 kt. Scattered showers. Seas 4 to 5 ft.
Saturday: NE wind around 20 kt. Scattered showers. Seas around 4 ft.
Saturday Night: ENE wind around 20 kt. Scattered showers. Seas around 4 ft.
Sunday: ENE wind 15 to 20 kt. Isolated showers. Seas around 4 ft.
Sunday Night: E wind around 15 kt. Isolated showers. Seas around 3 ft.
|Marine Point Forecast: 25.06°N 80.32°W|
Associated Zone Forecast which includes this point
Visit your local NWS office at: https://www.weather.gov/key
Popular artificial reefs near Spiegel Grove Reef
130 ft. (39.62 m)Distance:
6.55 miles (5.69 nautical)
118 ft. (35.97 m)Distance:
6.94 miles (6.03 nautical)
Alva Chapman ReefDepth:
220 ft. (67.06 m)Distance:
18.62 miles (16.17 nautical)
110 ft. (33.53 m)Distance:
21.19 miles (18.40 nautical)
95 ft. (28.96 m)Distance:
21.46 miles (18.64 nautical)


The hikers walks among the clouds
The hikers far away seems to walks among the clouds.rn
This photo was taken while hiking on the "crêtes du Col de Turini" close to the village of Peira Cava in the French Alps (Alpes Maritimes).
Tags : Cloud.
Statistics : 821 2 0


The Garvies Point Museum, nestled on the Garvies Point Preserve, a 62-acre tract of woods and meadows along the shore line of Glen Cove, New York, surprised me in several ways.
First, this Nassau County entity belies its local government origins by being a significant museum (is this much too cynical of me?), offering visitors a very rich array of geological, paleontological, and archaeological specimens, focused primarily on New York, with particular attention to Long Island.
Second, the unique geology of the preserve gets due attention in the museum displays, and, so, it is a pleasant experience, and an educational bonus, at that, to be able to walk along the shoreline below the museum and see examples of that geology in the “real world.”
Finally, I was amazed, and rather disappointed, by my inability to read and absorb much of the text-dense signage featured in the museum. I’ll admit that I finally stopped paying attention to most of the signs. That concerns me because it suggests I may actually be one of those museum visitors against whom I’ve been inclined to rail – the ones with a limited or, even, nonexistent attention span, the ones who feel a museum should entertain, rather than instruct. Needless to say, in this post, I’ve shifted the blame for my loss of focus onto the museum.
I realized how seriously my inattentiveness had compromised me after I spent some time researching, as best I could, the Scotsman Thomas Garvie (1775-1842) whose name is associated with both museum and preserve. He emigrated to the United States in 1803, three years after receiving a diploma in surgery and pharmacy from the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. He and his father settled in Musketa Cove, east of New York City. (“Musketa” means “this place of rushes” in the language of the Matinecocks, the local Native American people.) Here he practiced medicine (with blood-letting as one of his usual treatments). Thomas acquired an estate of some 90 acres that ran along the shore of the cove. Among his varied economic interests was the mining of clay from the high quality deposits on his property; the clay was sold for pottery making. In 1827, he unsuccessfully negotiated with Cornelius Vanderbilt for a steamboat run from New York City to Musketa Cove where the boats would dock at his wharf. Though steamboats did begin to travel regularly between the Cove and City, they weren’t under Vanderbilt’s auspices and used a different wharf in the Cove. This transportation connection would, ultimately, prove critical in turning the area into a summer retreat for the city’s wealthy, but it struggled at first because, so the story goes, potential visitors thought the place’s name was “Mosquito Cove,” a decided turnoff. So, in 1834, at a town meeting, the name was changed. The current Garvies Preserve consists largely of land that was part of Garvie’s estate. The Garvie family cemetery is within the confines of the preserve.
My expectation was that I would find, through this research, that Garvie was the museum and preserve namesake because he was an avid student of natural history, that, perhaps, unusual for his time and place, he understood the geology of why his estate had its clay deposits, or that he was a thoughtful collector of Native American artifacts. But nothing that like emerged.
Instead, it dawned on me (much later than it should have) that I hadn’t paid close enough attention to the name of the museum and the preserve. It’s the Point that bears his name (albeit sans an apostrophe in the appropriate place), and, thus, only indirectly the museum and preserve. So, I was wrong in thinking that the museum or preserve saluted some substantial aspect among Garvie’s intellectual interests. I suppose an argument could be made that his work with clay deposits could have been sufficient justification (the deposits are Cretaceous in origin and are being squeezed to the surface by weight of the many feet of glacial material deposited much later on top), but that’s no excuse for my failing to pay attention to the actual name.
As for the museum, I enjoyed it and, despite what I write below, would recommend a visit. I do have to admit I really struggled with it. Perhaps one of the underlying reasons for my difficulties is that, even with limiting most of its focus to New York and Long Island, the museum seeks to cover a great deal of territory in some detail. The architects of its geological and paleontological displays had no qualms about exploring complex aspects of Earth’s history such as the geological processes that have reshaped the planet, New York, and Long Island (ranging from plate tectonics to the movement of glaciers during various Ice Ages); the diversity of plant and animal life that have come (and mostly gone) and are captured in fossils mostly found in the State and some on the Island; or, finally, the broad array of gems and minerals created by these geological processes.
The geology and paleontology exhibits in the museum provide a wealth of information which surrounds an impressive array of specimens, including two more instances of fossils being found on Long Island which I was happy to add to my very short list of such occurrences. A few of these specimens are highlighted below.
Tracks of a carnivorous dinosaur, possibly a Coelophysis, were found in rocks on Long Island; they were most likely carried here by glacier action some 22,000 years ago. It would seem that Coelophysis was from the very Late Triassic, not the Jurassic as the museum displays would have it.
Impressions of Cretaceous flora have been found in pieces of mudstone, sandstone, and shale where Long Island’s Cretaceous bedrock outcrops in a few places. The Garvies Point Preserve shoreline is one of those spots. The kinds of plants captured in those sedimentary rocks suggest that the climate at the time was warm and wet. Shown below are impressions of magnolia and sassafras leaves.
The workings of glaciers on Long Island appropriately receive a great deal of attention in the museum. Some erratic rocks moved from what is now Connecticut and further north and found along the preserve shoreline highlight a few display cases. The modest sized erratic shown below is Ordovician gneiss with fine bands of feldspar and amphibole. I thought it quite beautiful (no excuse for cutting off a bit in the single picture I took).
Another geological phenomenon that marks the Garvies Point Preserve are concretions that occur in great number along the shoreline here. Among these are the so-called "Indian Paint Pots" (shown below) and "Rattle Stones." The first involves pyrite nodules which, when exposed to the air, are transformed into iron oxide and, through wave action, are worn relatively smooth and round. In Rattle Stones, iron oxides precipitate around lumps of material, primarily Cretaceous clay, which then shrink and solidify inside the concretion – hence, the rattling.
Then there’s "Puddingstone," a conglomerate probably formed initially during the Cretaceous when mud covered an accumulation of quartz pebbles. The Puddingstone found here is unique and was probably carried onto the preserve shoreline by the glacier of the Wisconsin Age, about 25,000 years ago. Some nice pieces are displayed in the museum.
Great stuff and just a very few of the treasures on display. But, sadly, I think there’s too much going on in these jam-packed rooms in the museum and that kept me (and I suspect most visitors) from coming away with much understanding of the important stories told through the museum’s displays. Yes, it could be that in my dotage my attention span has atrophied, but maybe not.
I have long felt that natural history museums have an obligation to inform even as they might try to increase traffic by pushing entertainment. It’s a balancing act in which the glitz of the entertainment side often prevails. If these museums err in striving for the proper balance, I’d rather they err on the side of an information mission. (I should be careful about what I wish for.)
A museum’s educational mission should be accomplished partly by carefully crafted signage providing accessible, overarching messages. Less is more in this instance. Though I want natural history specimens to be put into context, that’s a challenge because the context is often (always?) complex. Present that context in all of its complicated glory and the visitor is lost; dummy things down too much and, though the visitor might think he or she’s learned something, the science may have been diminished to the point of no return.
Laudably, the Garvies Point Museum has embraced its information mission with a passion, but seems to have gone too far in that direction. As a result, the visitor is buffeted by wave after wave of text-dense signs. Sort of like a science fair gone wild.
Consider the following signs and ponder what a casual visitor might learn about the processes generating concretions found at Garvies Point, the Milankovitch cycles and their impact on climate (okay, you might not be able to read the text, but there’s certainly a lot of it), and Cretaceous clay at Garvies Point:
To cope, I resorted to photographing many of the signs in the museum so I could read them carefully later, and I photographed specimens so I might see how they illustrate the stories those signs sought to tell. I had no choice but to do this, given my inability to read and absorb the text on display while I was walking through the rooms at the museum.
This post gives short shrift to the archaeological side of the museum which is a shame because the museum does nicely with its exhibits on the history of Native American life on Long Island. Displays and dioramas depict native cultures at various periods. I assume only a portion of the museum’s collection of projectile points are exhibited; the number and diversity presented to the visitor is striking.
When I walked out of the museum, I reentered a brutally hot and humid summer afternoon. The sane decision would have been to retreat to the car and begin the drive home. Instead, risking dehydration and sunstroke, I started along one of the preserve's paths that cross through the woods and meadows. It led me down to the shoreline which is not only serene and beautiful, it also links back wonderfully to exhibits just left behind in the museum.
Consider the following.
The beach is littered with glacial erratics.
I even came upon some Cretaceous clay bubbling up to the surface of the beach under the pressure of the overlying mess left by glaciers.
I spotted a Puddingstone conglomeration.
And, I also came upon an Indian paint pot concretion with its interior filled with sand.
And, thankfully, none of these specimens was accompanied by a sign.
For background on Thomas Garvie, I relied primarily on material on the Garvies Point Museum and Preserve website, an article titled History of Glen Cove, by Antonia Petrash, et al., which appears on the Glen Cove Public Library website, and an article titled An Early 19th-Century Physician: Dr. Thomas Garvie, by Peter Luyster Van Santvoord (The Nassau County Historical Society Journal, Volume XXVII, Winter-Spring, 1966).


