the-french-artist/wikipedia_20220301.simple_sentence_split huggingface dataset:
The object struck by the Explorer caused a 10-by-4 inch (25 × 10 cm) hole to the ship's port side (left side) which allowed sea water to enter the ship.
A passenger reported sea water in the cabin at about 03:00 UTC.
Although some reports indicate there had been no noticeable impact, or at least nothing more than the normal crunching of ice experienced when sailing through icy waters, other reports say that there was a loud bang.
Some reports also indicate that the ship drifted into an iceberg on the Explorer's starboard side while the crew was assessing damage caused by the original impact to the port side of the ship.
A mayday call was put out by the ship at 04:24 UTC, and rescue operations were quickly coordinated by the Prefectura Naval (Coast Guard Corps) of the Argentine Republic, and the Chilean Navy Center for Search and Rescue.
Chile dispatched the icebreaker Almirante Viel, and nearby commercial ships including the MN Ushuaia, the National Geographic Endeavor, and the Norwegian Coastal Express ship MS Nordnorge which was operating as a passenger cruise ship at the time.
By 07:30 UTC, all 91 passengers, 9 guides and 54 crew, from over 14 countries
, left the ship and took to the life rafts, where they drifted for three to four hours, until they were picked up by the Norwegian ship MS Nordnorge which arrived on scene by 10:00 UTC.
It is believed that the Explorer sank at about 19:00 UTC.
Coincidentally, earlier in 2007, the MS Nordnorge was involved in another Antarctic rescue when it evacuated 294 passengers from a sister ship, the MS Nordkapp, when the Nordkapp ran aground on Deception Island, a part of these same remote South Shetland Islands archipelago.
Some of those rescued by the Nordnorge were taken to the Chilean Eduardo Frei Montalva Station on King George Island.
Later they were flown by C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the Chilean Air Force to Punta Arenas, Chile, in two separate flights on Saturday, November 24, and Sunday, November 25, 2007.
Approximately 70 of the survivors were taken to Uruguay’s Artigas Base.
The Explorer sank within 20 hours after striking an unknown submerged object reported to be ice.
MS Explorer  – G.A.P Adventures
Explorer  – Det Norske Veritas Exchange Vessel Information.
Passenger account from cabin 314, where the breach occurred  - by Eli Charne
Photos taken on the last voyage of the M/S Explorer - by Eli Charne
M/S Explorer  – Eagle Eye Tours
BT.no webcam of bad list, title reads Here Explorer sinks  – earlier still photos from Nordnorge
MS Explorer anchored off Elephant Island, Antarctica picture at Flickr.com
M.S Explorer Slideshow At Yahoo News – Yahoo News Slideshow
Eye witness account of the rescue – Audrey’s Blog
Picture of the ship sinking published on "Clarin" newspaper website  – "Clarin" online edition 25-Nov-2007, Argentina.
Erik Langeland
Lindbeck
Calcite is one of the most common minerals on the Earth's surface.
It is a often part of sedimentary rocks, especially limestone.
It is also the primary mineral in metamorphic marble.
It is a chemical or biochemical calcium carbonate with the formula CaCO3.
It is a carbonate mineral.
It can be a vein mineral in deposits from hot springs, and in caverns as stalactites and stalagmites.
Stalagmites may also refer to a type of fungus.
A stalagmite is a  form that can be found on the floor of a cave.
It rises from the floor of a limestone cave when mineralized solutions drip from the ceiling and deposits of calcium carbonate form columns on the ground.
The corresponding formation on the ceiling of a cave is known as a stalactite.
StalaCtite has a "c" for "ceiling".
StalaGmite has a "g" for "ground".
The T in StalacTite resembles one hanging from the ceiling, while the M in StalagMite resembles a formation rising from the floor.
When touring caves with stalactites and stalagmites you might be asked to not touch the rock formations.
This is generally because the formation is considered to still be growing and forming.
Since the rock buildup is formed by minerals solidifying out of the water solution, skin oils can disturb where the mineral water will cling.
So the development of the rock formation will be affected and not will not be natural anymore.
The Virtual Cave: Stalagmites
Deposit account, owed by the bank to its depositor
Deposit (geology), material added to a landform
Damage deposit taken in relation to rental or an item or property
Deposit (town), New York
Deposit (village), New York
Deposit model, a method of identifying the character and degree of survival of buried archaeological remains
Token amounts intended to promote recycling via container deposit legislation
Deposition is the geological process where material is added to a land (or a landform).
This can happen in many places, such as a beach or river.
Some parts of a shoreline build up and grow out, whereas other parts of the shoreline erode and fall into the sea.
In deposition, wind and water lay down grains of material that have been eroded and transported from another place.
Deposition happens when the forces which transport sediments  are weaker than the forces of particle weight and friction.
This causes a resistance to movement, and the particles drop down.
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound, with the chemical formula CaCO3.
The elements involved are calcium (Ca), carbon (C) and oxygen (O).
It is a common substance found as rock in all parts of the world, and is the main component of seashells, snails, and eggshell.
Calcium carbonate is usually the main cause of hard water.
It is used as a calcium supplement or as a treatment for antacid, but too much can be bad for your health.
Vaterite or (μ-CaCO3)
To test whether a mineral or rock contains calcium carbonate, strong acids, such as hydrochloric acid, can be added to it.
If the sample does contain calcium carbonate, it will fizz and produce carbon dioxide.
Weak acids such as acetic acid will react, but less quickly.
All of the rocks/minerals mentioned above will react with acid.
Carbonates
Hard water is water that has a high mineral content (contrast with soft water).
The main components of these minerals usually are calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) ions.
But there are also dissolved metals, bicarbonates, and sulfates.
Calcium usually enters the water as either calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of limestone and chalk, or calcium sulfate (CaSO4) in the form of several other mineral deposits.
The main source of magnesium is dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2).
Hard water is generally not harmful and some hardness in water is a useful source of calcium for healthy bone development .
Alcoa Chemical, Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) Calculator
Soft water is water which has relatively low concentration of calcium carbonate and other ions .
It contains less than 85.5 parts per million of calcium carbonate.
The water that lathers with soap easily is called or known as soft water.
It describes type of water that contain few or no minerals like calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg) ions.
The term is usually relative to hard water, which does contain significant amounts of such ions.
Hard water may be better for the heart than soft water.
Its calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg)ions may be a dietary supplement for some.
The main disadvantage of hard water is it deposits calcium carbonate on pipes, especially hot water pipes.
This is called "scale formation".
It may cause blockage of pipes and reduce boiler efficiency.
Also, soap and detergents work less well in hard water.
These effects increase as hardness increases.
Soften water
Moorland habitats are rather common in the neotropics and tropical Africa but one can find them also in small scattered places in northern and western Europe, northern Australia, North America, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
In the tiny areas of European moorlands tend to be  environments with only very few species.
They are often dominated by heather.
In the far more extensive moorlands of the tropics species diversity can be extremely high.
Famous moorlands in the UK
Bleaklow, Dark Peak, England
Bodmin Moor, Cornwall
Curry and Hay Moors, Somerset, England
Dartmoor, and Dartmoor wildlife, Devon, England
Emley Moor, West Yorkshire, England
Exmoor, Devon and Somerset, England
Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, England
Marston Moor and North York Moors, North Yorkshire, England
Rannoch Moor, Highland, Scotland
Rombalds Moor, West Yorkshire, England
Saddleworth Moor, Pennine hills, England
Shropshire Hills, small pockets of moorland, England
Staffordshire Moorlands, England
Ythan Estuary complex, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, largest coastal moorland in the United Kingdom, known for high biodiversity.
In Europe if the heather and other vegetation is left for too long, a large volume of dry and combustible material builds up.
This may cause a fire which may burn out a large area.
But generally moorland wildlife copes with even major fires and are easily able to recover if such intense burnings are not too frequent.
Carlton-le-Moorland
Moorland, type of habitat found in upland areas
Moorland Township, Michigan
Daydream — Moorland, soundtrack album by the German band Tangerine Dream for the TV series Tatort
Jesse E. Moorland, Black minister, community executive, and civic leader
Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, repository for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa
Its fauna and flora are distinct from the Nearctic (which includes most of North America) because of the long separation of the two continents.
The formation of the Isthmus of Panama joined the two continents 2 to 3 million years ago.
The Neotropic includes more tropical rainforest than any other ecozone.
They extend from southern Mexico through Central America and northern South America to southern Brazil and include the Amazon Rainforest.
These rainforest ecoregions are one of the most important reserves of biodiversity on Earth.
Extensive deforestation in the late 20th century has reduced this diversity to a degree.
Eco-Index, a bilingual searchable reference of conservation and research projects in the Neotropics; a service of the Rainforest Alliance
Cox, C. Barry; Peter D. Moore 1985.
Schultz J.: 2005.
For the thoroughbred racehorse see Nearctic (horse).
Nearctica, the natural world of North America
Flannery, Tim 2001.
The eternal frontier: an ecological history of North America and its peoples.
Grove Press, New York.
Ricketts, Taylor H., Eric Dinerstein, David M. Olson, Colby J. Loucks et al.
Nearctic (born 1954 – died 1973) was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse.
He had his most successful season in racing at 4 years old, when he won nine races.
Nearctic was retired to stand at stud at Windfields Farm in Canada where he became father of a Kentucky Derby winner and the Northern Dancer.
Nearctic's pedigree and stats
Thoroughbred racehorses
Stud (animal) - a male animal employed for breeding
By analogy, a virile human male (see gender role)
A small ornamental button mounted on a short post for insertion through an eyelet
Screw - a threaded fastener
The interlocking circular piece of a LEGO brick
Snowmobile Stud - a metal threaded piece installed in a snowmobile rubber track
Stud earring for pierced ears
Cleat - a protrusion on the bottom of a shoe to provide extra grip
Shoe studs - a traction device used on the bottom of horse shoes
Traction devices inserted in the tread of automobile winter tires
Wall stud - a vertical member within a light-frame construction wall
Stud poker - a kind of card game:
Five-card stud
Seven-card stud
Caribbean Stud Poker
Studs (game show) - a dating show from the early 1990s
Stud contact system, an obsolete Ground-level power supply system for tramways
Lockerbie is a small town in Scotland that was devastated on 21 December 1988 when a Pan American 747-400 aeroplane crashed after a bomb exploded on board.
The bomb was hidden in a hand held radio in the rear cargo hold.