The ‘Manhattan of Tallinn’, a cluster of glass-walled skyscrapers around Maakri Street near the Stockmann Shopping Centre, may at first glance appear to be the centre of Tallinn, but the true heart is the Freedom Square. Situated on the edge of the Old Town, it has been the backdrop of many major historical events. Today, Tallinners and visitors alike enjoy meeting there with the smooth sound of St. John’s Church tower bells ringing in the background.
The best theatres, cinemas, and concert halls are located in the city centre and flourishing natural areas are also not far. Thanks to meticulous preservation and fanciful development, the old, industrial Rotermann Quarter has become a mecca for every taste. Restaurants, bars, and cafés beckon on every corner as well as shops selling well-known brands and local designs.


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Snowshoeing in Spain
A belated update on the terrific hut-to-hut snowshoe trip in Spain at the end of April. The last snow of the previous week had consolidated and the sun shone as we left our lovely hotel in Vielha for our drop-off point above the pretty village of Arties. Setting off along a summer 4-wheel drive track, we almost immediately needed our snowshoes at 1600m. After reaching a small hut and a welcome break in the sun, we headed up through a steep forested area. Our first day’s destination was the Restanca Refuge (2010m), which we arrived at after breaking snow and zig-zagging through deep snow to a small bowl below the dam lake which the refuge overlooks. We had a great meal and good time at the refuge chatting to fellow snowshoers and ski tourers from Spain and France.
The scenery in the Aigues Tortes National Park is truly stunning and, apart from a few ski tourers, we had the pristine landscape all to ourselves. A perfect clear blue sky greeted us the following morning as we snowshoed around the lake. We left early to stay in the shade and avoid too much soft melting snow. We slowly zig-zagged up a very steep slope, which required keeping some nerve as a ski tourer above us also traversed the slope without skins making it very difficult. My main aim was to keep the group out of range in case he fell down the slope into our group. Our efforts were rewarded the fantastic views at Col de Cresdada (2475m). After a rest here, we were in full sun for the rest of the day as we crossed a plateau to reach our descent towards some frozen lakes and a short climb to Col de Caldes (2568m). We took a spur to reach easier ground and circumnavigate the lakes to start the climb to the col. Again we were rewarded with stunning mountain views to enjoy while having lunch in the sun. Our final descent went along the frozen river valley to reach the Colomers Refuge, also located on another dam lake. Another enjoyable evening with excellent food.
Our final day was a descent below the dam and across a pretty plateau leading to a wide valley. We reached the hotel at Banhs de Tredòs, where we could remove our snowshoes and continue by walking down a snow-ploughed road, again in glorious sunshine. We were picked up here and headed to Bagnères-de-Luchon in France for our final night.
Next year we will run another hut-to-hut trip from 15-19 April, also using Vielha in Spain as our base. This is a good time of year for such a trip as the daylight hours are longer, the snow generally compacted and the weather more settled. It is a spectacular mountain experience, true wilderness snowshoeing and great fun. Check out our Snowshoeing page (http://www.mountainsandmaps.com/index.php/snowshoeing) for Mountain and Maps other snowhshoe trips for 2015 if hut-to-hut isn’t for you. Hope to see you in 2015.


2 Man-made Structures- Other to explore in Fife
Fife is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. Fife is Scotland's third largest local authority area by population. It has a resident population of just under 367,000, over a third of whom live in the three principal towns, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes.
Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries, is a spectacular FREE museum and art gallery in the heart of the Heritage Quarter of Dunfermline in the Kingdom of Fife. The museum’s collections are brought to life with fascinating stories retold through films, interviews and games, following six key themes: Royal Dunfermline, industry, leisure and recreation, transport, conflict and homes.