It had been transferred onto the flight from a connecting flight from Amsterdam.
All passengers and crew aboard the aeroplane, and 11 people in the town of Lockerbie were killed.
The total number of people killed was 270.
The Libyan government was found to have organized the bombing.
The United Nations placed sanctions on Libya, which stopped people buying and selling items with Libya.
In 2003 Libya agreed to pay compensation to the families of the people killed.
A circadian rhythm is a rhythm that repeats about every 24 hours.
Plants and animals have these built-in cycles which allow them to flower at the right time, sleep at the right time, etc.
These cycles are also called circadian clocks.
The word "circadian" comes from the Latin circa, "around", and diem or dies, "day", meaning "about a day".
Biological time-keeping rhythms include daily, tidal, weekly, seasonal, and annual rhythms.
However, most of these rhythms repeat once a day, so they are called circadian  from the Latin circa (about) dies (a day).
Circadian clocks are the internal clocks which make sure that the organism is doing the right thing at the right time.
With more complex animals there is the matter of sleep, which seems to be universal amongst animals which have a brain.
Circadian rhythms do some amazing things, especially in the oceanic animals whose eggs are fertilised externally.
This means the eggs and sperm have to be released at the same time by both sexes of the same species.
Little is known about the physiology of how this coordination is achieved.
Animal clocks have three main parts:
a central biochemical oscillator with a period of about 24 hours that keeps time;
a series of input pathways to this central oscillator to allow  the clock to adjust itself;
a series of output pathways that regulate rhythms in biochemistry, physiology, and behaviour throughout an organism.
In 2017, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young "for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm" in fruit flies (Drosophila).
The actual machinery in plants, fungi and bacteria are different from those in the animal clock.
However, they do the same kind of thing in practice.
A stud in animal breeding is a male animal, such as a horse or dog, that is employed for breeding.
The terms for the male of a given animal species (stallion, bull, rooster, etc.)
usually mean that the animal is entire, that is, not castrated, and therefore capable of standing at stud.
A specialized vocabulary exists for de-sexed animals.
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testes or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.
It is also a type of anaphrodisiac.
Castration in veterinary practice
Male horses are usually castrated, because stallions are rather aggressive.
The same applies to male mules, although they are sterile.
Male cattle are castrated to improve docility for use as oxen.
Barrow (pig)
Capon (chicken)
Dinmont (sheep, goat)
Gelding (horse)
Gib (cat, ferret)
Havier (deer)
Lapin (rabbit)
Steer (cattle)
Wether (sheep, goat)
Castration in humans
The practice of castration has its roots before recorded human history.
Castration was frequently used in certain cultures of Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa and China, for political, religious or social reasons.
After battles in some cases, victors castrated their captives or the corpses of the defeated to symbolise their victory and 'seize' their power.
Castrated men — eunuchs — were often admitted to special social classes and were used particularly to staff bureaucracies and palace households: in particular, the harem.
Castration also figured in a number of religious castration cults.
Other religions, for example Judaism and Islam, were strongly opposed to the practice.
The Leviticus Holiness code, for example, specifically excludes eunuchs or any males with defective genitals from the priesthood, just as castrated animals are excluded from sacrifice.
In China, to become a servant of the emperor, men had to be castrated.
This would prevent them from having sons or having affairs with royal concubines.
Eunuchs in China have been known to usurp power in many eras of Chinese history, most notably in the Later Han, late Tang and late Ming Dynasties.
There are similar recorded Middle Eastern events.
Testicular cancer is generally treated by surgical removal of the cancerous testicle(s) (orchidectomy), often followed by radiation or chemotherapy.
Unless both testicles are cancerous, only one is removed.
As punishment
Edward Gibbon's famous work Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire reports castration of defeated foes at the hands of the Normans.
Castration has also been used in modern conflicts, as the Janjaweed militiamen currently (as of 2005) attacking citizens of the Darfur region in Sudan, often castrating villagers and leaving them to bleed to death.
In some countries, the law suggests castrating sex criminals such as hebephilles.
For religious reasons
In Europe, when females were not permitted to sing in church or cathedral choirs in the Roman Catholic Church, boys were sometimes castrated to prevent their voices breaking at puberty and to develop a special high voice.
The first documents mentioning castrati are Italian church records from the 1550s.
Orthodox Judaism forbids the castration of either humans or animals.
Castrated animals are deemed unfit for sacrifice in the Temple; Castrated men are deemed unfit for the priesthood.
Castration is used as a treatment for prostate cancer.
Some parasitic nematodes chemically castrate their hosts, see microphallus.
Castrato, a castrated male singer
Castration Through the Ages
Questions often asked about castration  by Sherry
The Journal of Clinical Endrocrinology and Metabolism
Neutering NOT Org Website arguing against the castration of domestic animals
Eunuch.org Website for eunuchs and people with castration fetishes/fantasies.
Includes a database of erotic stories, discussion forums, and more.
Elastrator
Boar taint in pigs selected for components of efficient lean growth rate
On religious castration
Susan Elliott, Cutting Too Close for Comfort: Paul's Letter to the Galatians in Its Anatolian Cultic Context  Reviews in Review of Biblical Literature
Anaphrodisiacs
Bullock (in British English), a castrated bull of any age
Bullock (in North America), a young uncastrated bull
Bullock (in Australia and New Zealand), an ox, an adult male bovine used for draught (usually but not always castrated)
It is characterized by standardized procedure (rule-following), formal division of responsibility, hierarchy, and impersonal relationships.
In practice, the interpretation and execution of policy can lead to informal influence.
Bureaucracy is a concept in sociology and political science.
Four structural concepts are central to any definition of bureaucracy: a well-defined division of administrative labor among persons and offices, a personnel system with consistent patterns of recruitment and stable linear careers, a hierarchy among offices, such that the authority and status are distributed among actors, and formal and informal networks that connect organizational actors to one another through flows of information and patterns of cooperation.
Abstracts of academic books and articles about bureaucracy
Kevin R. Kosar, "What Ought a Bureaucrat Do?"
Claremont.org, (A review piece that ponders the values that should guide bureaucrats in their work.)
Scientific Management and the Bureaucratic Organization  Summary of key concepts from on-line course.
Anzère is a small village in the canton of Valais, Switzerland.
It is north of Sion.
It is a popular ski resort, with several ski schools.
Facilities in and around Anzère's 'Place du Village' include both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, two supermarkets, many hotels, bars and nightclubs, as well as many restaurants and clothing shops.
The 'Place du Village' is a person area right in the heart of the village, housing most of Anzère's cafes and restaurants.
There is also an internet cafe, a crèperie and a children's play area.
Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland
Villages in Valais
Sion is the capital of the Swiss canton of Valais.
In 2002, it had a population of 27,700.
The city is home to 28,013 people as of 31 December, 2005.
It is in the center of the Rhône valley.
Sion is the economic and commercial hub of the region and canton.
The older area of the city still stays and is well preserved.
As well as the two Château's, a number of other important buildings are there, such as the Château de la Majorie, the Hôtel de Ville and the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Sion.
It takes its name from the Latin word Sedunum.
It housed the Romans with the rest of the surrounding area in the first century BCE.
The tertiary sector is the main economic sector in Sion.
Tourism is also an important sector due to its historic château's and museums.
Sion has also become an important medical site.
The Sion-Region hospital is here next to the central institute of Valaisan hospitals and the Romande clinic for physical rehabilitation (SUVA).
Finally, the commune hosts a waste incinerator which disposes of the waste from 44 surrounding communes.
This incinerator has a catalytic converter, something that reduces harmful gases to below unacceptable levels.
The heat created from the burning is converted into electrical energy that is then provided to local communes.
Airshows
Public Airshows have been held at the airfield of Sion.
Participated Aerobatic teams have been for example the Frecce Tricolori from Italy was well as the Patrouille de France.
Tourism guide
Brig is a part of the canton of Valais, Switzerland.
Districts of Valais
It has a population is of 15,118 (as of 2004) people (Montheysans).
Monthey is located on the west side of the Rhône valley, south to Lake Geneva.
Monthey is important to Swiss industry, with many important companies including chemical companies.
The city is close to the famous winter sports region, the Portes du Soleil.
Monthey Homepage
Municipalities of Valais
It has a population of 14,355.
It is situated at the language border of the German-speaking upper part of the "Wallis" and the French-speaking "Valais".
This city counts as one of the three official bilingual towns in Switzerland.
Sierre is starting point for the tourist sites of the Val d'Anniviers including the villages of Vercorin, Chandolin, St-Luc Vissoie, St-Jean Chandolin, Grimentz, Zinal and Ayer.
Sierre is connected with Crans-Montana by a cable car.
The historic town of 5,000 people is part of the Brig-Glis municipality.
The name 'Brig' comes from Briva, or "bridge."
Its medieval name was Briga dives.
It is a small town in the Swiss canton of the Valais, at the foot of the northern slope of the Simplon Pass, on the right bank of the Saltine stream, and a little above its junction with the Rhone.
Its older houses look very Italian.
Its buildings were built during the 17th century, because of a single member of the local Stockalper family.
Brig is close to the Swiss-Italian borders.
The language used when talking between one another is a unique German dialect, used only in this canton.
Brig is popular among winter sport athletes, since it is surrounded by many Alp summits.
The town itself is close to Rhone river.
Due to the height, the temperatures in winter often remain below zero, resulting in frost.
During the summer season, heat can be intense.
The wealth of Brig is because of the Simplon Pass.
The opening of the carriage road across the Simplon (1807) and of the tunnel beneath the pass (1906), as well as the fact that above Brig is the steeper and less fertile portion of the Upper Valais (then much frequented by tourists), greatly increased the importance and size of the town.
Brig-Glis municipal website
The Pennine Alps are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps.
They are in Switzerland (Valais) and Italy (Piedmont and the Aosta Valley).
Mountain ranges of the Alps
Mountains of Switzerland
Geography of Valais
The Bernese Alps are a group of mountain ranges in the western part of the Alps, in Switzerland.
Although the name notes that they are in the Bernese Oberland region of the canton of Bern, some of the Bernese Alps are found in the cantons of Vaud, Fribourg, Valais, Lucerne, Uri, and Nidwalden.
List of peaks
Bernese Alps  at NASA Earth Observatory
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian American advocacy organization in the United States.
Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the country and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
Beyond the Central offices of ANCA are in Washington DC, Boston and Los Angeles, ANCA has more than fifty local chapters and thousands of activists, it is cooperating with a large web of regional Armenian National Committees (or Armenian Cause/Hay Tad Offices) in Armenia, Russia, France, the Middle East, Canada and Australia.
The executive director of ANCA is Aram Hamparian.
Armenian National Committee of America website.
ANC of Central California Official site
An interview with ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian
It is  near the valley of the Rhone River from its springs to Lake Geneva, that separates Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps.
The canton is one of the drier parts of Switzerland in its central Rhone valley.
It is also one of most well-watered parts, having large amounts of snow and rain up on the highest peaks in Switzerland.
It is perhaps best known worldwide for the Matterhorn.
The canton of Valais is in the south of Switzerland.
To its south is Italy, to the southwest France.
To the north the canton there are the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Bern; the cantons of Uri and Ticino lie to its east.
The wide, icy Rhone valley dominates the area.
There are many side valleys off the main valley.
At the head of the Mattertal valley is Zermatt, a pretty tourist village dominated by views of the Matterhorn (4,478 m).
Fifty of the mountains are more than 4,000m high, with the highest, Monte Rosa, that reaches to 4,638m (15,217 ft), and there are many glaciers.
The Rhône drains the main valley from east to west up to Martigny, Switzerland, then in a right angle north to its mouth in the Lake Geneva.
After the small town of Saint-Maurice, the northern banks of the river belong to the canton of Vaud.
The main valley is between the Bernese Alps in the north and the Pennine Alps in the south.
Only about half of the total area is considered productive.
The Romans called the area Vallis Poenina ("Upper Rhône Valley").
King Rudolph III of Burgundy gave the area to the Bishop of Sion in 999, and made him Count of the Valais.
The count-bishops had to defend their area against the dukes of Savoy.
in 1474 was the Battle of Planta, a place near the capitale Sion.
The Bishop of Sion and the people of the Sieben Zenden, beat the Duke of Savoy.
The Battle of Planta is a part of the Burgundy War.
On March 12, 1529, Valais became an associate member (Zugewandter Ort) of the Swiss Confederation.
In 1628 the Valais became a republic, the République des Sept Dizains / Republik der Sieben Zenden but the bishop remained in power until Napoleon's troops invaded the Valais and created the République du Valais on March 16, 1798 but on May 1, 1798, the Valais became part of the Helvetic Republic and became independent again in 1802 as the Rhodanic Republic.
In 1845, the Valais joined the Catholic separatist league (Sonderbund), but never fought federal troops when other members of the league started fighting in 1847.
Wine production and tourism are some of the main industries of the canton.
The Matterhorn near Zermatt is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Swiss mountains, as is its sister valley immediately east Saas Fee.
Other parts of the mountains of the canton farther west are popular as well, such as the more French speaking resorts near Verbier and the Evolene & Arolla region.
The resorts on the north side of the main Rhone river valley are popular, looking out southwards towards the Peninne Alps and still part of the southern slope of the Bernese Alps, such as the family oriented resort of Crans-Montana.
The resorts in the Goms region are slightly less known, yet also receive attention during the summer hiking season and the winter ski season.
Apart from tourism, agriculture is still important, particularly cattle breeding in the mountains and dairy farming in the plains.
The wine industry of the canton is the largest in Switzerland.
There are also a large number orchards in the area, and saffron is also gathered here.
The most industrial western region of the canton is called Chablais.
The area is very important for the economy.
There are a lot of factories, the most important are the subsidiaries of Novartis and Syngenta, in Monthey.
In the town of Collombey, there is an oil refinery.
Near Visp there is a large plant of aluminium manufacturing.
Other metal products and chemicals are produced around Visp and Sierre.
Despite the thriving tourist industry, high level of infrastructure, and the many vineyards, canton Valais is still one of the poorest of the Swiss cantons, and not near the rich banking/financial cantons.
A large portion of the canton's land and houses are now owned by foreigners.
A small airport is at Sion, but the main routes of transport are rail and road.
Both networks are large and benefit from tourism.
Many of the road passes are well known, such as the Grimsel Pass.
The longest land tunnel in the world, the Lötschberg Base Tunnel, will soon be working, in late 2007 perhaps, connecting by rail the town of Frutigen in canton Bern, with the town of Visp in canton Valais/Wallis.
This is to better spread car traffic in the highly scenic Kandertal, and also to provide faster transport through the Bernese Alps from the populous Mittelland in the north to the southern canton of Valais.
Cars may be loaded onto the trains as freight.
Valais is mostly French speaking.
The eastern part of the canton Upper Valais, however, speaks Walliser German.
The French speaking population makes up a two-thirds of the population.
The people of the canton are spread thinly.
The largest towns are the capitals Sion (Sitten), Sierre and Brig.
There is no major city in the canton.
Most of the population is Roman Catholic.
Bluche
Saas-Fee
Sion, Switzerland - Capital of the canton.
Cantonal government
Tourist office
Photo database
Conthey is a district in the canton of Valais, Switzerland.
Martigny  is the capital city of the French-speaking district of Martigny in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
It is 495 meters high.
It has a population  of about 15,000 people.
Martigny is at the joining of Italy, France and Switzerland, one road linking this town over the Great St. Bernard Pass to Aosta (Italy), and the other one, over the col de la Forclaz to Chamonix (France).