A new 640m/2,100 feet long concrete bridge linking Phillip Island with the mainland at San Remo was officially opened on Friday 21st November 1969 by the Hon M Porter, MLA, Minister for Public Works. The new bridge replaced the old suspension bridge constructed in 1938. The cost of the second bridge was $3.25m. The Country Roads Board felt this was justified due to many factors. The bridge it replaced was constructed when little finance was available and could cater only for loads up to six tons. Cables from the North Shore Bridge, Sydney, and cable hangers to support the wooden deck from the Victorian Tramways, all came second hand.
Rough weather and strong tidal currents took their toll on the old bridge from the foundations upward. Traffic density had increased following the 1939-45 war, creating a real need for a wider and stronger bridge. The CRB annual road count in March 1960 was 635 vehicles per day. In Decenber 4,730 vehicles per day with a miximum of 6,263 vehicles per day, a number of which were large tourist buses which were obliged to drive across unloaded whilst the passengers walked the third of a mile across. Heavier loads, therefore, needed to be catered for, and rumour has it they were going over at times. So when, in 1959, one of the end hangers supporting the deck from the main cables in the suspension span broke at the lower end, comprehensive examination was made and it was decided to build a new bridge.
The length of the second bridge and the difficult nature of the crossing which combines a large tidal range with fast currents posed many interesting design problems. Cowes, near the middle of the northern shore of Phillip Island is the main centre of the island, and Melbourne the main source of traffic. Alternative routes proposed for the new bridge were:
Via Somers, direct route (77km/48 miles from Melbourne) with a three-mile crossing over the potential deep water port area required high level bridge over main channel
Via Stockyard Point and French Island (113km/70 miles) giving access to French Island, but still involving a three mile sea crossing in shallower waters requiring provision for fishing vessels only.
Via San Remo-Newhaven, the present route with a length of about 135km/84 miles from Melbourne.
The first two proved too costly. The present crossing at the Narrows is the shortest distance between the mainland and the island. This site, east of the old bridge, has less tidal turbulence and for many reasons considered more suitable. It is of interest to note that this present site was the one suggested for the first bridge by Mr Richard Grayden who had talked about it in the early 1920s. Indeed he had thought of it because of his knowledge of tides and depth of water since rowing passengers across the Newhaven-San Remo passage from about 1908.
Preliminary investigations for the crossing included the following:
1. Hydrographic survey
2. Underwater inspection of the channel and sea bed
3. Seismic traverses
4. Core boring at each shore line
5. Penetrometer soundings
as well as provision for additional loading of bridge piers in case of a boat colliding with a pier.
The contract for construction was awarded to John Holland & Co Pty Ltd in April 1966, who elected to work from a temporary steel bridge. So began the tremendous task of building a reinforced concrete and pre-stressed concrete bridge 640m/2,100 feet long, consisting of a central 61m/200 foot navigation span flanked by 46m/150 feet anchor spans and 30m/100 foot approach spans on each side.
The bridge is 8.5m/28 feet wide between kerbs with a five foot wide footway. Navigational clearance height at high tide is 12m/40 feet. Five sub-contractors and/or material suppliers were involved before completion of this beautiful bridge.


We are fortunate to have so many different conservation areas here on the South Shore. Thanks to the good work of the Trustees of Reservations and the Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts, the amount of open space in our region that is accessible to the public continues to grow.
All fall approaches and the weather becomes cooler, I find myself drawn to taking walks in the late afternoon. Judging from the “crowds” (if you can call them that) I encounter at Marshfield’s Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary, Kingston/Duxbury’s Bay Farm, and Norwell’s Norris Reservation, I am not alone.
But this season, rather than visit my old favorites (as much as I love them), I’d like to try some new walks. Recently I consulted Jessica Schultz, the Director of Stewardship at the Wildlands Trust, for recommendations on some new places to visit. Maybe I’ll see you there this fall!
Tucker Preserve, Pembroke: Sidney and Harold Tucker donated this 78.6-acre property to the Wildlands Trust in 1993. You can access it via the Indian Head River Conservation Area, at the fish ladder in Pembroke. From West Elm Street, walk from the parking area along the south side of the river and into the woods. Once you reach the footbridge that crosses over a stream, you have entered the Tucker Preserve. The property extends from there along the river, as far as the island. There is a loop trail with a couple of spur routes. Beyond that is private property, so mind the No Trespassing signs. (1 hour)
Striar Conservancy, Halifax: This 164-acre preserve along the Winnetuxet
River was donated to the Wildlands Trust in 1999 and 2000 by Steven and Brian Striar and Soozen Tribuna, and purchased in 2001 with help from L. Knife and Son, Inc. and the Sheehan Family Foundation. Access is off of Route 105, also known as Thompson Street, about 2 miles south of Route 106. There is a parking area at the trailhead. The trail meanders along the river corridor to a former millpond and a field beyond. Trail maps are available on site. (1 hour)
|At the Striar Conservancy in Halifax.
Halfway Pond Conservation Area, Plymouth: This 409.6 acre area is comprised of numerous smaller land donations and purchases over the last 20+ years. Access is available at several locations, but the primary trailhead parking area is on Mast Road, about 2 miles south of Long Pond Road. Trail maps are available on site. There are many trails throughout the property, and visitors can also paddle kayaks or canoes on the pond, or simply walk the road along the shore. Unlike many ponds in the Plymouth area, Halfway only has a handful of homes on its shoreline, so it feels wild and remote. This area abuts Myles Standish State Forest, with additional hiking opportunities. (2 hours)
Phillips Farm Preserve, Marshfield: This 40-acre property was purchased through the generosity of multiple donors in 1999. Together with the Town of Marshfield’s Union Street Woodland and Corn Hill Woodland, and the New England Forestry Foundation’s Nelson Memorial Forest, all adjacent or within walking distance, it forms a giant open space parcel that could keep you occupied all day. The network of trails that links the separate properties leads you to numerous views of salt marshes and the North River, through hemlock, beech and pine groves, and so much more. The Phillips Farm preserve is accessible from Highland Street, or you can park in any of the adjacent properties’ parking areas – two on Union Street, and one more on Highland.
A terrific resource for more information on walking places and other open space areas on the South Shore is the Wildlands Trust’s publication “Lands in Trust.” You can contact the Wildlands Trust at 781-934-9018 or visit www.wildlandstrust.org
By Kezia Bacon-Bernstein, Correspondent
Kezia Bacon-Bernstein’s articles appear courtesy of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, a local non-profit organization devoted to the preservation, restoration, maintenance and conservation of the North and South Rivers and their watershed. For membership information and a copy of their latest newsletter, contact NSRWA at (781) 659-8168.


A huge swirling twister was spotted above a country park in Wales over the weekend.
The unusual weather pattern , over Pembrey Country Park, in Carmarthenshire, mesmerised passers-by on Sunday.
Rachael Misstear was visiting the country park with her family when she saw the twister amongst the cloud above her head.
She told Wales Online : “We had just been doing a bit of archery with our son and the heavens opened so it hammered down with rain.
“We took cover in the visitor centre and then walked back to our car when it had dried up and my husband said ‘oh my God, it’s a twister’.
“It was really fast moving and twisting across the sky, it was bending, twirling round, and lifting up.
“Another guy was filming it and he and his wife looked mesmerised. It lasted two minutes and it disappeared and the sky has cleared now. There has been a really strange sky today.
“It was pretty extraordinary. I’ve never seen anything like it before and it happened really quickly. Presumably other people will see it elsewhere in south-west Wales.”
Tornadoes, or twisters, are caused when a very cold, dry air stream crashes into warm humid air, forming a rapidly rotating column of air.
The American Midwest, known as ‘tornado valley’, is one of the most common places in the world for a tornado to hit.


McDonald Farm (Xenia, Ohio)
A silo and barn at the farm
|Location||1446 Stone Rd., Xenia, Ohio|
|Area||68 acres (28 ha)|
|Architectural style||Federal, Greek Revival, I-house|
|NRHP Reference #||96000673|
|Added to NRHP||June 14, 1996|
The McDonald Farm is a historic agricultural complex near the city of Xenia in Greene County, Ohio, United States. It has been named a historic site, largely because of a quarry on the farm, which supplied stone for the Washington Monument.
Much of Greene County is underlain by Dayton Limestone, a high-quality limestone whose type locality is in the city of Dayton in the adjacent Montgomery County. Farmers in Greene County supplied building stone for local needs through much of the nineteenth century, and by the late 1870s it was being exported to distant localities by the Dayton and Xenia Railroad.:380 Wilford McDonald, who lived about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of Xenia,:381 began quarrying limestone from his farm around 1820, after it was exposed by erosion from a nearby small stream. Quarrying revealed limestone deposits as deep as 8 feet (2.4 m) in some places, much of it smoothed by glacial abrasion. The reputation of McDonald's quarry became more prominent than any other source of Greene County limestone;:381 before concrete became prominent as a building material, McDonald supplied substantial amounts of limestone for Xenia buildings, and some of his stone was transported to farther localities. Eventually, McDonald became known as the supplier of one of Ohio's best limestones. Quarrying continued until 1896, when the stream by the quarry flooded it, although a small amount of stone was quarried in the 1930s. Today, the quarry remains filled with water.
In 1849, each of the United States was asked to supply a block of stone for the construction of the Washington Monument. Because McDonald's quarry was known as one of Ohio's best sources of limestone, state geologists decided to supply a block of McDonald stone, and a Xenia mason produced a block measuring 6 × 3 × 0.75 feet (1.83 × 0.91 × 0.23 m) to be sent to Washington, D.C., where it was eventually placed in the monument's interior stairway.
In 1996, the McDonald Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying both because of the farm buildings' architecture and because of the farm's place in local history. The architecture of the farm buildings is mixed among multiple architectural styles, including a vernacular I-house and the formal Federal and Greek Revival styles. The historic portion of the farm comprises nine buildings and two sites over an area of 68 acres (28 ha), which is designated a historic district.
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
- Dills, R.S. History of Greene County, Together with Historic Notes on the Northwest, and the State of Ohio. Dayton: Odell and Mayer, 1881.
- "Ohio Historical Marker Dedicated at McDonald Quarry, Greene County". Ohio Geology Summer 1996: 7. Accessed 2013-01-01.
- Broadstone, Michael A. History of Greene County, Ohio: Its People, Industries, and Institutions. Vol. 1. Indianapolis: Bowen, 1918, 66.
- McDonald Stone Quarry, Ohio Historical Society, 1995. Accessed 2013-01-01.
- McDonald Farm, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2013-01-01.


Sister cities of College Station, Texas
Ciudad Real →
General Zuazua (municipality) →
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley. As of December 2012, College Station had an estimated population of 97,534. College Station and Bryan together make up the Bryan-College Station metropolitan area, the 15th largest metropolitan area in Texas with 231,623 people.
College Station is home to the main campus of Texas A&M University, the flagship institution of The Texas A&M University System. The city owes both its name and existence to the university's location along a railroad. Texas A&M's triple designation as a Land-, Sea-, and Space-Grant institution reflects the broad scope of the research endeavors it brings to the city, with ongoing projects funded by agencies such as NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.
Due largely to the presence of Texas A&M University, College Station was named by Money magazine in 2006 as the most educated city in Texas, and the 11th most educated city in the United States.
Content on this page is licensed under CC-BY-SA from the authors of the following Wikipedia pages: List of sister cities in the United States, College Station, Texas. Note that the data on Wikipedia is highly unreliable. In many cases, sister cities are missing or wrongly listed. Some cities also have different levels of partnership. If you find an error, please make a correction on the relevant Wikipedia pages and cite your sources.


18 May New self-catered chalet in Courchevel 1650 Moriond
Self-Catered Chalet Courchevel Moriond
Our two self-catered chalets in la Tania have proved to be so popular that we’re excited to announce that we’re adding a 3rd property to the Alpine Escape self-catered chalet service…
Chalet Mollard is located in a great position within Courchevel 1650 Moriond, home to friendly restaurants, shops and bars that make it a brilliant location for a group holiday.
It’s a great addition to our chalet portfolio as it combines boutique-style design with all the creature comforts that you’d expect in an Alpine Escape chalet: TV room with games console, outdoor hot tub, quality furnishings and a welcoming feel. A little different from the classic chalet décor, Mollard has a fresh and bright ambience with Farrow & Ball pastel blues creating a New England vibe.
The location is a new venture for us: Courchevel Moriond has a really buzzy atmosphere with loads of bars and restaurants making it perfect for a self-catered ski holiday. There’s been significant investment in Moriond (or 1650 as it was previously known) with new lifts and smart hotels and restaurants popping up, including the fab Cucina Angelina – Angela Hartnett’s Italian restaurant at the foot of the slopes. The free bus service means you can easily flit between 1850 and Moriond in just a few minutes, which opens up even more options for après-ski drinks and dining out. Courchevel 1650 has been a popular spot with skiers for years for the good value accommodation and lively social scene; regular bands and DJs play throughout the week.
The skiing is ideal for all levels: a new beginners’ area has been created at the top of a brand-new gondola and lying at the far end of the Three Valleys means that the slopes are uncrowded, so intermediates can cruise the wide blues and reds in peace. Word on the street also says that there will be a huge new toboggan run appearing soon!
Courchevel Moriond’s famous Bel Air restaurant with huge sun terrace is a great spot for lunch or an afternoon drink before skiing all the way down the long blues into resort. The new Aquamotion swimming pool is a short walk or a couple of minutes on the bus and is ideal for non-skiers to relax in the gorgeous spa area, or for families with younger children. There are great slides and an outdoor area with lazy river and massage jets.
We’re delighted to have Chalet Mollard – self-catered chalet Courchevel Moriond – on our self-catered programme, and look forward to welcoming our guests!


- Isle of Wight MP refreshes calls for additional healthcare funding for island
- Says severance from mainland results in “£11m additional healthcare costs per year”
- Recruitment and management issues contributing to poor staff morale, according to MP
Isle of Wight’s MP has refreshed calls for extra funding for the island’s healthcare system, warning morale at the trust was “the bottom of the charts”.
During a Parliamentary debate on the NHS funding bill on Monday, Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely raised concerns over the significant costs required to fund the Island’s healthcare services compared to the mainland.
The Conservative MP has requested a meeting with health and social care secretary Matt Hancock, to discuss the increase in serious incidents recorded at the trust , as reported in HSJ last week.
In a letter to trust bosses Mr Seely said he believes the spike in incidents is partially down to “a lack of additional funding which some other islands in the UK receive”, according to local media.
During Monday’s debate, Mr Seely said there is significant evidence to show the island’s “severance” from the mainland results in an estimated £11m additional healthcare costs per year.
The trust receives fewer tariffs from commissioners compared to other areas on the mainland with a district general hospital due to the island’s small population, he explained.
There is also the additional pressure of transport costs for patients who need to travel to the mainland for planned appointments — amounting to an estimated £560,000 a year — which is currently subsidised by the local authority and ferry companies.
Speaking in Parliament, he said: “On the Isle of Wight we have a district general hospital — I thank all the staff who work there, they do a great job sometimes in difficult circumstances — but we have only got half the population base of district general hospitals, so we do not get the same tariffs.
“As a result of that everything costs more, it is very difficult to get the same efficiencies and economies of scale.”
In October, Mr Seely wrote to Boris Johnson presenting a case for an “Island Deal”, which would result in more government funding for the island, including £10.9m for healthcare.
The deal includes a £5 cap per journey on travel for patients who are required to travel to the mainland for treatment but are not entitled to free NHS travel.
Mr Johnson has assured Mr Seely he will get a deal for the island. However, when this will happen remains unclear.
In Parliament, Mr Seely raised further concerns over ongoing recruitment and management issues faced by the island — primarily due to its location — which in turn is affecting staff morale.
He added: “Sadly, our staff morale tends to be at the bottom of the NHS staff morale charts, and we have issues about recruitment, somewhat because we are an island, and that feeds into morale issues and the use of locums, and there is less time for patient treatment.”
IOW Trust is the country’s only fully integrated trust, with acute services operating from St Mary’s Hospital in Newport. The trust was placed in special measures in April 2017 after it was rated “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission due to “significant” concerns over patient safety. It was upgraded to “requires improvement” in September 2019 but it remains in special measures.
Parliamentary speech, information supplied to HSJ


Seabreeze Bop City is a pilot project to develop a reusable model and platform to compellingly document the scourge of Black land loss across the southeast, namely Seabreeze, North Carolina. This project acted as an exploration into new tools and techniques for journalistic storytelling by leveraging emerging technologies.
As one of the design leads, I was tasked with creating captivating modes of storytelling through means of location based media with VR/AR, photogrammetry, and 3D conceptual designs.
This project has been featured on MIT's Open Documentary Lab's website and can be seen at the link below
an AR replication of Seabreeze created from 3D Photogrammetry scans taken from on-location drone photography.
an AR 'story bubble' comprised of 360 video, when a viewer enters the sphere, the 360 footage of interviews with Seabreeze inhabitants would play.


Anyone who has collected railroadiana for a while has
seen a dramatic escalation in the values of rarer items. Record prices
have been set recently in hardware categories such as lanterns and
china, and even paper items such as passes and timetables have risen
markedly in value. Fortunately, those seeking a more affordable avenue
for collecting railroadiana have an alternative: postcards. Postcard-collecting
is, of course, a major hobby in its own right, with specialized organizations,
shows, and books devoted to it. However, the railroad postcard has
become a sub-category of postcard collecting, for a number of reasons:
- There are a lot of them. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
postcards became a major means of communication, reflecting the emergence
of good postal service and abundant railroad travel options. The first
two decades of the 20th century are often considered the "golden
age" of postcards, and this period coincided with the zenith of
rail passenger travel in America. It was common for passengers to send
postcards to friends or family to communicate their travel progress
or just to stay in contact.
- Railroads were a frequent subject of postcards. In the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, railroads and their facilities had a prominent
presence in the American landscape. Postcards of the era featured everything
from railroad engineering landmarks to small-town stations.
- People tended to keep postcards as mementos rather than throw them
away. Estate and garage sales often turn up old postcard collections,
so that the number of postcards available to the collector continues
- Postcards are generally inexpensive relative to other railroad collectibles.
Of course like any other collectible, rarity can drive up prices, but
it is still possible to buy decent railroad postcards for a few dollars
Common Themes. There are a number of common themes or subjects
that are frequently found on railroad-related postcards, among them.....
|Engineering Landmarks. The engineering
feats of railroad construction were a favorite subjects of postcards.
Dating from around 1915 and showing the clutter of recent construction,
this postcard reads, "On the Lackawanna Railroad - Ninth Wonder
of the world: Tunkhannock Viaduct - half mile long and 240 feet high." Click
on the image for a larger view.
||Stations. In an era when railroad
stations were the major entry and departure points for communities,
both small-town and big-city stations were the subject of postcards.
This scene, complete with horse-drawn trolley, depicts the Buena
Vista Springs station (inked on the card) although the caption reads, "Buena
Vista Station, Buena Vista, PA." Click on the image for a larger
|Scenery. As railroads
increasingly promoted tourist and vacation travel, postcard producers
focused on scenery along railroad lines. Sometimes railroads produced
their own postcards. With nary a train in site, the subject of this
postcard is natural beauty. The caption reads, "West Index on
Great Northern Railway," a scene in the North Cascade Range
of Washington State. Click on the image for a larger view.
that show interiors of stations, other railroad buildings, or rolling
stock are not very common, but they can be found. This World War
II-era card shows a number of USO scenes, including interiors of
USO lounges in the Pennsylvania Railroad's Fort Wayne, Indiana and
Grand Rapids, Michigan stations. Click on the image for a larger
|Industrial Landscapes. Once
upon a time, the industrial scene was considered a mark of prosperity,
and postcards frequently showed railroad facilities in urban settings.
The caption here reads, " To the left, the mills and factories,
In the foreground, the N.P.R.R. Yards, To the right, the gateway
to the city, In the distance, more than 50 miles away, Mt. Tacoma,
Washington's grandest mountain." Today the mountain is known
as Mt. Rainier. Click on the image for a larger view.
disasters, and other difficulties were sometimes the subject of
postcards, although we can assume these were not welcomed by railroad
management. Judging by the number of laborers in this scene, a
train on the "Moffat Road" is probably being dug out
of one of the legendary snowfalls that plagued this line over Rollins
Pass. The caption simply states, "Train between snow banks
on Rollins Pass, Moffat Road, Colo." Click on the image for
a larger view.
Obscure Locations. One of the most interesting aspects of railroad
postcards is the fact that many show rather obscure locations and facilities.
For most railroadiana collectors, an interest in railroad history goes
hand-in-hand with collecting, and postcards can provide a glimpse into
a long-vanished past. In contrast to today's garish, tourist-oriented
postcards, many early postcards focused on rather nondescript locations,
for example a stretch of empty railroad tracks beside a river or a railroad
yard. In particular, the "real photo postcard" -- a postcard
produced from a monochrome, untinted photograph -- can function as an
historical record, sometimes the only record of a location.
Case in point: The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie (P&LE) Railroad's
Dickerson Run Yard, near Connellsville, Pennsylvania. At the turn of
the 20th Century, the P&LE developed Dickerson Run Yard to service
the extensive coal fields of the Connellsville region, then considered
the best source of coking coal in the world. The yard was located in
a narrow, remote valley of the Youghiogheny River, very much off the
beaten path. Few railroad photographers ventured into this region, and
published photographs of the yard are rare. As the Connellsville coal
fields gradually played out, the yard's strategic importance diminished,
and it was entirely abandoned in 1970. Today the site is a second-growth
forest bisected by the Youghiogheny
River Rail-Trail on the old P&LE roadbed.
With this level of obscurity, it would seem most unlikely that postcards
of the Dickerson Run Yard would have been produced, but they were. In
fact a number of them have turned up, all the more remarkable given the
fact that this P&LE division was never a major long-distance passenger
route like the nearby Baltimore & Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad
mainlines. The images below show a number of views of the yard, the first
four dating to around 1910. The last is a reproduction of a painting
of the area produced by Howard Fogg in the 1960's on commission from
P&LE president, John Barringer. A whole series of lineside paintings
by Fogg were reproduced by the railroad in numerous formats, including
|Above. A real photo postcard titled "Dickerson
Run Yards, Dickerson Run, PA.", with a 1910 postal cancellation
on the back. Click on the image for a larger view.
||Above. A real photo postcard titled "Partial
View, Dickerson Run and Dawson Bridge - Dickerson Run, PA.",
showing the Eastern end of the yard. The postal cancellation is dated
1911. Click on the image for a larger view.
|Above. A real photo postcard titled "P.&.L.E.
Roundhouse & Shops, Dickerson Run, PA.", unused (no postal
cancellation). Click on the image for a larger view.
||Above. A real photo postcard with "Dickerson
Run PA." neatly hand-printed in a light area. It is unused (no
postal cancellation). Click on the image for a larger view. The structure
next to the locomotive is shown from the other direction in the above
postcard of the bridge.
||Left. A postcard showing a Howard Fogg painting
from the series commissioned by P&LE president, John Barriger.
The caption on the back of the card reads "Interchange with
the Western Maryland Railway at P.& L.E.'s Dickerson Run Yard,
near Connellsvile, from original painting by Howard Fogg." It
is unused (no postal cancellation). Click on the image for a larger
Summary and Links. If you have an interest in some obscure and
long-forgotten railroad facility, consider looking for postcards of that
location. You may be surprised at what you find. If you are looking for
an antidote to railroadiana sticker shock, consider collecting postcards
related to your favorite railroad. Prices can still be reasonable, postcard
dealers are plentiful at antique shows, and the handwritten notes on
the back of used postcards can be interesting and even poignant.
Some links to postcard-related sites are shown below.


Strait of Juan de Fuca
This image of the Strait of Juan de Fuca is a cropped image taken by NASA and comes form the
visibaleearth.nasa.gov web site.
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a place that a lot of cruisers avoid. It can be nasty at times. The weather channel will forecast gales in the Strait a lot. They also forecast gales at times when there are no gales; however, when the weather is bad it is not a very nice place to be. You also need to make sure the current is going with you. The current can be 6 or more knots in places. There are times when the current can suck you threw and there is nothing you can do about it. You can also use the current to help you get places fast. It is possible to leave Shilshole marina (near Seattle) at 6 am as the tide starts to ebb and make it to Friday Harbor by 2 pm (a distance of about 60 miles). You can do that motoring at 5 knots. As you pass threw Admiralty Inlet you can pick up a 6 knot current. We have passed Port Townsend doing 11 knots over the ground. If you have timed it correctly you will get to the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca about the same time as the tide will change and you can ride the tide into Cattle Pass on the other side. The buoy in the picture is located on the Juan de Fuca side of Admiralty Inlet near Port Townsend and doing a little over 5 knots.
If you are getting ready to go cruising and want to get some experience in strong winds, you should consider spending some time here in the spring. It will help you get ready for what cruising will be like in other parts of the world. You will need some warm clothes as it can be really cold with a 25 knot wind. Even in July. Work your way into it gently as it can be exciting.


Unusual for late-autumn in the Canadian Rockies, November 5th dawned as a clear and warm day for Kathleen and Garret’s wedding in Banff. Preparations took place in separate locations at the Fairmont Banff Springs as the bride, bridesmaid, and “brides-dude” (Kathleen’s brother) enjoyed getting ready in a sun filled corner suite while the groom was helped by his groomsmen in a suite on a far away floor a distance from Kathleen.
Kathleen and Garret saw each other for the first time on their wedding day in the upper halls of the hotel, flanked by grand picture windows that provided sweeping views of the Bow Valley and surrounding mountains. After a few moments to let all the emotions settle in and take full effect, it was off to the intimate ceremony at historic St. Mary’s Church. Once they were announced man and wife, everyone filtered outside, enjoyed the sunny day and congratulated the newly married couple.
Meanwhile, Julianne Young, of Julianne Young Weddings was busy with her team assembling the elements for the reception to take place in Mount Stephen Hall. Long tables were set with white linens, escort cards arranged, and candles lit. Light streamed in through the stained glass windows, sparkled on the transparent chairs and crystal, and softly reflected from the pale blooms and orchids.
Wedding photography with Kathleen and Garret and bridal party was led Ikonica photographer Jackson Huang with second camera photography by Alex Jardine. With so many iconic and awe-inspiring views how could they choose just a few!
Garret is originally from Ontario while Kathleen is from British Columbia. Moving away from family and friends to Calgary for their jobs, they met at the firm for which they worked. What better way to celebrate their new life together than in the mountains near their new home and at a “Castle in the Rockies”.
Photography: T.H. Jackson Huang, Ikonica
Design & Production: Julianne Young Weddings Inc.
Flowers: Flower Artistry
Cake: Kake Canmore
Rentals: Special Event Rentals, Gathered Table Supply
Linens: Bella Linens
Stationery & Decal: Plush Invites
Lighting: Pez Productions


Once again, I’ve got more work up at MyNatour. This time, I’ve gone and written about my friend Aino’s homeland, and how Finland has this fantastic network of green tourism businesses. It’s great, because it helps maintain consistency throughout the industry, and really encourages tourists to embrace green initiatives in the same way the Finns have.
I adored the small bit of Finland that I saw (Helsinki and nearby Espoo), and absolutely want to revisit soon. I’d love to see some of the stunning “National Landscapes”, head up north to find Santa in Lapland, and definitely catch the Northern Lights from outside my ice-hotel. Best thing about traveling in Finland is that it’s pretty easy to do it in an eco-friendly way, and that’s because of the green network. We could learn something from those Finns, I tell ya!
PS. Gorgeous Northern Lights photo courtesy of VisitFinland’s Flickr page – check it out – the photos are stunning.


The Rock: Blanchard Springs Caverns is located in sedimentary rock that was laid down during the Upper Ordovician - Lower Mississippian periods (310-460 million years ago). At that time northern Arkansas was covered by a shallow sea that teemed with life. During most of the period limey sediments built up from the shells of the sea animals that died. As the layers of shells got deeper and deeper, they were compressed to form limestone rock.
Periodically, there was also deposition of layers of mud and sand. These layers became shale and sandstone.
The Uplift: Lower Pennsylvanian (about 310-350 million years ago). Enormous forces in the earth's crust began a gradual uplifting of the large, oval-shaped landmass that became known as the Ozark dome. During the uplifting, which was so slow that if we were living here we would not have known it was going on, layers of rock often cracked or fractured under the stress. Imagine a multi-layered cake. Now think what would happen if you started pushing the cake up in the center.
Erosion: As the land raised, the surface streams flowed over the land in the weakest places producing deep valleys, sheer bluffs, and the rugged topography as we know it in the Ozarks.
Creation of the Cave: (50-70 million years ago). As the surface eroded, so did cavities underground, though by a different process. Some of the rainwater percolated down through the cracks in the rock layers. As the water passed through the soil, it picked up CO2 (produced during the decomposition of organic material) to add to the CO2 picked up in the air. This formed a mild acid called carbonic acid, giving the water greater dissolving power. (A carbonated soft drink contains carbonic acid.) As the acid water came in contact with the limestone, the limestone (CaCO3) chemically reacted with the carbonic acid. In this way solutioning occurred along the fractures. Very slowly, over long periods of time, crevices became channels; channels enlarged into tunnels; tunnels joined together to form rooms, water filling the whole carved out area.
Blanchard Springs Caverns is a cavity formed primarily in layers of limestone with thin layers of shale and sandstone which collapsed. The cavern cavity zone lies between Boone Formations, which are mostly bedded chert, an insoluble siliceous rock, and St. Peter Sandstone, which is also insoluble.
Decoration of the Cave: (The oldest formations are approximately 2-5 million years old.) As the surface streams carved deeper into the hillsides, the water table gradually dropped. Springs, where water emerges from the hillsides, give the cave water an outlet. Finally the water table dropped below the level of the cave, leaving the cave air-filled and ready for decoration. Remember this is still occurring very slowly, and over long periods of time. Because Blanchard Springs Caverns still has water entering and flowing through it, it is considered a “living” or “active” cave. The following processes are ongoing:
- Deposition of Clay: The insoluable residue of dissolved limestone is fine-grained clay called "terra rosa" (meaning red earth). After the springs created a drain for the cave water, the underground stream began to flow and the clay eroded or moved from place to place. It was the presence of clay near the ceiling in the Discovery Room that gave Hugh Shell and Hail Bryant the clue that there was an upper level to Blanchard Springs Caverns.
- Breakdown: The large piles of rock sometimes covering the cave floor probably fell as the water level in the cave dropped and no longer helped support the ceiling. The ceiling collapse continued until the ceiling achieved a stable arch where the cavern wall helped hold up the ceiling. (Think about playing building blocks and building stairsteps up one side and down the other. Each preceding block supports the next one.) It is safe to guess that over the past eons Blanchard Springs Caverns has achieved a stable ceiling. Where the trail goes, the ceiling has been tested and is monitored to insure safety.
- Deposition of Speleothems: A speleothem (speliaon - cave, therma - deposit) is a "secondary mineral deposit formed in caves." In other words a speleothem is formed from a mineral dissolved out of the bedrock and deposited in the cave. The vast majority of speleothems in Blanchard Springs Caverns are made of calcite, a crystalline mineral of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). The CaCO3 is dissolved from the limestone bedrock by the weak carbonic acid solution resulting from rainwater percolating down through the rock. When the solution enters an air-filled passage the CO2 is released due to the difference in CO2 concentration between ground water and cave air. (The CO2 content in the cave air is 25-250 times lower than the CO2 content in ground water.) The loss of CO2 can cause calcite deposition. The tremendous variety of speleothems is due to the number of paths the water may take when it enters the cave by dripping through the ceiling, running down the walls, splashing on the cave floor, or oozing through the walls. Some of the variables that alter the size and shape of the speleothems are:
- Rate of dripping;
- Size and shape of the opening by which water enters the cave;
- Varying volume of water entering the cave;
- Changing route of water through the overlying rock;
- Air currents in the caverns;
- Slope of the surface over which the water is flowing;
- Variations in the concentration of CaCO3;
- Variations in the amount of carbonic acid.
Can you think of others?
- Resolutioning: Since the surface is ever changing, animals and plants are living and dying and the water may change its course as it passes through the rock, the ratio of CaCO3 carried in the water to the amount of acidity is variable. When the incoming solution is under saturated with calcite, resolutioning will take place. In other words, the calcite that has been deposited to form speleothems will be taken back into the solution and will be washed away. Speleothems that are dry and look dull and chalky (like they are covered by dried toothpaste) are good examples of resolutioning in the Coral Room.
- Dormancy: There are some dry speleothems in Blanchard Springs Caverns which attest to the changing course of the water. These formations are considered dormant, not just dead, because water may return one day. Our viewing of the cave is just a tiny glimpse of its life. It's like seeing one frame of a long playing movie - one frozen instant. The cave has constantly been changing in the past and it will continue to do so in the future.
Coloring of Speleothems: Pure calcite is a milky, translucent white. However, pure white speleothems are rare. Most speleothems are stained by impurities carried into the cave with water and deposited between the crystals of calcite. Iron impurities typically stain speleothems yellow, brown, or orange. Black, blue-gray, and pastel blue colors are probably due to manganese compounds. A sample of dark stains on the cave ceiling over the loop in the Coral Room was found to be manganese dioxide. However, a sample of blue-gray flowstone tested by a spectrophotometer contained only calcium, sodium and iron. Cave micro-organisms and organic materials also probably contribute to
the colors found in a cave, especially black, brown and red. The stain of color is concentrated on the outer layers of the speleothem. As the speleothem grows, the crystal bonding structure of the calcite forces the color to these outer layers.
In the very distant future: What remains for Blanchard Springs Caverns is for the surface erosion to wear the cavern ceiling thinner and thinner. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of years in the future, the cavern ceiling will collapse as a huge sinkhole. The sediment will wash in to fill the sinkhole and may obliterate all signs of the cavern system. Meanwhile more passages may be actively forming and enlarging underground and new caves may be given entrances.
Ford, T.O. & C.H.D. Allingford, The Science of Speleology, Academic Press, 1976.
Hill, Carol A., Cave Minerals, National Speleological Society, Huntsville, AL, 1976.
Moore, George W. & G. Nicholas Sullivan, Speleology, The Study of Caves,
Zephyrs Press, Inc., Teaneck, NJ, 1978.
"The Amazing World Below" movie.
"Welcome to Blanchard Springs Caverns" brochure.
Vertical file at Blanchard:
Cohoon, Richard R. "Blanchard Springs Caverns, Tour A - A Geological Report Concerning the Features of the Cave Significant enough for Public Interpretation'" 1968.
Tony V. Field, "Geological History of Blanchard Springs Caverns," (Geology - BSC).
Among numerous inquiries received by the U.S. Geological Survey are those concerning the age of the earth, division of geologic time, and how the earth's rocks, meteorites, and moon specimens are dated. The following is based on information contained in a booklet, "Geologic Time," one of a series of
non-technical publications prepared by the USGS to answer inquiries about a variety of the earth science subjects.
Questions and answers about geologic time:
How old is the earth? The earth is at least 4.6 billion years old, according to recent estimates. A great part of the evidence for this age is contained in the earth's rocks.
Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism, a religious belief, which holds that the universe, Earth, and all life on Earth were created by direct acts of God less than 10,000 years ago. Its primary adherents are Christians who subscribe to a literal interpretation of the creation narrative in the Bible's Book of Genesis and believe that God created the Earth in six 24-hour days. In contrast to YEC, old Earth creationism is the belief in a metaphorical interpretation of the Book of Genesis and the scientifically-determined estimated ages of the Earth and Universe.
What scales are used to tell geologic time? Two scales are used to date the various earth-shaping episodes - a relative time scale, based on the sequence of layering of the rocks and the slow but progressive development of life as displayed by fossils preserved in the rocks; and an atomic time scale, based on the natural radioactivity of chemical elements in the rocks.
What are some early geologic speculations? In the 5th century, B.C., the historian Herodotus made one of the earliest recorded geological observations. He found fossil shells far inland in what are now parts of Egypt and Libya and correctly inferred that the Mediterranean Sea had once extended much farther south. In the 3rd century B.C., Erathosthenes depicted a spherical earth and even calculated its diameter and circumference. However, less than 500 years ago, sailors aboard the Santa Maria begged Columbus to turn back lest they sail off the earth's "edge." Most people appear to have traditionally believed the earth to be quite young - that its age might be measured in terms of thousands of years, but certainly not in millions or billions.
When were fossils linked to geologic time? Around 1800, William "Strata" Smith, an English civil engineer and surveyor, had a hobby of collecting and cataloging fossil shells from areas in southern England where "limestones and shales are layered like slices of bread and butter." His hobby led to the discovery that certain layers contained fossils unlike those in other layers. Using these key or index fossils as markers, Smith could identify a particular slow but progressive development of life; therefore, scientists use them to identify rocks of the same age throughout the world.
What are the major divisions of geologic time? Such recurring events as mountain building and sea encroachment, of which rocks themselves are records, mark units of relative geologic time, even though actual dates of the events are unknown. By comparison, the history of mankind is similarly organized into relative units of time. We speak of human events as occurring either B.C. or A.D. - broad divisions of time. Shorter spans are measured by the dynasties of ancient Egypt or by the reigns of kings and queens in Europe. Similarly, geologic time divides the earth's history into eras - broad spans based on the general character of life that existed during these times, and periods - shorter spans based partly on evidence of major disturbances of the earth's crust. Following are the geologic eras, ranging successively from the present to the oldest:
- Cenozoic (from the present to about 70 million years ago);
- Mesozoic (from about 70 million to 225 million years ago);
- Paleozoic (from 225-500 million years ago); and
- Precambrian (600 million years ago and older) marking the time between the birth of the planet and the appearance of complex forms of life. More than 80% of the earth's estimated 4.6 billion years fall within this Precambrian Era.
What is Radioactive Decay? Atoms of the same element with differing atomic weights are called isotopes. Radioactive decay is a spontaneous process in which an isotope (the parent) loses particles from its nucleus to form an isotope of a new element (the daughter). The rate of decay is conveniently
expressed in terms of an isotope's half-life, or the time it takes for one-half the nuclei in a sample to decay. The isotopes of certain elements decay very slowly. Those of potassium-40 have a half-life of 1.3 billion years. The potassium-40 method is one of the most useful dating methods available to the geologist because it can be used on rocks as young as a few thousand years as well as the oldest rocks known.
What is the "Carbon-14" Dating Method? An important atomic "clock" used for dating purposes is based on the radioactive decay of the isotope carbon-14, which has a half-life of 5,730 years. Carbon-14 is being produced continuously in the earth's upper atmosphere as a result of nitrogen-14 isotopes being struck by neutrons that have their origin in cosmic rays. This newly formed radiocarbon becomes mixed with the nonradioactive carbon in the carbon dioxide of the air, eventually finding its way into all living plants and animals. After the death of an organism, the amount of radiocarbon gradually decreases through the radioactive decay as it reverts to nitrogen-14. By measuring the amount of radioactivity remaining in organic materials, the amount of carbon-14 in the materials can be calculated, and the time of death can be determined. Because of the relatively short half-life of carbon-14, the radiocarbon clock can be used for dating events that have taken place only within the past 50,000 years.
What are some of the oldest dated rocks on earth? Rocks in southwestern Minnesota have been found to be 3.8 billion years old -- the oldest rocks thus far found on earth. The ancient rocks -- a granite-gneiss -- occur along the valley of the Minnesota River and are particularly well exposed near the town
of Granite Falls, Minn. The age of the rocks was calculated to be about 3.8 billion years old -- plus or minus 100 million years -- from using the rubidium-strontium and uranium lead dating methods. Rocks of comparable age have been found in western Greenland and other rocks -- 3 to 3.5 billion years old -- are known to occur in southern Africa and in the Soviet Union. Rocks older than 3 billion years probably have survived due to the continuing erosion of the earth's surface, and the "reconstruction" of rocks deep within the earth.
How old are meteorites? An approximate age for the earth has been determined from studies of meteorites -- matter from space. Stony meteorites contain sufficient uranium to produce appreciable quantities of radiogenic lead, which can be used to measure their ages. Calculations yield an age of about 4.6 billion years for these meteorites. Since the earth and meteorites likely have a similar origin, it seems reasonable to assume that the age of the earth is about the same age as the meteorites.


Devon’s natural environment is not only beautiful it is our greatest asset and something none of us should take for granted. It provides us with food, fuel, pollination, flood control, great recreational and business opportunities and even a natural health service. It underpins life in Devon.
Natural Devon brings together all those interested in protecting and enhancing our environment for the benefit of people, wildlife and businesses. Please get involved…
Win great prizes and help pollinators by taking part in our 2017 Build for Bees competition.
Devon LNP has a Flickr account! Please send photos to email@example.com
Find out more about wildlife reserves and great places to walk, cycle and explore across Devon on the Explore Devon website.


The Final Score
In Wisconsin, United States
Size:  (not chosen)
How Geocaching Works
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We took the nephews (Will and Bill) out geocaching for the first time. They were very excited about it and really wanted to place a cache of their own. This ball diamond is one that they grew up playing ball at. They searched and found a good location to place one of our own unique caches. If you have a nice childhood memory in this park they'd love to hear it. Please be discreet and come back at a later time if there are games going on. Please do not park on the road to the east (CTH A) as there is a lot of traffic at times. There is a parking lot to the south and a quiet street to the west.
Last Updated: on 4/22/2016 6:20:15 AM Pacific Daylight Time (1:20 PM GMT)
Coordinates are in the WGS84 datum