In winter, Martigny is appreciated for its nearby ski resorts like Verbier.
In the first century BCE, present-day Martigny was an oppidum or vicus of a Celtic tribe, the Veragri.
It was then called Octodurus or Octodurum.
When Julius Caesar was in Gaul (57-56 BCE), he sent Servius Galba with the twelfth legion and some cavalry into the country of the Nantuates, Veragri, and Seduni.
His purpose in sending this force was to open the pass over the Alps, the pass of the Great St. Bernard, by which road the mercatores had been used to travel at great risk, and with the payment of great tolls. (
B. G. iii.
The people of the Alps allowed the Italian merchants to pass, because if they plundered them the merchants would not come; but they got as much out of them as they could.
Galba, after taking many strong places, and receiving the submission of the people, sent off two cohorts into the country of the Nantuates, and with the remaining cohorts determined to winter in Octodurus, which was in a valley with no great extent of level ground near it, confined on all sides by very lofty mountains.
There is some level ground at Martigny, and the valley of the Rhone at this part is not very narrow.
Caesar says that the town of Octodurus was divided into parts by a river, but he does not mention the river's name.
It is the Dranse.
Galba gave one part of the town to the Galli to winter in, and assigned the other to his troops.
He fortified himself with a ditch and rampart, and thought he was safe.
He was, however, suddenly attacked by the Galli before his defences were complete or all his supplies were brought into the camp.
Thus began the Battle of Octodurus.
The Romans obstinately defended themselves in a six hours' fight; when, seeing that they could no longer keep the enemy out, they made a sortie, which was successful.
The Romans estimated the Galli at more than 30,000, and Caesar says that more than a third part were destroyed.
The slaughter of the enemy was prodigious, which has been made an objection to Caesar's veracity, or to Galba's, who made his report to the commander.
It has also been objected that the valley is not wide enough at Martigny to hold the 30,000 men.
There may be error in the number that attacked, and also in the number who died.
After this escape Galba prudently withdrew his troops, and marching through the country of the Nantuates reached the land of the Allobroges, where he wintered.
The region joined the Roman Empire.
In 47, Emperor Claudius founded Forum Claudii Augusti, later renamed Forum Claudii Vallensium to avoid confusion with another city that was dear to him.
Octodurus was the principal town of the area until the displacement of the episcopal see to Sion in the 4th century.
Pliny (iii.
c. 20) says that the Octodurenses received the Latinitas (Latio donati).
In the Notit.
Prov.,
the place is called Civitas Vallensium Octodurus.
At a later period it was called Forum Claudii Vallensium Octodurensium, as an inscription shows.
One authority speaks of the remains of a Roman aqueduct at Martigny.
Many coins, and other memorials of the Roman time, have been found about the place.
The name Octodur is manifestly Celtic.
The second part of the name is Dur, water.
The first part, probably some corrupt form, is not explained.
The town sat on the Roman road from Augusta Praetoria (modern Aosta) in Italy.
The Romans left many ruins.
The city is known for the amphitheatre, which was restored in 1978.
Cow fights are held in the amphitheatre during early autumn for the "Comptoir".
The city is also famous for its museum, the Pierre Gianadda Foundation, built on top of Roman ruins.
Notable Martignerain
Pascal Couchepin, politician,  was the President of the Swiss Confederation.
Martigny Homepage
Cow fights - Les vaches d'Hérens
Pierre Gianadda Foundation
Mattertal is a valley in the Alps of Switzerland which begins on the side of the Matterhorn.
The Matterhorn is one of the most famous mountains in the world because of its beauty, and because it is hard to climb.
The Mattertal is a valley that was made by a glacier (a slowly-moving river of ice) moving down from the mountain.
This can be seen from the deep U shape of the valley. (
Valleys made by a fast-running stream are V-shaped).
Because the sides of the valley are very steep, there are often landslides.
One can be seen in the photo taken near Randa village.
Many houses in the villages are called chalets.
These can be seen in the picture of Täsch village.
In the Mattertal are villages which include Zermatt, Täsch, Randa, Grächen, and St. Niklaus.
Many tourists like to stay in the villages to see the view, to go walking, skiing or mountain climbing.
The traditional work of the people is dairy farming, but many people work in the tourist industry.
It is found to the north of the Matterhorn in the German-speaking and mostly Roman Catholic section of the canton.
It is pretty far southeast of Gstaad, and is pretty close to the border with Italy.
Zermatt is a famed ski resort and is a tourist destination.
Until the mid-1800s, it was mostly a farming community; its name, as well as that of the Matterhorn itself, derives from the alpine meadows, or matten, in the valley.
In the German language, the town is "Zur Matte", or "in the meadow."
Zermatt is a closed village, which means that non-Swiss nationals are not permitted to buy property within the area.
May is the worst time to visit this city, as most of the streets are muddy.
Zermatt is a good place to start many hikes into the surrounding mountains, such as the Haute Route that ultimately leads to Chamonix in France.
A complex of cable cars and chair lifts carry skiers in the winter and hikers in the summer; the highest of them leads to the Klein Matterhorn, a small outcropping on the ridge between Breithorn and Matterhorn that offers cool views in all directions.
Any automobile that uses an engine is not allowed in Zermatt because of concerns for air pollution.
Electric vehicles are allowed for local commerces.
The Cantonal police allow some people to park in the northern section of this city.
Some emergency vehicles (firetrucks, ambulance,..) are also allowed to use combustion engines.
Most people reach Zermatt by train or cable car.
Trains also leave for Zermatt from Visp and Brig.
Zermatt is well known throughout the world for its great skiing, especially Triftji for its moguls.
The high altitude results in consistent skiing continuously up until the summer.
Skiing in Zermatt is split up into four distinct areas; Sunnegga, Gornegrat, Klein Matterhorn and Schwarzsee.
There is also a connection to Cervinia and Valtournenche in Italy.
Zermatt.ch official website
Air Zermatt website
Municipality of Zermatt
Burgergemeinde Zermatt
Photo gallery dedicated to Zermatt and surrounding nature
Webcams in Zermatt
Images from Zermatt
Scenic Zermatt Photos
Ajax the Lesser (Ancient Greek: Αἴας) was a Greek hero from the Trojan War, who was the son of Oïleus.
Post-nominal letters are letters after a person's name.
They are used most in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms to show that the person has a certain:
job (e.g. JP for a magistrate (Justice of the Peace), or
title (Kt for a Knight Bachelor or Bt for a Baronet, QC for a Queen's Counselor
is a member of an order of chivalry e.g. OBE.
The Corvidae are the crow family.
They are all passerines, but unusually they do not have musical voices.
There are over 120 species in the family.
The word 'crow' is also used to describe birds in the genus Corvus.
This genus includes the crows, jackdaws and ravens.
Crows are found on every continent except for the southern area of South America and Antarctica.
Most crows are found in South America, Central America, Europe and Asia.
There are only 10 species each in Africa, Australia and North America.
A group of crows is called a murder and, indeed, they are distinctly carnivorous..
Most members of the crow family are black, such as crows, rooks, choughs, ravens and jackdaws.
However, not all crows are black.
Magpies and treepies can be black and white, or blue and green, or brown.
Jays are often blue and white.
Crows are some of the most intelligent birds in the world.
Crows and rooks are good at using tools, for example sticks or twigs.
Magpies can see themselves in a mirror and they understand that it is a reflection.
Many crows live near to humans in towns and cities.
Some crows (such as treepies) live in forests.
They are more shy than the crows that live in cities.
Some crows in North America, Europe and northern Asia migrate.
This means they travel to different places in summer or winter.
Most crows are resident birds.
This means they live in the same place all year round.
Many crows live in large groups.
For example, many rooks nest together in large groups at the top of trees.
This is called a rookery.
Crows in big groups are often noisy.
However, when it is the breeding season (this means when birds nest and have babies), crows can become angry and will scare off other crows.
Crows eat a variety of food.
They will eat fledglings (baby birds) and eggs from nests, small animals (mice and rats), carrion (dead animals), vegetables and garbage.
for much of the year, crows and rooks dig into grassland with their strong beaks, and eat various kinds of insect grubs and worms.
Because they may attack the nest of other birds, crows may get mobbed by other species.
This is when the defending birds group together to chase off the crow.
Also, on farms, crows will eat vegetables and seeds.
Farmers do not want this to happen so they make a scarecrow.
This is an object made of straw and old clothes.
It looks like a man and it may scare the crows away.
Crows make their nests in tall trees.
They make the nest from large sticks.
They usually lay 3–8 eggs.
Both parents look after the fledglings.
Main species
crows
rooks
jackdaws
jays
magpies
treepies
choughs
nutcrackers.
It has a population of around 7,000 people.
The two valleys are Mattertal and Saastal.
It borders Brig-Glis
It has a chemical business named LONZA AG.
There are also several smaller businesses.
It is the site of the Roman outpost of Agaunum and the old Abby of Saint-Maurice, which has become a famous high school in Switzerland (Collège de Saint-Maurice).
Conthey is the capital of the district of Conthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
Santeri Palin (also known as Incánus) (born September 15, 1983, Nokia, Finland.)
is a Finnish poet who writes poems in Finnish and English.
His first book Elämän kolmio kuoleman syklissä – ajatuksia reunalta (The Triangle of Life in the Cycle of Death – Thoughts from the Edge) came out in 2006.
Palin is a fan of J. R. R. Tolkien and currently he is the president of Kontu Internet Community (or Verkkoyhteisö Kontu ry in Finnish) and the vice president of the Finnish Tolkien Society, which are Finnish Tolkien related communities.
Elämän kolmio kuoleman syklissä (Pilot, 2006)
A small scenic village of around 500 residents in the Bagnes Valley, it is close to the Verbier ski resort.
There is a way to get from Sembrancher to the Verbier ski resort and back for people interested in skiing.
Münster-Geschinen is the capital city of the district of Goms in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
On 1 January 2004 the former municipalities of Münster and Geschinen merged into the new municipality of Münster-Geschinen and On 1 January 2017 the former municipalities of Münster-Geschinen, Blitzingen, Grafschaft, Niederwald and Reckingen-Gluringen merged into the new municipality of Goms.
Former municipalities of Valais
The species is nocturnal and arboreal, and lives in thickets of Chilean bamboo in the temperate rain forests of the southern Andes.
It eats mainly insects and other small invertebrates, supplemented with fruit.
At one time, they were placed in the order Didelphimorphia, the opossums, but due to many morphological differences, they were placed in another order.
The skull's shape is strange, with many technical differences from the opossums.
Phylogeny and biogeography
It has long been suspected that South American marsupials were ancestral to those of Australia.
The two continents were connected via Antarctica in the early Cainozoic era.
Australia’s earliest known marsupial is Djarthia, a primitive mouse-like animal that lived about 55 million years ago.
Djarthia had been identified as the earliest known australidelphian, and this research suggested that the Monito del Monte was the last of a clade which included Djarthia.
In 2010, analysis of retrotransposon insertion sites in the nuclear DNA of marsupials confirmed the placement of the Monito del Monte in Australidelphia.
It also showed its position as the most basal of that superorder.
The study also confirmed that the most basal of all marsupial orders are the other two South American lineages (Didelphimorphia and Paucituberculata, with the former probably branching first).
This indicates that Australidelphia arose in South America (with the ancestors of all other living marsupials), and probably reached Australia in a single dispersal event after Microbiotheria split off (originated).
Dasyuromorphia are fair-sized order of some of the more unusual carnivorous or insectivorous marsupials.
They vary in appearance, from rodent-like to shrew-like to cat-like to dog-like.
This order includes the ever-famous Tasmanian devil.
In this order, most of the marsupials have a pouch on the belly.
However, some of the broad-footed marsupial mice have only folds of skin instead of true pouches, and the numbat lacks a pouch entirely.
There are 63 species in 3 families, although one of the families is probably extinct:
Dasyuridae (quolls, native cats, marsupial mice, Tasmanian devils) 61 species
Myrmecobiidae (numbats) 1 species
Thylacinidae (Tasmanian wolf or thylacine - probably extinct) 1 species
It is part of the Sonoma Coast State Beach, which is owned by the State of California.
The mouth of the Russian River is in the northern part of the beach.
Goat Rock is in the southern part of the beach.
The beach itself was named after the rock.
The naming of Goat Rock is unknown, but many sources say some goat herders around the early 20th century used the grassy, flat rock for goats, because few other animals could live there.
Goat Rock Beach has many visitors.
It usually has the most people in the middle of summer.
The beach is a popular spot for swimming and surfing.
It is home to seagulls, harbor seals, and sea lions, as well as other animals from the Pacific Ocean.
The oldest natural history of the area is related to marks made by mammals in an area of rock about one third of a mile south of Goat Rock Beach.
In uplifted sea stack formations, there are rubbing marks about two to four meters above the ground surface, too high of a rubbing mark for modern bovids.
Mammoths are thought to have traveled here as recently as 40,000 years ago, and are thought to have made these rubbing marks.
Mammoth fossils have been found at Bodega Head, which is a few miles south of Goat Rock Beach.
The earliest known humans to settle at Goat Rock Beach were the Native American Coast Miwok and Pomo tribes.
During the mid-1800s, Mexican ranchers lived in California, and Goat Rock Beach was part of a Mexican land grant called the "Bodega Rancho".
The Russians are thought to have begun cutting down the forests just north of the beach in the early 19th century.
The Russian River, which has its mouth at the north end of Goat Rock Beach, is Sonoma County's biggest watercourse and river.
Just north of the Russian River mouth is the small town of Jenner, and the beach, Jenner Beach.
Goat Rock is at the south end of the beach.
Visitors can walk onto Goat Rock, going on a small isthmus, which is also known as a land bridge.
Blind Beach is just south of Goat Rock Beach, with only Goat Rock between the two beaches, and Goat Beach is southwest of it.
Goat Rock Beach has much marine erosion and erosion from the wind.
This causes about one to three feet of land mass lost each year.
Erosion is when water and wind remove the top layer of rock or mud.
During big storms, there can be even more erosion.
The "sea stacks" (eroded parts of rock) along the Goat Rock Beach coast are rocks from the Franciscan Complex, rock formations which were made during earthquakes in California.
About 200 years to 30 million years ago, the North American Plate collided with the Farallon Plate, causing earthquakes.
Different rock types came from these collisions, including pillow basalt, chert, and sandstone.
Goat Rock has a flat topped sea stack, made of greywacke.
The rock formations (groups) are made of sandstone with layers of quartz.
Goat Rock Beach was voted the second most popular beach in Sonoma County with readers of Metroactive.
The final scene of the movie The Goonies was filmed at Goat Rock Beach.
Evening Photos at Goat Rock Beach
Sonoma County Environmental Health Department: Goat Rock Beach and other beach photos
Sonoma Coast State Park
Sea lions are several pinnipeds from the family Otariidae (eared seals).
They live all around the world, except in the Atlantic Ocean.
Male sea lions have thick fur around the face and neck, which sometimes looks like a lion's mane.
That's how they got the name "sea lion".
Some, like the Steller sea lion, can actually roar!
Of course, these pinnipeds are not really lions at all, but they are mammals.
Like lions, they have fur, breathe air, give birth to live young, and feed milk to their young.
They also eat meat, though sea lions eat the meat of fishes, squids, and sea birds instead of land animals.
Sea lions are also fierce fighters, just like lions.
Steller sea lion or northern sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus)
Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea)
South American sea lion or southern sea ion (Otaria flavescens)
New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri)