PlanetPapers.com RSS Feedhttps://www.planetpapers.com/ Australian bushfires Which areas of Australia are prone to bush fires and why? The Australian climate is mostly hot, dry and prone to bushfires. In the southeast, occasional strong winds with summertime cold fronts can lead to extreme fire danger. Many of Australia's native plants burn easily. The eucalypts' high oil content makes them particularly fire prone. The big areas of dry grass common in mid-to-late summer also burn readily. Most loss of life and property damage occurs around the edges of the cities where homes are sometimes surrounded by flammable vegetation. Varied fire seasons reflect different weather patterns. For most of southern Australia, the danger period is summer and autumn. For New South Wales and southern Queensland, the peak risk usually occurs in spring and early summer. Northern Australia experiences most of its fires in winter and spring. Describe the geographical processes, which are associated with bushfires. The geographical processes associated with bushfires in Australia. The economic, social and environmental impact of bushfires in Australia. Responsibility and responses of individuals, groups and government How do bushfires occur? For a bushfire to start there needs to be fuel, in the form of leaves and/or wood and a ignition flame point. This ignition can be caused either naturally by a lightening strike, spontaneous combustion or a deliberate/accidental flame. Australian Bushfires are particularly severe as eucalyptus tree leaves contain large amounts of oil that act much like any oil and burn very fast and hot. What effect can Bushfires have on the environment Plants typically their leaves and bark burn but many plants are adapted to regrow. Though it sometimes depends on how hot the fire is. Animals have a much harder time. The only animals able to properly survive are wombats that dig under the ground. Many animals die from smoke or are burnt. When a bushfire is approaching or even smoke, any animals such as kangaroos, emus, or goannas would tend to go in the opposite direction. These animals are most likely to escape. Not all the animals will escape all the time. Sometimes the bushfire might be moving too fast or from several directions. Birds can easily escape bushfires by flying How do bush fires progress? There are several major factors that affect the progress of a bushfire high winds (provide more oxygen) · amount of fuel( eg leaves) · low humidity · high air temperature All these contribute to the way a bushfire progresses. These factors then combine with the terrain. The kind of 2007-03-05T05:48:37-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Australian-bushfires-6715.aspx Australian bushfires Which areas of Australia are prone to bush fires and why? The Australian climate is mostly hot, dry and prone to bushfires. In the southeast, occasional strong winds with summertime cold fronts can lead to extreme fire danger. Many of Australia's native plants burn easily. The eucalypts' high oil content makes them particularly fire prone. The big areas of dry grass common in mid-to-late summer also burn readily. Most loss of life and property damage occurs around the edges of the cities where homes are sometimes surrounded by flammable vegetation. Varied fire seasons reflect different weather patterns. For most of southern Australia, the danger period is summer and autumn. For New South Wales and southern Queensland, the peak risk usually occurs in spring and early summer. Northern Australia experiences most of its fires in winter and spring. Describe the geographical processes, which are associated with bushfires. The geographical processes associated with bushfires in Australia. The economic, social and environmental impact of bushfires in Australia. Responsibility and responses of individuals, groups and government How do bushfires occur? For a bushfire to start there needs to be fuel, in the form of leaves and/or wood and a ignition flame point. This ignition can be caused either naturally by a lightening strike, spontaneous combustion or a deliberate/accidental flame. Australian Bushfires are particularly severe as eucalyptus tree leaves contain large amounts of oil that act much like any oil and burn very fast and hot. What effect can Bushfires have on the environment Plants typically their leaves and bark burn but many plants are adapted to regrow. Though it sometimes depends on how hot the fire is. Animals have a much harder time. The only animals able to properly survive are wombats that dig under the ground. Many animals die from smoke or are burnt. When a bushfire is approaching or even smoke, any animals such as kangaroos, emus, or goannas would tend to go in the opposite direction. These animals are most likely to escape. Not all the animals will escape all the time. Sometimes the bushfire might be moving too fast or from several directions. Birds can easily escape bushfires by flying How do bush fires progress? There are several major factors that affect the progress of a bushfire high winds (provide more oxygen) · amount of fuel( eg leaves) · low humidity · high air temperature All these contribute to the way a bushfire progresses. These factors then combine with the terrain. The kind of 2007-03-05T05:48:14-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Australian-bushfires-6714.aspx Canada's Water Crisis-Do we Sell? Since more than 70% of the Earth is covered with water, one would assume that there is enough water for everyone. However, this statement would be incorrect. Only 3% of that water is considered usable and 2% of the usable water is locked in the polar ice caps. This leaves 1% of that water for the use of humans. Canada possesses a substantial amount of this water, while other countries are less fortunate. One of these countries is the United States of America, the biggest users of water in the world. They are looking for a new source of water and have been hoping Canada can be this new source. The Canadian government should accept the proposal to sell water in bulk to the United States due to the availability, the safety and the economic opportunities it would bring. Water is easily available to Canadians. According to Report Newsmagazine, Canada possesses 20% of the world’s Fresh Water. Report also states that Canada possesses only 0.5% of the world’s population. This means that on a per capita basis, Canada has more water than any other nation. Furthermore, water is a renewable resource, which means that once it is used, it may be used again after the water cycle. Many other materials Canada sells to the United States are not renewable. Dennis Owens, the senior Frontier Centre analyst says, “Here we are giving non-renewable oil and gas to the U.S., then water falls from the sky and goes into the ocean and we won’t give it to them.” In Newfoundland, Gisbourne Lake has the potential to drain 500,000 cubic meters of water per week. This drainage would only lower the level of the lake one inch and this would naturally be replenished within ten hours. Canada has cut down trees that will take 100 years to grow back and sold them. Selling our water will not be a loss to us as the water will replenish in little time. The oil, gas, coal and trees will not. Companies have the technology and the knowledge to divert or sell water in a way that is safe on the environment. Part of the Canadian population has been misled to believe that Canada will not have enough water for its residents if it sells water to the United States. This is a myth. Toronto MP Dennis Mills says, “Many people just don’t understand the issue. They have 2006-05-17T01:53:16-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Canada-s-Water-Crisis-Do-we-Sell-6505.aspx Malaysia 2005-05-16T23:24:26-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Malaysia-6164.aspx Impacts of biophysical and ecologial factors (nature, spaitialpatterns, & future directions) Analyse the impact of biophysical and ecological factors upon the nature, spatial patterns and future directions of an economic activity that you have studied Tourism is an activity where a person undertakes travel and being a house apart from their own for at least one night. It affects all ecospheres and the sustainability of the environment by its characteristics, why and where it’s located and its foreseeable trends. The characteristics of tourism is its direct link to technology, and because of this it is 10% of the world’s GDP, as we continue to research the cost margin decreases and other areas of interest can be deemed able to visit, such as space technology. In the near future we will have the option to be able to visit the “nothingness” of space. Why would we want to visit that? There are several reasons why tourists travel. For space it might be the aesthetic view of the Earth from Space, it could also be that the tourist has always wanted to be an astronaut, but was not able to achieve it and now they can, and it could also be because he just has the money to do it! In other cases such as the Amazon rainforest, people may visit it for its diversity of animals and also because it’s an ecosystem at risk, this is called ecotourism. Ecotourism is not a sustainable form of tourism as the tourist themselves disrupt the habitat by; • Making loud sounds and frighten animals that are close by • Trample wildlife habitats • Leave waste in the environment at risk • Putting a burden on the government to provide more tourist facilities which is sometimes coming from the ecosystem at risk itself! Tourist destinations usually have a cultural or aesthetic value that appeals to the tourist. • Las Vegas has her casinos and Antarctica has its intense icecaps. But depending on where the destination is the temperature can also a relevant factor. • For example Brasilia would experience a far more tropical weather than Antarctica or Sydney; therefore if a person who is seeking for a change of climate as well is a cultural or aesthetic value, they could choose Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for its Carnivale or England for the aesthetic value of Stonehenge. • Another category can also be form where ‘sports crazed fans’ join there teams for a grand final situated in a domestic or international region. This 2004-08-22T04:20:59-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Impacts-of-biophysical-and-ecologial-factors-nature,-spaitialpatterns,-future-directions-5764.aspx Tourism- Riding the Tourist Roller Coaster Tourism is an economic activity associated with all types of traveling away from home, for business, pleasure or other reasons. Tourism is undoubtedly the largest industry in the world and generates lots of many for countries all around the world. In 1999, world tourism contributed 11.7% of world¡¦s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Although this industry provides a lot of opportunities, it also hides many risks. Some people refer tourism as riding a roller-coaster because it is unstable and moving quickly. Overall the tourism industry is growing. In 1993, there were only 3,000,000 international visitors, in 2003, it increased to around 5,000,000. Many people believe it will continue to grow. The growth of tourism is mostly due to these few factors: increasing level of wealth in some countries, increase number of backpackers and advance in technology. Most international visitors are from wealthy nations such as USA, United Kingdom and Japan because these people can afford the money to travel. As some parts of the world are getting richer, the more people can travel around the world. In wealthy countries, people can also live longer. That means it is possible for a lower or lower-middle class, steadily employed would retire in good health and with some savings and spend it on traveling. Traveling is no longer a luxury; it is quite popular in most societies. Backpackers are an important part among the large number of tourist; they now contribute $1 billion a year and will soon comprise 25% of the total international tourism market. Backpackers travel everywhere. They may not go to some popular destinations, most of them seek for adventures and to really experience the culture of that place. The advance in technology makes traveling a lot easier. Before airplane is invented, it would take people months to travel overseas by ship or railway. For example, it took you three days to travel by railway from Hong Kong to Beijing. But now if you take an airplane, it would only take three hours to travel. The improved in transportation links the world up and makes traveling a lot easier. Other technologies such as the internet also helps the tourism industry because and it allows people to get traveling information much quicker and it also allows people to book their tickets or hotels online. Although the general 2004-03-04T12:17:21-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Tourism-Riding-the-Tourist-Roller-Coaster-5496.aspx Egypt A corridor leading to the Pharaoh's tomb is ten meters longer than three times the length of its base. If the base is twenty-five meters long, how long is the corridor? The peak of a certain pyramid contains four bricks. The perimeter of each descending layer contains four more bricks than that of the layer above it. If there are a thousand layers, how many bricks are around the base of the pyramid? A clever treasure hunter discovered an Ancient Egyptian tomb after a treacherous journey through the dark corridors of a pyramid. He saw six bags of intricately carved gold pieces. The inscriptions on the wall of the chamber warned would-be grave robbers that five of the bags contained false gold and that the trip back would be impossible with more than one bag. The hieroglyphs also showed that each of the real gold pieces was 1.1 Egyptian units of measurement and the false gold was one unit each. The tomb contained a special scale that would work only once, and when the amount to be weighed was placed on the scale, no pieces could be added or removed to watch the weight fluctuate. The writings warned that if the scale was misused the tomb would collapse. How could the treasure hunter use the scale to determine which bag to take? You are an archaelogist and you have just uncovered an ancient Egyptian palace. Your colleague has translated the hieroglyphs on the walls and the writings describe the royal family who inhabitated the palace. Before she could finish figuring out the family tree she mysteriously disappeared. Use the notes (below) she left behind to help her match Nephat, Samhut, and Akham to their duties (Pharaoh, High Priest, and Scribe). Zepssa is wife to the Pharaoh, her grandmother's brother, the High Priest, has no daughters, one son and three grandsons, only one of the grandsons (Samhut) is a father (of Nephat's nephew). The Pharaoh's brother-in-law is a scribe who has one set of living grandparents; the scribe's grandfather (Akham) has no nephews but a niece who is a mother. The Pharaoh has no brothers, one sister and his parents are dead. Nephat's sister has married a descendent of the High Priest and has a child <h2>Mummimals:</h2> cobra, falcon, baboon, mouse, beetle, crocodile, cat, ibis, fish, vulture <h2>Archaeologist's Challenge:</h2> The corridor is 85 meters long. There are 4,000 bricks around the base of the pyramid. Place one 2002-11-08T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Egypt-5130.aspx South Korea <h2>History</h2> In the early 1900's Japan were the military power in Northeast Asia and in 1910 they took possession of Korea and made it one of their colonies. Korea was ruled by Japan for 35 years during which they made much effort into trying to destroy the Korean way of life and culture. The Koreans were not allowed to speak their own language or to learn about their history during this time. As a symbol of their patriotism the Korean people pay respect to the day March 1st 1919 in which many Koreans were killed or put in prison as they protested the colonial rule. National liberation occurred on August 15th 1945 as Japan surrendered the Pacific War; but the country was soon followed by territorial division. The Republic of Korea in the south has a democratic government, while the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north is ruled by a communist regime. The United States became the authority of South Korea in 1948 where it left a small group of military advisors. North Korea invaded the South on June 25th 1950, which became the start of the three year Korean War. In accordance with its charter with South Korea the United Nations sent military assistance. The area that divides the north and south has become known as the Demilitarised Zone or DMZ. South Korea continues in its efforts to unify North and South Korea, after 1947 in which the North Koreans refused elections proposed by the U.N. Consequences of rapid Industrialisation <h2>Social</h2> The population of the Republic of Korea was around 45.9 million in 1997. Its population density is among the world's highest, and Seoul, the capital city, has more than 11 million inhabitants. Other metropolitan cities include Pusan, Taegu, Inch'on, Kwangju, Taejon, and Ulsan. With such a high population overcrowding is a problem, 463 people/km in Korea. Also they is a great need for jobs and in some ways foreign investors like TNCs have come to the rescue of some by supplying them with some way of earning a living; but they are many problems that these workers encounter. The workers are exploited, they are working long hours for little pay and the women find themselves even worse off getting paid less than the men and as is Asian society looked upon as inferior. Families become desperate at not earning enough money and so they send their children out to work in the factories, even 2002-11-06T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/South-Korea-5118.aspx Environmental issues in England <h2>The main features of England’s ecosystem.</h2> England’s ecosystem is not very diverse, this is similar to all islands around the world, being and island it is unlikely that the ecosystem will change mainly because of the area. Islands usually also have their own specific and unique biome, England is no exception though it does share the Island with Wales and Scotland as well. Though England’s ecosystem and biome are unique they are very similar to that of near by countries. Frances northern coast (Normandy) for example shares many similar qualities to that of England. Ireland and Wales also share most of England’s ecosystem, but Scotland though pretty close to England has a much different landscape, and though sharing most aspects of its neighbours ecosystem, does differ considerably in places. This is mainly due to the difference in temperature, climate and landscape; this causes the ecosystem to differ to adapt itself to these conditions. England’s ecosystem is pretty luscious, with plenty of water, it’s a very fertile and green country, but due to the dense population this has been cut into by roads and cities. <h2>Plant life in England</h2> England’s plant life is very unique with a huge array of flora, trees, bushes, plants and flowers. Pines, oaks, elm and beech are probably the most common trees within England though there are hundreds more. Daffodils, primroses, daisies and roses are very common around England and holly and ivy are just as widespread. Due to the fertile land agricultural farming of fruit and vegetables are very common produce over England. For the same reason grass grows in huge amounts across the entire country, creating a velvety green landscape. <h2>Animal life in England</h2> Animal life in England is diverse, and has changed a lot over the years. This is mainly because of the the huge farming industry which was boosted by the import of foreign animals, such as the cow. This meant the eco system changed. Sheep were also imported and breed to produce what we have today. This made sheep and cattle the most common farm animals in England, shortly followed by the swine. The most common wild animals are the fox, pigeon, badger, mouse and rabbit, these are very common all over England, but there are also hundreds more rodents and small mammals such as the vole and the rat, which are just as common. The cat and dog are the most regular domestic animal 2002-11-04T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Environmental-issues-in-England-5105.aspx 12 Realms Notes Europe I. Small landmass II. Multi government III. Five Regions 1. Western Europe 2. the British Isles 3. Northern (nordic) Europe 4. Mediterranean Europe 5. Eastern Europe IV. Small, yet global power Russia I. Geographically unique and distinctive II. Hugh boundaries and diplomatically unified III. Four regions 1. the Russian Core 2. the Eastern Frontier 3. Siberia 4. the Far East IV. Formerly a strong communist nation, separated in 1991 North America I. Countries within consist of America and Canada II. Nine Regions 1. North American Core 2. Maritime Northeast 3. French Canada 4. Continental Interior 5. South 6. Southwest 7. Western Frontier 8. Northern Frontier 9. Pacific Hinge Middle America I. Greatest contrast between a core and a periphery II. Small-scale, fragmented realm III. Four regions 1. Mexico 2. Central America 3. Greater Antilles of the Caribbean 4. Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean South America I. Realm in which the Iberian influence is very strong, while controlling the cultural geography II. Four Regions 1. Brazil the realms’ giant 2. the North composed of Caribbean facing states 3. the Andean East strong Amerindian influences 4. the Southern cone North Africa/ Southwest Asia I. Large geographic area consisting of many names 1. Nawasia 2. Afrasia II. Seven Regions 1. Egypt and the Lower Nile 2. the Maghreb 3. African Transition Zone in North Africa 4. the Middle East 5. the Arabian Peninsula 6. the Empire States 7. Turkestan in Southwest Asia Subsaharan Africa I. Located within the African Transition Zone and the endmost cape of South Africa II. Four regions 1. West Africa 2. East Africa 3. Equatorial Africa 4. Southern Africa South Asia I. Very defined realm II. Diverse cultural geography III. Five regions 1. India at the center 2. Pakistan to the west 3. Bangladesh to the east 4. peninsular South includes the island of Sri Lanka East Asia I. Wide region extending from the deserts of Central Asia to the tropical coasts of the South China Sea and from Japan to Xizang (Tibet) II. Diverse cultural geography III. Five regions 1. China Proper, including North Korea 2. Xizang (Tibet) in the southwest 3. desert Xinjiang in the west 4. Mongolia in the north 5. Jakota triangle Japan, South Korea, Tiawan Southeast Asia I. Culturally diverse while influenced by India, China, Europe and the United States II. Many languages and religions with economies representing both core and periphery III. Consists of a peninsular mainland and an arc consisting of thousands of islands IV. Two regions 1. Mainland 2. Insular Austral Realm I. Consists of Australia and New Zealand II. Dominated by western culture and heritage III. Four regions, defined by cultural geography as well as physical 1. A highly urbanized , two part core and a spread out desert interior in Australia 2. main islands in New Zealand Pacific Realm I. Consist of the Pacific Ocean 1. larger then all landmasses combined 2. hundreds of thousands of islands in the ocean large 2002-10-16T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/12-Realms-Notes-5049.aspx Lithuania - Complete Report <h2>Geography</H2> Lithuania is the largest of the three Baltic countries. It is located on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea at 56 00 N and 24 00 E. Lithuania covers 65,300 square kilometers and 99 kilometers of coastline. It borders Latvia in the north, Belarus in the southeast, and Poland and Russia in the southwest. In the southeast lies Lithuania’s capitol, Vilnius (Coutsoukis). Nature has been generous to Lithuania. Although it does not have any great forest or mountains, the country is known for its beautiful landscapes. Lithuania’s hills and plains are great for farming. The land is used for: 12% permanent crops, 7% permanent pastures, 31% forest and woodlands, and 35% arable land (Coutsoukis). Lithuania has hundreds of small rivers and 3,000 lakes that carry water from the Baltic Sea. The lakes cover about .5% of Lithuania. The longest and largest river is the Neman. The largest fresh water lake is Kauno Morios, and the deepest is 260 feet deep and is the Tauraghai (World Book). Lithuania’s famous, “amber coast,” called the Curonian Split, produces the country’s largest resource (Lithuanian Tourist Board). Lithuania can be broken down into eight sections. Its highland in the east, Aukstaitija. This section has pine forests, hills, and hundreds of lakes. Zomaitiji, of the northwest, is noted for its dialect, roadside shrines, and local culture. Between Aukstaitija and Zomaitiji are the central lowlands that have the largest agriculture. The southern region, east of the Neman River, is the hilly Dzukija. On the other side of the Neman River is Suvalkija, with large lakes and agriculture. The Kaunas Region is generally flat and farmed, except for the steep hills bordering the Neman River Valley (Lonely Planet). Finally, the Vilnius Region contains the capitol and the highest hill, Juozapine, at 294 meters (Ramunas). The climate in Lithuania is a mixture between maritime and continental. Strong winds blow from the North Atlantic Ocean bringing mild temperatures in the east during winter. The coldest month in Lithuania is January, with temperatures that average from 27 °F on the seacoast, and 21 °F in the east. In July, Lithuania’s hottest month, temperatures are averaged at 61 °F on the coast, and 64 °F in the east (World Book). In 1998, there were 1,635 hours of sunshine, 757 millimeters of total precipitation, and an 2002-09-19T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Lithuania-Complete-Report-5003.aspx Rwanda As the universe progresses so do different societies and civilizations. From the beginning of mankind there have been many positive and negative changes. We have seen uproar of conflict within nations and boundaries. This change has been seen evident in countries other than just the United States, from coast to coast, continent to continent, war and struggle is noticeable. Progress is evident in countries from their period of colonization to their struggle for independence and struggle in the political arena. The following paper will focus on the struggle and hardships of two distinct countries: Rwanda and Mexico, countries in search for the power, recognition and independence necessary for them to grow and prosper. Growth and prosperity are desirable by all, whether a small country or big country. The Republic of Rwanda a small country in Central Africa, located east of Democratic Republic of the Congo has been able to somewhat overcome major challenges. To better understand Rwanda, focus shall be on the history of the country, which will include the colonization era, the fight for independence and the out come of the country. The struggle for independence for some countries is harder than that of others. Rwanda a small country of about 7,800,000 has had major set backs and obstacles to overcome. Rwanda is compelled of three ethnic groups of which only two will be spoken about. The Hutus, who compromise the majority of the population (85%) , are farmers of Bantu origin. The Tutsis (14%) are pastoral people who arrived in the area in the 15th century. The Tutsi established a monarchy headed by a mwami (king) and a feudal hierarchy of Tutsi nobles and gentry. Through a contract known as ubuhake, the Hutu farmers pledged their services and those of their descendants to a Tutsi lord in return for the loan of cattle and use of pastures and arable land. Prior to WW1 Rwanda was named Ruanda-Urandi, a territory occupied by Belgium. After WW1 the League of Nations mandated Belgium to administer Rwanda and in 1946 the country became a Belgium trust territory under the United Nations. During 40 years of Belgium administration, as under most colonial dispensations, we observe the disintegration, distortion or bastardization of indigenous social and political structures and consequences. Until 1959, the Tutsis formed the dominant caste under a feudal system based on cattleholding. In 1959, three years before independence, the majority ethnic group, the 2002-05-11T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Rwanda-4753.aspx Poland Poland lies at 52 00 N and 20 00 E, which places it in the midst of several ancient empires. These empires include the German and Russian/Soviet which overran the country during World War II. One major deficit Poland has is no natural boundary. To the north there is the Baltic Sea. In the Baltic Sea, Poland has three major seaports, Gdynia, Gdansk, and Szczecin. In the east, the border runs along the Bug River which separates the country from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. In the south, there are the tall Tatra Mountains to separate the country from Slovakia and Czech Republic. To the west was the Odra River which separates it from Germany. Another reason for Poland’s difference is its uniqueness in Europe. It’s the only Northwestern European non-Germanic country. There are other smaller countries like Finland, but they are too influenced by other big countries. On the other hand, Poland is large enough to be noticed, developed distinct cultural traits, and develop unique art, architecture, and personalities of the people residing in there. Poland is a relatively small country, nearly the same size as New Mexico, Unites States. During winter, Poland has cold temperatures, cloudy days and nights, as well as moderately severe winters. In the summer, the temperature is mild and the country has frequent showers and thunderstorms. It’s mainly flat plains which give a lot of living space and a mountainous south. The story of the struggles and endurance of this country began at approximately the tenth century. Poland’s recorded history began in the tenth century when the eastward spreading of the Holy Roman Empire found the well organized state of Polanie, which had been developing a separate Slavic culture for approximately 200 years. In the marriage of Bohemian princess Dobrawa in 966 Prince to Duke Mietszko, many Christian missionaries arrived in Poland to Christianize the area. This marriage also produced the Piast dynasty (reigned 960-1370), which reigned the country for a long period of time. Under the rule of the Piast dynasty, Gniezno became the first official capital of the country and a writing system was developed. After the death of Duke Mietszko, Boleslaus I (reigned 992-1025), became the new ruler of the country. By now, Poland had become officially Christian and joined the ranks of the Medieval European Countries. After generations of succeeding Polish monarchs, the country started crumbling because of the constant invasions of alien armies. 2002-02-21T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Poland-4413.aspx Earthquakes in Inda Earthquakes are one of the most devastating natural disasters on this planet. In this essay I will talk about what an earthquake is, why India regularly suffers from major earthquakes, and how the major earthquakes effect the Indian people. I will also explain some of the most devastating earthquakes in India’s history. An earthquake occurs when tension builds up in the layers of rock underneath the earth’s surface. The tension is so strong that the earth’s plates can’t handle it, so they either grind, bump or clash together causing the surface of the earth to shake vigorously and some times cause fold mountains. Fold Mountains are when the earth’s plates are pushing so hard against each other that they crumble forming long ranges of mountains called Fold Mountains. When this shaking occurs it causes and extreme amount of damage. Buildings will collapse bridges will fall and roads will sometimes split in half. Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of northern and western India lie along the edges of two tectonic plates. These plates are called the Indo-Australian plate and the Eurasian plate. As the Indo-Australian plate slowly crashes into the Eurasian plate the pressures build up until the surrounding land folds or tears. This process, after millions and millions of years, has caused the Himalayas, the largest mountain range in the world to form. These two plates will either move into each other to cause the Himalayas to rise, or the two plates will move from side to side which is mainly how all the major earthquakes occur. Each plate moves inward around 5cm each year, which causes the Himalayas to rise around 4cm each year. These earthquakes have killed thousands of people and left even more homeless. The earthquakes affect the Indian people by destroying their homes, families and lives and because most of the Indian houses are made from stone it makes them a lot more vulnerable for destruction. In some of the large earthquakes (5.0 on the Richter scale or higher) planes come supplying the city/town with soldiers, paramedics, food, medicine and tents for the Volunteer rescue workers and the injured or trapped. But in many cases it is being left to volunteers, friends and neighbours, to dig into the rubble with whatever basic tools they could find to find their loved ones. The most recent major earthquake was on January 26 2001 in the region of Gujarat it was 7.9 on 2002-02-15T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Earthquakes-in-Inda-4387.aspx Rwanda Rwanda, a republic in East central Africa, bounded on the north by Uganda, on the East by Tanzania, on the South by Burundi, and on the West by Lake Kivu and Ziare. Rwanda covers an area of 10,169 sq. mi. Rwanda’s flag has 3 vertical stripes of red, yellow, and green with a capitol R in the yellow stripe. 44.2% of the population is between the ages of 0 to 14. Only 6% of Rwanda is urban (live in cities). They produce no oil or steel which are very important resources. Over 93% of the population is in agriculture, and most of the rest are industry/commerce. This is not good considering that so much of the population farms and they don’t have barely any industry. The per capita GDP (how much each person produces, including children and aged) is $440. A little bit less than 10% of the citizens own a motor vehicle of some sort. Life expectancy in Rwanda is only 40%, and infant mortality rates is about 1:10 or 112:1000. The literacy rate in Rwanda is about 50% which is considered underdeveloped. Rwanda has 3 main seasons: a short dry season in January, the major rainy season from February through May, and another dry season from May to September. Average daily temperature is 73 F. The principle mineral resources are cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), columbite, tantalite, beryl, and gold. Large natural gas reserves, found near the border of Ziare are being developed. Three ethnic groups make up the population: the Hutu (90%), the Tutsi (9%), and Twa (1%). The official languages are Kinyarwanda and French. About 65% of the population is Roman Catholic, 9% muslim, 9% protestant, and 17% of the people follow traditional religions. In 1991 the population in Rwanda was 7,164,994. The annual rate of population growth in 1991 was 3.4%. Most Rwandans live in round grass huts in farms scattered over the country’s many hills. Their diet consists of sweet potatoes and beans, with banannas, corn, peas, millet, and fruits added in season. Beer and milk are the main beverages. Cattle are looked at as a sign of wealth in Rwanda. Many Rwandans make pottery, baskets, paintings, jewelry, wood carving, metalwork, and gourd containers.Rwanda has a substinence economy, even though the country suffers from soil erosion, occational droughts, and famines, making Rwanda heavily dependent on foreign assistance. Currency: 237 Rwanda francs equal U.S. $1. 2001-11-05T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Rwanda-3991.aspx Kobe Earthquake An earthquake struck on the 17th January at 5:46 am in the south-central part of Japan. This earthquake was 7.2 on the richter scale and caused mass destruction. It was called The Great Hanshin Earthquake. Its focus was only 30 km below ground. Shock waves travelled to the surface and splintered buildings, roads and mains supplies of gas water and electricity. The Japanese were in a hard to live state. This also hit Osaka and Kyoto. Kobe has a 1.5 million population its self. All children experiencing the vibrating dived under their desks using them as shelters for protection. This stopped falling things hitting them. The plates which came into contact with each other were the Pacific and Eurasian plates. The strong ground shaking lasted for over 20 seconds. Hundreds of aftershocks remained for days after the incident, which worried people. Evacuation shelters opened a couple of days later on the 24th January. They slowly began to realise there wasn't enough so they used schools to store people. On the 26th January 566 shelters had been opened. Some had to live in tents, BUT at night it dropped below freezing point! Kobe finally managed to get their Electricity restored on January 23rd, Water service on the 31st March and Gas 11 days later in April. Schools were quick to open their doors. They opened 1 month later. The damage caused, spread over a 100km radius from the epicentre in Awaji This was the most devastating earthquake to hit Japan since the one in 1923 that flattened Tokyo. That earthquake was named The Great Kanto Earthquake. Kobe is a port in Japan. This region has a 10 million population- this was why there were so many deaths. The port was crippled and could not trade. It had just been rebuilt because it had been heavily damaged during the second world war. The amount of buildings left was minimal. Kobe was reduced to a number of buildings and rubble. Other effects of this colossal disaster was roads torn, highways blocked, ports shut down, swaying buildings, relatives and friends lost, falling objects, homes falling like cardboard, mains bursting, cars falling, trains swerving off their twisted buckled rails and many, many more. In Kobe most roads had collapsed in about 25 places. Some say the death toll would have been multiplied if it was rush-hour. The number of buildings obliterated was phenomenal. One person said: "My house fell down like cardboard!" The buildings were weakly built and 2001-10-29T13:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Kobe-Earthquake-3953.aspx Worlds Population The world’s population is 2001-10-29T13:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Worlds-Population-3954.aspx The Arctic - Regional Analysis <b>Introduction.</b> The Arctic is located in the uppermost region of the northern hemisphere. The region consists of of the area around Greenland, USSR, Canada and Alaska (refer to appendices Fig.1). The Arctic is mostly covered by frozen ice all year long. This region also surrounds the Arctic Ocean. So far the Artic is a naive environment, humans have not yet fully explored the region. But as people search for the resource, more and more people will move into to the area to take what they can, this can tip the balance of the environment, resulting in pollution and destruction of this once perfect environment if the proper management steps are not in place ahead of the rush. <b>Physical Geography</b> The Arctic region is located across seven countries and covers an area of 10.4 million square miles, in which Siberia covers eight million square miles, which is bigger than Canada and the United States combined. One third of Canada is within the Arctic, among it over 1.2 million square miles are taiga and tundra, and 0.7 million of it is the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Greenland covers 0.8 million square miles. Alaska covers 0.6 million square miles. Sapmi is the region where the indigenous people in Scandinavia lives, it occupies the smallest area with approximately 0.3 million square miles. Polar climate describes the Arctic, which means much of this area has a freezing cold climate and covered with ice all year. Harsh winters, low temperatures, and little snow or rainfall characterizes the arctic climate. In winter the days are shorter because the North Pole faces away from the sun, the sun does not set till midsummer and it is only strong enough to warm the top layer of the earth. Three feet below the surface the ground stays frozen. Frozen ground, called permafrost, covers most of this region. The shallow layer is called the active layer, because this layer freezes and thaws throughout the year. In the summer the active layer can thaw just long enough for plants and microorganisms to grow. The thickness of the frozen ground below this active layer varies from a few feet to hundreds of feet. The Arctic Circle is the border of a zone where the sun doesn’t rise at least one day in winter and never sets during at least one day in summer. The North Pole is not the coldest spot in the Arctic because the 2001-10-26T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Arctic-Regional-Analysis-3928.aspx Quebec's impact on North America Roger Gibbons asked in his writing “Canada Without Quebec: Thinking Through the Unthinkable”1 “…could Canada survive without Quebec?” (CWQ pg. 116) Not only is this a question that is not easily answered, but one that can be brought to an even more straightforward question. Can North America remain the same without Quebec belonging to Canada? To imagine Canada without Quebec is like watching the news with no sporting event highlights, a possibility but unlikely to say the least. A Quebec departure from Canada will not only reshape Canada, but will also reshape the entire continent of North America. As the two governments of Quebec and Canada continue to talk about separation, they hold decisively the future of North America. Quebec leaving Canada will open doors for new nations to be built and for other current nations, such as the United States, to consume Canada that is lost in pandemonium. When or if Canada should lose Quebec, those remaining outside of Quebec would be lost in their Canadian distinctiveness and Canadian foundation of life. Canada’s uniqueness is one of multiculturalism, bilingualism, rights and freedoms, and well being for all. With the departure of Quebec, Canada loses one of its strongest identities. Canada is known as a French speaking country and an English speaking country; Canada would lose their whole French language characteristics. However, don’t think that a language forms a complete identity, for it doesn’t, but it does give a sense of belonging and historical background. As stated before, Quebec leaving Canada will form a new nation on the North American Continent. This formation being the most important, for it will allow the others to follow. As soon as Quebec is granted or achieves separation, the James Bay Cree will be the first to follow. The Cree argue that Quebec separating from Canada should allow the Cree from separating from Quebec, much to Quebec’s chagrin. Matthew Coon Come wrote in “Dishonourable Conduct: The Crown in Right of Canada and Quebec, and the James Bay Cree”2, “we Crees feel that our rights and interests will be best protected if we remain within Canada…” (DC pg. 98) Though this would no longer be relevant after Quebec’s departure. Come did say this however, “how can people who claim these rights deny these rights to us? Where is the logic?” (DC pg. 91) This referring to Quebec’s stand that the James Bay Cree have no 2001-10-01T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Quebec-s-impact-on-North-America-3791.aspx The Effectiveness of Urban Renewal Strategies in the Sydenham Road Area of Sparkbrook <b>Identification of a Question</b> Sparkbrook is a typical inner city area of Birmingham; predominantly Victorian and Edwardian in character and its multi-cultural society live in a deprived district suffering from high unemployment and a generally poor quality environment. For such reasons it is part of a ‘regeneration’ scheme and this investigation will assess the success of this scheme. <b>Development of Strategy</b> The aim of the urban renewal programme is; to create sustainable structures of economic regeneration, to encourage business development and diversification, and to find solutions to serious social problems caused by the crisis situations that are common in many depressed urban areas. In order to assess the effectiveness of such plans both secondary – 1981 census detail, ward information and web sites, and primary data were collected. Unemployment levels, annual earning figures and the number of people that are employed in professional or managerial jobs are all great measures of the economical aspects. A marked positive alteration in these figures would indicate a success in the regeneration programme. Social aspects can be measured by reviewing crime rates, car ownership, private amenities and the property ownership - private or rented. The amount of pollution in the area, the aesthetic appreciation and housing density are all good measures of environmental aspects. Together the analysis of these three aspects and how they have altered since the programme has been introduced, should highlight the areas of success and failure thus showing the effectiveness of the scheme. <b>Collection of Data</b> The area of regeneration has undergone several changes in the past few years. For example a modern fitness centre had to be closed, as it was no longer financially viable, this is evidence that the local area is non-affluent as the people are unable to sustain a gym. In 1993 the aesthetic value of the area was heightened when the canal walk was opened. The linear areas along the canal are now going to be protected and enhanced. This is of great importance because the heavily built up character of Sparkbrook results in little space for recreational areas. A high percentage of the shops in Sparkbrook are closed and as the money available for housing improvements is strictly residential the shops that are present appear worn and in need of repair. The area also suffers from serious traffic congestion and so parking bays have been created along Fallows road, however the traffic still accumulates and when the stretch of 2001-09-14T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Effectiveness-of-Urban-Renewal-Strategies-in-the-Sydenham-Road-Area-of-Sparkbrook-3717.aspx Castles of Finland In Finland there happens to be 7 main castles: <b>Turku Castle:</b> It was built in 1280 i.e. It was destroyed by bombing in 1941, but restored during the next 20 years. Now it is a museum and venue for exhibitions. <b>Hame Castle:</b> It’s believed to have been built at approximately the same time as the Turku castle. The castle served as a prison at 1837-1972. The castle is now presented as a historical monument. <b>Viipuri Castle:</b> It isn’t known when the Viipuri castle was built. It is now part of Russia. Viipuri castle wasn’t very important to the Russians, therefore abandoned by them. <b>Raseborg Castle:</b> It was built in 1374 i.e. It was the seat of a bailiff who was the administrator for the western half of the south coast of Finland. It is now used for tourism. <b>Kastelholm Castle:</b> It was built in 1384 i.e. Åland was separated from the castle county of Turku and the Åland islanders were reluctantly subjected to a bailiff. Kastelholm castle is preserved 2001-06-10T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Castles-of-Finland-3477.aspx Caste System in India The caste system, or Varna, of India, came about when the Aryan speaking Nomadic groups came to India about 1500B.C.. The Aryan priests divided society into a caste system with four parts. This system determined Indian occupations. The priests and teachers were the highest caste. The second in rank were rulers and warriors, with merchants and traders third in rank. Last were the workers and peasants who were born to be servants to the other three castes. People could not change their caste. They had to marry and socialize with people from their own caste. This is very different from the class system of America. In the United States class is determined by how much wealth you have, not usually by your occupation. The three classes are the upper class, middle class, and lower class. Most Americans fall into middle class or lower class with the very wealthiest people in the upper class. There is one section of the upper class, which is considered old money. These are families that have inherited fortunes from their relatives and are a small part of what is called high society. In American society you are not forced into one class. You can work in any job to make your fortune and are not stopped from performing any job that you would like to do just because you were born into lower or middle class. Our system is also not based on religion like the Indian caste system is. Another group in India’s caste system are the untouchables. The untouchables are the people that have been thrown out of their caste because of something that they did that was wrong. The children of these people were also untouchables. The Indian constitution has abolished the system of untouchables. It is against the law to discriminate against the untouchables. Their constitution does not abolish the caste system. They cannot abolish the caste system because that would mean they would have to abolish lineages of related families from which parents select their children’s marriage partners. In India people must marry into their own caste. In America, we have laws against discrimination against people because of race and gender. We have no laws to stop discrimination between classes. Most Americans are very accepting of people from different classes, but there are still some upper class people that would not marry into a lower class and people that would 2001-04-30T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Caste-System-in-India-3297.aspx Farming In Denmark Denmark is located in the Central Northern part of Europe. It is part of the Scandinavian countries, thus it has a relatively cold weather all year long. 75% of Denmark’s land is used for farming. Because of it’s export of agricultural and industrial produce, it enjoys one of the highest standard of living in the world. This case study is meant to study the farming in Denmark. <b>Types of Farming:</b> Denmark is divided into 3 areas: Jutland, Fyn, and Zealand. Farming is found in all of those areas. Denmark’s types of farming are: Dairy farming, Crop farming, Animal farming, and Mixed farming In Jutland, the least intensive farming is found. There they mainly grow rye, oats, and potatoes. Pasture land is also found there. In Fyn and Zealand, the most Intensive farming is found. There they grow cereals with root crops, and pigs. Some areas in Jutland and Fyn are also used for mixed farming. <b>Is the Land Suitable for Farming?:</b> Denmark’s land wasn’t very fertile in the Nineteenth century. It had Sandy soils in the West and Clay land in the East. The government invested a lot of money into making those lands fertile. The low lying and relatively flat land in Denmark added to the existing fertile soils, and partially favorable climate (Winter frosts + Warm and sunny summer with rainfall over the average) makes Denmark ideal for cereal farming. Up till the 1870’s, Denmark was a major exporter of wheat and barley. But eventually, it had to diversify due to hard competition. That was when it realized the high demand for dairy products in foreign countries (mainly Britain), thus it started to export dairy products along with cereals. This meant it had to rely on pasture land for rearing animals Today, Denmark’s land is typical for the types of farming found there. The land remains ideal for cereal farming. Pasture land is also found for cattle. Pigs and poultry remain inside a barn all year long. The land is also ideal for growing potatoes and other root crops. Stalinization isn’t a problem in Denmark due to a high annual rainfall. <b>Where in the World can Similar Farming be Found?:</b> Mixed farming: Mixed farming can be found in North America (i.e. USA), in Asia (i.e. Russia), and in Europe (i.e. France and Spain). Mixed farming can be also be found in the rest of the continents. Dairy farming: Dairy farming is found world wide. It is found in Israel, Italy, USA, 2001-04-10T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Farming-In-Denmark-3182.aspx Desertification <center><b>Essay: What is desertification, where is it found, and what are the causes?</b></center> Desertification is the process by which land dries up eventually over time and the land turning to desert. This is common in Africa where most of the terrain is a desert. It is believed that the Sahara desert 2001-04-05T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Desertification-3147.aspx The End of Eden - Desertification in Africa Africa is a continent laden with diversity. Diversity in climate, vegetation and people. A land of potential beyond imagination, yet ruined by mans wrecking influence. Not all man however is to blame, primarily those who arrived as settlers from Europe to colonise Africa about 200 years ago. These settlers caused radical change in Africa. This change spoilt the delicate natural balance, which had evolved over thousands of years. Today the economies of Africa are the weakest in the world, and the desperation of the rural population has also had adverse effects on the environment. The people of Africa must learn not to ruin the environment, as it is a non-renewable resource, it will disappear. A consequence of man’s destruction is the fact that a mere 1% of Africa’s vast flocks of wildlife remains, a horrific statistic that indicates what Africa once was. All that is left are slight fractions of its former glory and greatness. The greatest of all man’s disturbance of the natural balance is desertification. Desertification is the environmental transformation from savannah grassland into arid desert-like land. Many of the factors causing desertification are natural, such as drought and soil erosion, but the effects of man on the environment leading to desertification are plentiful. The population of Africa has boomed over the last century and the food supplies available are dreadfully insufficient and many areas of Africa now rely on foreign food aid. However as the amount of food aid sent to Africa has increased so the production of food in Africa has decreased. This shows that the people are relying on food aid, and have stopped producing food. This just makes the desperate situation even worse. The primary food source for the rural population is their domestic livestock, mainly cattle and goats. In some areas a herdsman’s livestock is a symbol of his status and wealth and large herds are kept. These herds destroy the natural vegetation. Cattle originate from Europe and Asia, and are not suited to the climate found in Africa, nor are they resistant to African diseases. Cattle, even in small concentrations, create cattle paths that destroy natural vegetation and create channels for water to flow down. Therefore infiltration of rainwater decreases and the run-off increases, carrying soil with it and robbing the soil of vital nutrients. Agriculture is also very important in feeding the masses, and is practised all over Africa. Agriculture has many detrimental effects on the 2001-03-04T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-End-of-Eden-Desertification-in-Africa-2981.aspx Costa Rica Costa Rica, a country of Central America, covers an area of 19,730 square miles. The capital is San José. Extending from northwest to southeast, Costa Rica is bounded on the north by Nicaragua, along its 185-mile northeastern coastline by the Caribbean Sea, on the southeast by Panama, and along its 630-mile southwestern coastline by the Pacific Ocean. Costa Rica has a narrow Pacific coastal region that rises abruptly into central highlands. The highlands, forming the rugged backbone of the country, descend much more gradually toward the generally wider Caribbean (Atlantic) Plain. The Pacific coast is generally lowland in character, and, like the Caribbean coast, it is lined with white sandy beaches. The country has made use of its beautiful beaches by making them a huge tourist attraction. People from all over the world visit Costa Rica for that reason. About one-fifth of the country lies less than 400 feet above sea level. There is a continuous volcanic mountain chain (called the Cordillera Volcánica) stretching from the Nicaraguan border in the northwest to form the Meseta Central heartland of the country. Costa Rica played a role in the federation of Central American states from 1823 to 1838 and is a member of the Organization of Central American States. Of the states that have been partners in these two enterprises, Costa Rica is the most Spanish in character and is generally regarded as having the most stable government and economy. In 1998, Costa Rica’s population was about 3,533,000. By the year 2000, the population reached 3,673,000. There is a population of about 4,333,000 people estimated for the year 2010. The annual growth rate for Costa Rica is 2.4%. Currently it takes about 36 years for the population to double. If this trend continues, by the year 2036 there will be approximately 7,346,000 people living in Costa Rica. That means that there will be a population density of about 350 persons per square mile. Approximately one-third of Costa Rica’s population is under the age of 15. This means that in about 10 years, when the country’s young people start having children, will be even more over populated. Because of their overpopulation problem, Costa Rican’s will continue to be in poverty. Costa Rica is a democratic republic. Its constitution, adopted in 1949, establishes independent legislative, executive, and judicial branches. There is a unicameral Legislative Assembly of 57 members who are elected to four-year terms by universal 2001-03-01T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Costa-Rica-2974.aspx Mass Extinctions on the Earth <b>Intro:</b> <li>Sixty-five million years ago, some phenomenon triggered mass extinctions on the lands and in the oceans so profound that they define the geological boundary between the older Mesozoic Era, often called the "Age of Reptiles," and the modern Cenozoic Era, the "Age of Mammals." <li>On a finer scale, the extinctions define the boundary between the Cretaceous (geological symbol, "K"), and Tertiary ("T") periods. This mass extinction is usually referred to as the K-T extinctions. The dinosaurs became extinct during the K-T mass extinction. To examine how the K-T extinctions fit into a broader perspective, please see the <li>The cause of the K-T extinctions is one of the great mysteries in science, and many scientists have proposed theories to account for it. Theories span a vast spectrum of causes including: sea level change, supernova explosions, climate change, and on and on. <li>Beginning in the 1980s, two new theories became the topic of an intense scientific debate. They are the K-T impact extinction theory originated by the Nobelist physicist, Luis Alvarez, and his team, and the K-T Deccan Traps extinction theory, which, for short, is called volcano-greenhouse theory. <b>Details of the Impact Theory</b> <li>In the mid-late 1970s, Luis Alvarez and his impact team began searching for the cause of the K-T extinctions. <li>His evidence of impact was enrichment of the chemical, iridium, in a thin layer of clay a few centimenters thick at the K-T boundary. His original theory held that a giant asteroid struck earth 65 million years ago, blasting so much dust into the atmosphere that it blocked out sunlight, and plunged earth into the blackness and cold of a sudden, short-duration, "impact winter." <li>According to Alvarez theory, the global blackout triggered extinctions among the plant kingdom, and then among herbivores that depended upon plants for food, and then among the carnivores that ate the herbivores. <li>Those smaller animals that could hide and hibernate until the sun came out again must have sruvived and formed the animals that there are today. <li>There is other evidence for this theory : there is a layer of iridium found on top of the fossils which can be found all over the world. this is important becouse there is a lot of iridium on asteroids while on earth it is only deep down inside the crater. <b>Details of the Volcano Theory:</b> <li>Another less popular theory to explain the disappearance of the dinosaurs suggests that a drop in the oxygen levels in 2001-02-19T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Mass-Extinctions-on-the-Earth-2877.aspx Glacial Processes There are many different glacial landforms created by glacial erosion, one of these landforms is U-shaped valleys or glacial troughs. This glacial landform has many distinct characteristics. One of these characteristics is that it has very steep valley sides caused by the glacier as it moves down the valley eroding the sides of the valley by the processes of abrasion and plucking. Abrasion is when the boulders and moraine carried by the glacier rubs and erodes the valley side as it physically moves down the valley. Plucking happens when the water in the glacier freezes inside of the cracks in the individual rocks on the valley side then the water freezes and as the glacier moves the rock is plucked or torn from the valley side producing the steep side to the valley. The valley also has wide flat floors caused by ice movement aided by large volumes of melt water and moraine has greater erosive power than that of rivers. This results in the wide floors. The greater erosive power of the glacier than that of a river also causes the valley to be very straight compared to the valley shape that a river has eroded, it has no interlocking spurs because the shear power of the glacier has slowly smashed through the original spurs of the valley. Just before the glacier forms and when the temperatures are cold enough known as the the “pre glacial” period the process of freeze thaw takes place, this aids the formation of the u shaped valley. Freeze thaw is when the water in the summer enters the cracks of rocks and the in winter when the temperatures have gone below 0 degrees centigrade the water freezes in the cracks and because when water has frozen the particles in the water have less movement and expand causing the rock to shatter. Freeze thaw therefore helps in the formation of the u shaped valley by breaking up the valley floor so that the floor is weakened so the glacier can easily and speedily erode the valley floor by all the conventional forms of erosion like plucking abrasion but with greater ease. There are many of examples of u shaped valleys around the world because wherever there has been a glacier there will be a u shaped valley that has been formed as it moves down the valley. One example of a u shaped valley is that 2001-02-12T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Glacial-Processes-2864.aspx Canada Cultural Landscape Canada is the world's second largest country, and it is the largest country in the Western Hemisphere. It comprises of the entire North American continent north of the United States, with the exclusion of Alaska, Greenland, and the tiny French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. Its most easterly point is Cape Spear, Newfoundland and its western limit is Mount St. Elias in the Yukon Territory, near the Alaskan border. The southernmost point is Middle Island, in Lake Erie and the northern tip is Cape Columbia, on Ellesmere Island. Canada has an abundance of mineral, forest, and waterpower resources. The mining industry has been a major force in Canada's economic development in the past and is still the main force in the advance and economic activity and permanent settlement into the northlands. The principal minerals are petroleum, nickel, copper, zinc, iron ore, natural gas, asbestos, molybdenum, sulfur, gold, and platinum; in addition extensive beds of coal, potash, uranium, gypsum, silver, and magnesium are found. Fresh water covers an estimated 8% of Canada. The many rivers and lakes supply ample fresh water to meet the nation's needs for its communities and for irrigation, agriculture, industries, transportation, and hydroelectric power generation. Canada has four principal drainage basins: the Atlantic Basin which drains to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, the Hudson Bay Basin which drains northward into Hudson Bay via the Churchill, Nelson and Saskatchewan rivers, the Arctic Basin which is drained by the Mackenzie River and the Pacific Basin which drains into the Pacific Ocean via the Fraser, Yukon and Columbia rivers. Most of Canada's people live in the southern part of the country, in an elongated, discontinuous belt of settlement parallel to the U.S.-Canadian border. The most populated provinces are Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. During the last couple years, the Canadian economy has been transformed from on based primarily on agricultural production and the export of agricultural products and raw materials to one based primarily on its manufacturing and service sectors, as well as a mining sector of continuing importance. Canada's economy reflects a high-tech industrial society and resembles the United States, with whom it has close economic ties. This is one reason why a large percentage of the population, live by the U.S.- Canadian border. Another reason is because a large number of the manufacturing plants are located in the southern section of Canada. Canada 2001-02-05T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Canada-Cultural-Landscape-2825.aspx Kashmir: Paradise Exposed to Hell Our group topic: “Causes and Effects of Wars” provoked me to write about the threatening dispute of “Jammu and Kashmir” which has become more threatening after the nuclear capabilities of India and Pakistan. My main claim revolves around the theme that the burning dispute of Kashmir, between India and Pakistan can play a vital role in the emergence of third world war and can act as battle-field for a nuclear war. Due to geographical and social impacts on the world these countries have realized some big nations to resolve the issue. South Asia, a land of deep historical and cultural representations has more than one billion population. Dominated by British colonization for nearly a century, this region contains a variety of imprints of British rule. South Asia is the region that holds evidences of one of the ancient civilization of the world. The unsettled conditions of the eighteenth century provided an opening for the European imperialism in this region. In 1957, British Empire took hold of the Indian sub-continent and South Asia was colonized by British Empire. In 1947, when British Empire surrendered control of the Indian sub-continent, the land was divided into two major parts. The Hindu majority area became the independent nation of India and Muslim majority area became the independent nation of Pakistan. Since then they have fought many wars and several battles that have affected the both nations as well as the neighboring countries. Now as both nations have gained the nuclear capabilities so they are predicted as the battleground for a possible nuclear war. “ If one were to take to praise Kashmir, whole books would be written…Kashmir is a garden of eternal spring, or an iron fort to the palace of kings-a delightful flower-bed, and a heart expanding heritage for dervishes”(Danger In Kashmir 3). Kashmir, with its lush valley nestled among some of the world’s most spectacular mountains, was once one of the South Asia’s premier tourist destinations; now, however, it is a battle-scarred war zone. Kashmir is an area on the northern borders of India and Pakistan: officially known as Jammu & Kashmir. Kashmir is famous for its natural beauty and has often been referred to as the “Switzerland of the East”. “The population according to latest data exceeds than fourteen million inhabitants” (Diversity Amid Globalization 505). The heart of the area is the fertile Valley of Kashmir, which lies between the Himalayas and the Pir 2001-02-04T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Kashmir-Paradise-Exposed-to-Hell-2821.aspx Scottish Culture Scotland has a very interesting and rich culture. Its long history has contributed much to the traditions that still stand today. Whether it be its literature, music, art, food, clothing, or sports, Scotland has a lot to offer. a Scotland has contributed many novelists and poets to the world of literature. Such poets include Sydney Goodsir Smith, Norman McCaig, Iain Crichton Smith, Edwin Morgan, George Mackay Brown and Robert Garioch (Fraser 185). Poet Sorley Maclean (1911-1996), also known as Somhairle MacGill-Eain in Gaelic, helped to prove that the Gaelic language could have traditional expression (Fraser 185). Douglas Dunn and Liz Lochhead appeared during the 1960s and 1970s as revered poets of the time (Fraser 185). Within recent years, Robert Crawford, Carol Anne Duffy, and Don Patterson have created their own reputations as Scottish poets (Fraser 185). One of the most notable Scottish writers of all time is Robert Burns (Fraser 185). Known as the “immortal Rabbie”, Burns wrote the words to “Auld Lang Syne,” the song sung around the world every New Year’s Eve (Begley 115). Booker prize winner James Kelman, Alasdar Gray, Iain Banks and Irvine Welsh are also popular novelists and short fiction writers (Fraser 185). The movie Trainspotting, directed by Danny Boyle and based on Welsh’s novel of Edinburgh’s drug culture, has attracted a cult following like that of a rock band (Fraser 186). Sir Walter Scott is also another very famous novelist from Scotland (Scotland). With music from classical to rock to jazz and folk, Scottish musicians are able to attract international audiences (Fraser 186). Known for its versatility and unique programming, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra while folk-rock bands like Runrig successfully combine rock music with traditional Gaelic music and song. Country-dance music is also very popular among the Scots (Fraser 186). Of course there are few people today who do not equate bagpipes to Scotland. Although the history of the pipes is unknown, the ancient Greeks and the Irish are both known to have had instruments that resembled the bagpipes (Begley 130). It is estimated that the pipes were most likely created by the Romans (Scotland). However, the Scots popularized the instrument be playing it during battle assembly as well as during battle (Begley 130). The fiddle is also a very popular instrument in Scotland (Begley 133). The greatest fiddler of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was Neil Gow (Begley 133). With so many different 2000-11-29T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Scottish-Culture-2597.aspx Japan - Introduction Japan, an island in East Asia, is located in the North Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Asian mainland. Japan consists of four main islands – Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu – and several smaller islands. Japan is otherwise known as Nihon or Nippon, which means “origin of the sun.” The dominant religions in Japan are Buddhism, and Shinto – a religion founded in Japan. Japan is especially prone to earthquakes, as it rests on the boundaries of the Philippine, Pacific and Eurasian plates. 40 of the country’s 188 volcanoes are active, which accounts for 10% of all of the world’s active volcanoes. Japan is a highly mountainous region, with 75 to 80% being covered by mountains. The point in the Asian mainland closest to Japan is the Korean Peninsula, which is about 200 kilometres (100 miles) away at its nearest point, which is South Korea. To the northwest of Japan – across the Sea of Okhotsk – is eastern Russian, located to the west, across 2000-06-24T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Japan-Introduction-2125.aspx Australia The name of Australia comes from the Latin word Australis, which means southern. Since it lies entirely in the southern hemisphere, Australia is most commonly referred to as “down under”. Australia, being a country, is also a continent. In land area it’s the sixth largest for a country and the smallest continent. Australia is a very dry, thinly populated country. Very few coastal areas receive enough rainfall to support a large population. The largest group of Australian people live in two large cities, Sydney and Melbourne. The vast interior is mainly desert or grassland and there are very few settlements. As a whole, the country has a density of six people per square mile. The down under is famous for vast wide-open spaces, bright sunshine, bikini-clad beauties, enormous numbers of sheep and cattle, and unusual wildlife. Kangaroos, Koalas, platypuses, and wombats are a few of the erotic animals that live here. Australia was originally settled by Great Britain as a prison colony in the late 1700’s, so now most Australian people are of British ancestry. The immigrants brought all the customs too, such as driving on the left side of the road and their favorite warm drink, tea. They also speak English as the official language with their own Australian terms. <b>CLIMATE</b> The northern third of the Australian continent lies in the tropics and is warm or hot year round. The rest of the country lies south of the tropics and has warm summers and mild cool winters. The rainfall is seasonal in Australia. In the wet season, heavy downpours and violent storms cause floods. But the droughts that plague the nation are far more serious than any flood. Just about every section of Australia has a drought in the dry season. These droughts cause severe water shortages and cause the need for dramatic conservation laws as well as droughts there is also brush fires. Rivers in Australia are one of its most vital resources. They supply the cities and towns with the much-needed water. They also supply the farms with irrigation water. Though the rivers are dry most of the year, dams and reservoirs keep water during the dry season. Australia can basically be split into 3 parts-the eastern highlands, central lowlands, and the western plateau. The highlands consist mainly of high plateaus and broken-in places by hills, low mountain ridges, and gorges. Grasses or forest cover most of the plateaus, but some have fertile lands for crops. 2000-05-13T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Australia-1946.aspx London Docklands <center><b>"Evaluate the success of the economic, social and physical regeneration of The London Docklands."</b></center> In Medieval times development occurred on the Thames, where Romans had once settled. Growth of shipbuilding industry led to the development of this area. The London Docks were built between 1700 and 1921. The reason was to ease congestion on the Thames between ships, and the lock gates helped to control the water level in the river. Security was also improved within the docks because of the high walls around the dock basins. The Eastend of London developed around the Docks. At the docks hay day London was at the centre of world trade. However in 1967 the docks started to decline, a number of reasons were to cause the downfall to one of the worlds greatest trading ports. The docks were not designed for the size of the more modern ships, not been wide enough or deep enough to allow the ships in. The newer container ships could not be catered for in the docks. This meant that competition was starting to arise form other ports around the British Isles, mainly Tilbury and Antwerp. These newer ports offered a facility to handle containers, with the efficiency of a roll on/roll off system. With the competition a problem, the London Docks now had to battle through the decline of traditional trade that was associated with Europe and the docks. Adding to the problems, traditional industries in Britain were declining all the time. The docks in effect were been suffocated from of trade. After years of decline, the docks became too expensive to run, with the lack of trade and inefficiency of loading and unloading. By 1981, all the docks along the Thames were closed, with the exception of the new Tilbury dock. As the area gradually started to run down, the local authorities and government realised that some kind of redevelopment had to take place. Regeneration of the area had begun in places since the end of the war in 1946, due to the extensive bomb damage the area had suffered. Other projects also went ahead before the docks totally closed. The “Greater London Development Plan” and “Inner Urban Area Act” were carried out in the 60’s and 70’s. However, these projects were never deemed a success, as the majority of the docks were still run down. In addition, those that were regenerated were not popular because of 2000-05-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/London-Docklands-1927.aspx Coastal Erosion <center><b>With Reference to examples discuss the view that coastal erosion is caused by human intervention as a posed to natural processes.</b></center> For many decades the approach to rapid coastal erosion was to build up sea defences, to try and slow down or even stop the erosion. Initially the attempts were thought a success, however after some years it was realised that the power of the sea and waves could overcome human attempts. Only could protection be a success if huge costs were going to be involved. Many methods around the British Isles have taken place in he last 50 years with many failures occurring. It is very rare to find a coastline that shows a decrease in the rate of erosion over many years after defences are in place. In fact in places the defences seem to have speeded up the erosion process. Coastal erosion is a natural process of erosion, transportation and deposition, interfering with this balance could be to blame for the rise in erosion on the coasts of some areas. Groynes have been built out to sea in many areas of the British coastline. Their aim is to trap material and thus slow down the rate of longshore drift. However, these groynes in some areas are been blamed for the rise in erosion rates further down the coast. On the Holderness coastline in Humberside, erosion is taking place at a rate of about 2 metres per year. Along this coast there is a strong action of longshore drift taking place, which over centuries has produced a spit to form on the southern tip of Holderness, called Spurn Head spit. The spit is over 4km long and 100 metres wide. The majority of this coastline is glacial till, a soft fragile material, which is easily eroded. This however is not thought of as the only reason for the rapid rates of erosion. Human interference is thought to be another cause, as a result of the sea defences put in place. A rock groyne was built at Mappleton, to create a wider beach. This in turn would help protect the coastline, by absorbing the wave energy. Then at Withernsea a concrete sea wall with a splashback and boulder rip-rap in front of it was created. These defences were to cause great problems. The groyne meant that material moving down the coast by longshore drift would get stuck behind the groyne. 2000-05-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Coastal-Erosion-1939.aspx Living Standards <center><b>Describe and comment on the criteria which can be used to measure variations in living standards, within a city. What can be done to improve the quality of life in the poorer areas?</b></center< Towns and cities all over Britain have a wide range of variations in the living standards and quality of life. These variations can be put down to many factors and issues about the residents and location. Every town is individual and unique, however a pattern in the contrast of living conditions can be seen. For many cases as the distance from the city centre is increased then the quality of living standards also increases. This variation in the living conditions can be put down to the residents in the area. Looking at the economical, social, and environmental criteria, it is clear to see why people are living in the conditions that they do. Looking at the economical aspects of residents in an area can tell us about things like their profession. Very often criteria will include looking at the unemployment levels in an area. This would basically involve collecting the unemployment figures. I think this is a very good way to measure the living standards to an area, as it shows the percentage of people who are out of work and claiming benefits. The higher the percentage means that many residents are bringing little money into the home, and therefore have enough to just live off. Therefore they cannot afford many luxuries and comforts, and also these people may be content to be unemployed. This shows that they do not have a very high living standard, as they are not committed to finding a job, and therefore are content the way they are. Many other statistics can be put into this category of money, and how much is brought into the home. The annual earnings, number of doctors per one thousand people, and percentage of people who work in professional jobs or managerial jobs are all I think good indicators to the living conditions of an area. Basically the more money people bring into the home shows their attitude to life, they want to do well and succeed. It is these types of people who have the higher living standards because of the jobs they do and the money that they earn. Many people who are unemployed do not care that they are, and are happy with the conditions 2000-05-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Living-Standards-1940.aspx Earthquakes <center><b>Describe the frequency, origin and distribution of earthquakes at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, subduction zones and continental shields.</b></center> Earthquakes are happening almost everyday all over the world. Most of the time earthquakes are not strong enough to be felt by people, but the shaking caused by an earthquake is recorded by a seismogram. These are located all over the world at different points. Only occasionally will a larger magnitude earthquake strike and cause damage to the region. Around the world there are many faults, depending where these faults are plays a major factor in determining where an earthquake will happen. It is these faults that are the reason for earthquakes. The type of fault will also determine how often an earthquake will happen. A mid-ocean ridge occurs under the sea at a divergent boundary. This is where two plates are been pulled apart because of tension. This then allows new oceanic crust to be made in the divergent boundary, as magma rises and eventually sets on the sea floor. If the plates on either side of the divergent boundary continue to spread then the ocean slowly becomes larger in width, a process called seafloor spreading. Mid-ocean ridges are characterised by a crack like valley at the divergent boundary. This crack like valley is caused by the tension pulling the plates apart, causing normal faulting to occur a number of times in the divergent boundary. It is these normal faults that are the cause and therefore the origin of earthquakes at divergent boundaries. When the tension pulling apart the two plates becomes too much then the oceanic crust will fracture. This fracturing is caused by many normal faults happening as shown in the diagram. The normal faults happen because the crust is been extended. When the tension becomes too much the faults slip vertically. They move a large distance in a relatively short space of time, this is the cause of the earthquakes at divergent boundaries. Divergent boundaries mostly occur on the sea floor and therefore the earthquakes that happen at these boundaries are distributed along the boundary. This means that the distributions of earthquakes at divergent boundaries are at shallow depths, where the crust is been pulled apart. The earthquakes happen at shallow depths because the normal faulting occurs near the sea floor, as a result of the tension. The normal faults are the cause of the earthquakes at these divergent boundaries. The seafloor sees 2000-05-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Earthquakes-1941.aspx Internal Structure of the Earth <center><b>What is the evidence for our knowledge of the internal structure of the Earth?</b></center> As we enter the twenty first century we are beginning to learn more and more about the composition of the Earth. Early predictions have thrown up some rather strange and peculiar thoughts as to what is making up our Earth, but now day¡¦s scientists can be confident that the Earth is made up of what they think. As from experiments and other sources of information a picture to what is really down there is becoming much clearer. So how do these scientists know that the Earth¡¦s sections are made up of different compositions, and how do we know that the physical state of each layer is what it is? The outmost layer of the Earth is the crust, this is what we stand on and covers the earth entirely. It is made up of many different rocks and minerals, we know that the composition of the Earth¡¦s crust is generally the same due to the mines and boreholes that humans have made down into it. Mines that have been dug go down and still bring up valuable minerals that can be found just as close to the Earth¡¦s surface. The deepest goes down around 3km into the earth, and the temperature is 70¢XC, the only way for miners to work is because of the air conditioning, and still the type of rock looks the same all around. Also boreholes that have been drilled as far as half way into the Earth¡¦s crust bring up rocks that look very similar to the ones on the surface. So scientists can safely say that the Earth has a crust which is very similar in composition all the way down until the mantle is reached. When earthquakes happen they produce two types of waves P-waves and S-waves. Primary waves (p-waves) are the fastest waves, they travel away from a seismic event. Primary waves are longitudinal, they can travel through solids, liquids and gases. The secondary waves (s-waves) travel slower than the primary waves, and are traverse waves. This type of wave can only travel through solids. Measuring these waves is called seismology. Scientists have known for a long time that the lava, which comes out from volcanoes when they erupt, was from the mantle. The asthenosphere is the probable source of much basaltic magma, this is because the velocity in S-waves is slowed down and 2000-05-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Internal-Structure-of-the-Earth-1942.aspx Physical Geography of Saskatchewan <b>Introduction</b> Saskatchewan is situated in the central Prairie between Alberta on the west and Manitoba on the east. Its neighbour on the north is the North West Territories, and on the south it borders with the United States. Saskatchewan is rectangular in shape--it is the only Canadian province none of whose borders was determined by the landform feature like river or mountain range. The province is located in the Central Standard Time and doesn't switch on Daylight Saving Time in summer. The population of Saskatchewan is around one million people with the area of 651 900 km2. <b>Physical and Natural Description</b> Geologic History--Land Formation, Types of Rocks, and Minerals The northeastern part of Saskatchewan is a part of the Canadian Shield that was formed during Precambrian era and features some of the oldest rocks in the world. The border that separates the Canadian Shield from the rest of the province runs across Saskatchewan from south-east to north-west. This part of the province was formed during Precambrian era and contains igneous and metamorphic rocks. From the minerals found in that part of the Shield the most abundant and the most important for Saskatchewan is the metallic mineral uranium that can be used for building the nuclear reactors or exported to the other countries. The rest of the province, except for the extreme southwest which is occupied by the Hills, is situated on the Saskatchewan Plain which is a part of the Interior Plains that are, in turn, part of the Great Plains of North America. This part was formed under water when the mountains of the Canadian Shield eroded and deposited on the bottom of the shallow seas that it was surrounded by. The process was completed during the Mesozoic era. This part is relatively flat with gently rolling hills and occasional valleys. The most important minerals that are found in this area composed of soft and hard sedimentary rock are the non-metallic minerals like potash which is widely used as a fertilizer and some oil. <b>Major Landform Features </b> The major landform feature of the province is the escarpment created by erosion that separates Saskatchewan Plain from Alberta Plain and Manitoba Plain. Except for the Cypress Hills near the U.S. border, Saskatchewan lies on a plain. Its landscape is not absolutely flat--Saskatchewan is the province of gently rolling rounded hills. <b>Climate</b> Saskatchewan is a part of the two climatic regions: Prairie on the south and Boreal on the 2000-04-26T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Physical-Geography-of-Saskatchewan-1881.aspx Mexico <b>Population</b> The Mexican population is divided into three main groups, the people of European descent, the Native Americans, and the people mixed with European and Native American descent or better known as Mestizos. Of these groups, the Mestizos are by far the Largest, making up about 60% of the people of Mexico. The Native Americans are the next largest with 30% and the Europeans the smallest with only 10%. The society is semi-industrial. The population of Mexico in the 1995 census was 93,670,000 giving the country an estimated person for about every 4 square miles. About 75% of people live in urban areas. Mexico consists of 32 administrative divisions, 31 states and the Federal District. The capital and cultural center of Mexico is Mexico City, with a population of 8,236,960 in 1990. Other important cities are Gaudalajara, population 1,628,617, Netzahaulcoyotl, population 1,256,115, Monterrey, population 1,064,197, Puebla, population 1,054,921, Leon, population 758,279, Cuidad Jaurez, population 798,499, and Tijuana. <b>Climate</b> Mexico is bisected by the tropic of Cancer; therefore, the Southern half is included in the Torrid Zone. In general, climate varies with elevation. The Tierra Caliante (hot land) includes the low coastal plains, extending from sea level to about 3000ft. Weather is extremely humid, with temperatures varying from 60-120 degrees. The Tierra Templata (temperature land) extends from about 3000-6000 ft. with average temperatures of 62-70 degrees. The Tierra Friar (cold land) extends from 6000-9000 ft. with average temperatures of 53-65 degrees. The rainy season lasts from May to October. Although sections of Southern Mexico receive about 40-60 in. of rain a year most other parts are much dryer. Rainfall averages less than 25 in. in the temperature lands about 18 in. in the cold land and less than 10 in. in the Semiarid North. <b>Government: 1980-Present</b> During the 1980s Mexico pursued an assertive hemispheric policy. In 1982Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado was elected to succeed President Lopez Portillo. By the mid 1980's a rapid increase in foreign, coupled with falling oil prices, had plunged the country into severe financial straits. Amid reports of widespread irregularities, the PRI claimed victory in congressional elections in 1985. However in that same year the added burden of a devastating earthquake, which killed 7000 kept Mexico's financial systems desolate. Carlos Salinas De Gortari, the PRI candidate was elected president in 1988. Another thing that happened was Hurricane Gilbert devastated the Yucatan Peninsula and severely damaged the southern most parts of Texas. 2000-03-20T13:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Mexico-1776.aspx Brazil and Andean Highlands The similarities between the societies found in Brazil and those found in the Andean Highlands are relatively few. The Andean Highland dwellers were mostly Incas, found in greatest numbers in Peru. The inhabitants of Brazil were mainly concentrated around the Amazon River Basin area. The Andean Highland people consisted in large part of the Inca civilization (the name of the ruling family, not an ethnicity). However, the geographic location of these societies is not the only disparity that exist between these groups of people. Perhaps the most striking of the differences is the characteristics of these societies and the advancements, or lack of, that where achieved in each. With each group having distinct characteristics in the way of life, government, and labor, this affected the colonizing groups in significantly different ways and ultimately lead to the prosperity or decline of the colony at that specific time. The forms of rule in the Amazon Basin and the Andean Highlands were of great contrast. At the time of European discovery of the New World, there existed very little political hierarchy in the areas of the Amazon River Basin. At most, and this was fairly uncommon, there was a local tribal chief. However, the government did not extend any further. There was no network of higher ruling. This may have stemmed from the fact that villages were scattered around the Amazon, divided by dense forest. The tribal chiefs would make some village decisions and be a liaison with other local villages. Still, territorial war was a major aspect of the Amazon Basin dwellers' lives. This is in sharp contrast to the political system that existed in the Inca civilization. The Inca had a profoundly intricate political system that was based on rule that was inherited through blood lines. There were local, regional, and empire ruling leaders. These statesmen demanded tribute from the lower classes and also force labor upon them, but they did provide services for the good of the people and the empire. The leaderships had relatively few physical duties other than overseeing the domain that he ruled. Territorial war was also a characteristic of the Inca society. This society has often been labeled either a socialist empire or a welfare state. Specifically, the people of the Amazon Basin lived in small villages around the Amazon River and relocated often (when the soil became fallow). They were a tribal society maintained itself through shifting 1999-12-15T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Brazil-and-Andean-Highlands-1499.aspx Brazil: National Context <b>Geography</b> Brazil occupies almost one-half of the entire South America continent, and is the fifth largest country in the world. It borders all Latin American countries except Chile and Ecuador. The 9,170km coastline and the 50,000km navigable inland waterways provide great potentials for water transportation which has not been well developed. Brazil is topographically relatively flat. 40% of the land is under the Amazon Rain Forest. Most of the arable land is found in the South, but the process of land development for agriculture is pushing into the Central-West and the North as well. The climate is mainly tropical and sub-tropical, and is particularly humid and rainy in the Amazon region and along the coast. Temperate climate is found in the south and on the higher lands. The nation is free from earthquakes, hurricanes and cyclones, but rainstorms, drought and frost occasionally cause considerable damage. <b>Demography and Social Patterns</b> Population is around 155 million and growing at about 2% per year. It is concentrated in the southern states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Parana. Almost 60% of the total population live on 20% of the land.(See Table 1) 80% of the population is urban and 20% are rural dwellers. 55% is under 20 years of age and less than 10% is over 60. The average life expectancy is 63 years old. The majority of Brazilians are of European or African descent. Besides the original Portuguese settlers, other significant ethnic groups include Africans, Germans, Italians, and Japanese. The official language is Portuguese, but English is widely used in the business community. The predominant religion is Roman Catholicism. There is religious freedom, and religion is not a source of social unrest. The general level of education requires much improvement. About 75% of children above ten years old are considered to be literate. Around 5% of enrolled students go on to higher education. As a result, most of the labor force are semiskilled or unskilled. There is a shortage of managerial, supervisory, and technical personnel. <b>Living Standards</b> The gross domestic product(GDP) per capita in 1993 was about US$3,000 per annum. There exists a wide income gap, with '1% of population stinking rich, 20% stinking poor'. 10 million families are roofless, while the 12 million homeless peasants seek shelters in peasant squatters in the countryside where land is so unequally distributed. Substantial funding are needed for public housing, health care, schools, and infrastructure. Other major social 1999-12-15T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Brazil-National-Context-1500.aspx The Arctic <b>Introduction.</b> The Artic is a region at the upper most tip of the Northern Hemisphere. The Artic includes the area around Greenland, USSR, Canada and Alaska. Much of the Artic circle is permanently frozen ice. The Artic is a pristine environment, clean and void of human interference. However as humans move into these areas and begin to extract what ever they can be balance can be tipped, resulting in pollution and destruction of the environment. <b>Climate.</b> The Artic winters much longer than the Summer. In the winter the sun never rises and in the summer it never sets. The average temperature for the Artic is zero degrees of less. <b>Industry and the Artic.</b> There was once a time when the land of the Artic Circle was considered useless and only hospitable to those native to it. However once vast quantities of oil and fish had been found there was a rush of interest in the land. Fishing in the Artic has occurred for thousands of years but in recent years man has been fishing the Artic; in greater numbers and taking more fish. Professional fishermen are taking all kinds of fish as well as whales and seals. In some areas fishermen have become so efficient at their job that quotas have needed to be put on to limit or stop the capture of certain animals. There are many mineral deposits within the Artic Circle: <li>In Russia: nickel, iron ore, apatite, diamonds, gold, tin, coal, mica, and tungsten. <li>In Sweden: iron ore. <li>In Greenland: lead, zinc, molybdenum and cryolite. <li>Spitsbergen: coal. <li>Canada: uranium, copper, nickel, lead, zinc, tungsten and iron ore. The digging out of minerals would inevitably disturb the natural habitat as well as the environment there would be a great cost to maintain the site. Industry that is designed to process various minerals have waste products that would be most unwelcome in the Artic. A good example of this is the pollution that has arisen as a result of the smelting of metals in the Artic. It is for this reason that there is very little industry in the Artic. However Russia, Canada, Greenland and Iceland have several small scale manufacturing plants. The largest industry in the Artic is oil. The rush began in 1968 when a large oil field was discovered, there was a great deal of protest but the development went ahead. Oil extracted from the felid makes its way to Port Valdez via a 1999-12-12T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Arctic-1449.aspx Tropical Africa: Food Production and the Inquiry Model Hunger is the result of disasters such as drought, floods, the changing of the jet stream patterns and other natural disasters. They are beyond our control. It has been estimated that one third of the land in Tropical Africa is potentially cultivable, though only about 6% of it is currently cultivated. However, to change farming from a low-input, low-yield pattern to a high-input, high-yield pattern necessitates the use of more fertilizer and the planting of high-yielding varieties of crops. There are a number of environmental factors, related mostly to climate, soils and health, resisting easy developmental solutions. Rainfall reliability is closely connected to rainfall quantity. The rainfall in the equatorial heart is very plentiful and reliable. However, there is much less rainfall towards the outer edges of the rain belt. Periodic and unpredictable droughts are a characteristic feature of these border zones. There are three climatic zones in Tropical Africa: 1. a region of persistent rain at and near the Equator, 2. a region on each side of this of summer rain and winter drought, and 3. a region at the northern and southern edges afflicted by drought. All the climates listed in the previous paragraph are modified in the eastern parts of Tropical Africa by the mountains and monsoons. The soils of Tropical Africa pose another problem. They are unlike the soils of temperate areas. Soils are largely products of their climates, and tropical soils are different from temperate soils because the climate is different. Because of the great heat of the tropics tends to bake the soils, while on the other hand, the rainfall leaches them. The combined heat and moisture tend to produce very deep soils because the surface rock is rapidly broken down by chemical weathering. All this causes the food's rate of growth to slow down or maybe even stop and as a result food production won't even come close in catching up to the rate of population increase; therefore starvation and hunger is present. In the process of a flood and drought, the roots of trees are shallow and virtually no nutrients are obtained from the soil. The vegetation survives on its own humus waste, which is plentiful. If the vegetation is cleared, then the source of humus is removed and the natural infertility of the soils becomes obvious. As being another factor, this will cause the soil to produce wasteful and useless products which in turn will decrease the production. To conclude this 1999-12-12T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Tropical-Africa-Food-Production-and-the-Inquiry-Model-1454.aspx The Adirondacks The Adirondacks are a group of mountains surrounded by many lakes and rivers, that cover over 5,000 square miles in the northeastern part of New York. There are a lot of large tourist villages on every lake. Motor boating and other water activities take place on almost every lake in the area. It is a vacation paradise for thousands. But, industrial emissions from Canada and the Ohio river valley always drift to this area and cause acid rain. This silent killer is destroying these beautiful lakes and their surrounding watersheds. Acid rain has an adverse effect on the lakes, and their surrounding watersheds, of the Adirondacks in New York State. Acid rain is defined as chemically polluted rainfall. It's causes are: coal burning plants, industrial factories, smelters, and car emissions. It's formed by water molecules combining with the sulfur dioxide emitted by the burning of coal and with nitrogen oxide from auto emissions. The result is an acidity level that's harmful to fish, wildlife, plants, and trees. Already, 1,200 lakes in the U.S. have been completely acidified so the lake water is unfit for human use and little or nothing can live in it. Such is the case in the Adirondacks, which are a group of mountains surrounded by many lakes and rivers. They cover over 5,000 square miles in the northeastern part of New York state. It's an area where large resort villages are around the Saranac river and Lake George. Lumbering and mining for iron and graphite go on in this area and it was once a place for major industry. Unfortunately, this is an area where acid rain has become a regular part of the water that flows through it. In recent years, acid rain hasn't really been in the news because people have felt that the problem has been taken care of so, therefore, it's not around anymore. However there has been no evidence that the acidification of lakes in the Northeastern U.S. has stopped or even slowed down. The analysis of sediments from lakes in the Adirondacks has shown that acidity started rising in the 1930's and 40's and has been rising steadily ever since. There are two possible reasons for this. Scientists have been studying the chemistry of the rain and they've discovered that while the deposition of sulfuric acid has decreased in the last two years, the deposition of nitric acid has increased. This means that 1999-11-18T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Adirondacks-1187.aspx Culture of India Nearly one sixth of all the human beings on Earth live in India, the world's most populous democracy. Officially titled the Republic of India, it's 1,269,413 sq. mi. lie in South Asia, occupying most of the Indian subcontinent, bordered by Pakistan (W); China, Nepal, and Bhutan (N); and Myanmar (E) and Bangladesh forms an enclave in the NE. Its borders encompass a vast variety of peoples, practicing most of the world's major religions, speaking scores of different languages, divided into thousands of socially exclusive castes, and combining the physical traits of several major racial groups (Compton's). The modern nation of India (also known by its ancient Hindi name, Bharat) is smaller than the Indian Empire formerly ruled by Britain. Burma (now Myanmar), a mainly Buddhist country lying to the east, was administratively detached from India in 1937. Ten years later, when Britain granted independence to the peoples of the Indian subcontinent, two regions with Muslim majorities--a large one in the northwest (West Pakistan) and a smaller one in the northeast (East Pakistan)--were partitioned from the predominantly Hindu areas and became the separate nation of Pakistan. East Pakistan broke away from Pakistan in 1971 to form the independent nation of Bangladesh. Also bordering India on its long northern frontier are the People's Republic of China and the relatively small kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan. The island republic of Sri Lanka lies just off India's southern tip (New World Encyclopedia). Much of India's area of almost 1.3 million square miles (3.3 million square kilometers--including the Pakistani-held part of Jammu and Kashmir) is a peninsula jutting into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east. There are three distinct physiographic regions. In the north the high peaks of the Himalayas lie partly in India but mostly just beyond its borders in Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet. South of the mountains, the low-lying Indo-Gangetic Plain, shared with Pakistan and Bangladesh, extends more than 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal (Compton's). Finally, the peninsular tableland, largely the Deccan, together with its adjacent coastal plains, makes up more than half of the nation's area. In general, India's climate is governed by the monsoon, or seasonal, rain-bearing wind. Most of the country has three seasons: hot, wet, and cool. During the hot season, which usually lasts from early March to mid-June, very 1999-11-08T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Culture-of-India-1133.aspx Buenos Aries The capital of the country, Buenos Aires is also Argentina's leading city in population, commerce, and industry. It is located near the Atlantic Ocean coast, on the broad Río de la Plata, an estuary at the mouth of the Paraná and Paraguay rivers. The early Spanish colonists named the city for the "good winds" that brought them to the port. Today about 10 million people live in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, one of the largest in the world. The city proper makes up a federal district, and its mayor is appointed by the nation's president. The city is not a part of Buenos Aires province, which surrounds it. <b>The City--Its People and Commerce</b> Greater Buenos Aires is made up of many settlements that grew together. The oldest European center lay in the neighborhood of the present Plaza de Mayo, a large plaza in the downtown area. Streets in the city were laid out according to a grid pattern described in the Código de las Indias, a legal document followed by the Spaniards in settling the Western Hemisphere. The original grid is today surrounded by Balcarce, 25 de Mayo, Viamonte, Libertad, Salta, and Estados Unidos streets. Growth of the city first followed the high elevations, along which ox- and horse-drawn two-wheeled carretas carried freight and which the modern main avenues and the rail lines also follow. The most recent developments in the city are the industrial sectors that extend from the old center southward, such as Dock Sud, La Boca, Barracas, Pinero, and Lanús. The Paraná River plays an important role in the life of Buenos Aires. Oranges, grapefruit, cherries, plums, and vegetables are raised in its delta area. Vacation housing is widespread, and on weekends thousands of people fill the area to engage in recreational activities. The Paraná not only provides recreation, but also links the hinterlands with Buenos Aires and supplies water to the population. The central business district has high-rise office buildings and retail stores. Automobiles are not allowed on the Calle Florida, and shoppers roam its elegant stores, coffee houses, and hotels. The nearby Calle Reconquista is the financial center. Outside the central business district much of the surrounding city has attractive cobblestone streets bordered by large, elegant houses and small shops. Many parks and local shopping districts blend in with the residential areas. Various languages may be heard, and in addition to many other languages,. newsstands 1999-11-08T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Buenos-Aries-1137.aspx Gambia <b>HISTORY:</b> The Gambia, translated from the French La Gambia was first colonized by Portugal in 1445 on what was later named St. Mary's Island. Subsequently, the area was visited by France and later, Britain who began to build strong trading posts along it's western shores. In the 1700's The Gambia was proclaimed to be part of Britain. By 1969 The Gambia became a republic within the British commonwealth of nations. In 1982 it was declared a republic in what was later declared the Senegambian conference. The Gambia stated its independence from Britain and the Province of Senegal. The Gambia then established The People's Progressive Party led by, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara , until the change of government in 1994. Today The Gambia lives under a multi-party system. The Constitution of the Second Republic of The Gambia provides elections by making everyone over the age of 18 pay suffrage. Every five years the people elect 45 candidates that make up the county's National Assembly. Four parties made up the 1996 elections. The Alliance for Patriotic Re-Orientation and Construction (APRC), The United Democratic Party (UDP), The National Reconciliation Party (NRP), and The People's Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS). On October 18, 1996 Yahya Jammeh (ADRC) won 56% of the votes to become the new president of The Gambia. The flag consist of three horizontal stripes. From top to bottom they are: red, blue, then green. Sorry I couldn't get a color print on the flag pictured below. <b>TOPOGRAPHY:</b> The Gambia is a long narrow country focusing around the central river that gave them their name. The Gambia river is 300 miles long inside The Gambia and is about 3 miles wide at most points. The Gambia has a total land area of 4,000 miles. It is relatively flat with few mountains and has an inward sloping bowl shape from where the Gambia river once covered. The Gambia river opens into the ocean at the western most tip of The Gambia. The capital, Banjul, is located near the inlet to the river and is a very large city with many tourist attractions and shops to buy stuff in. The Gambia is located completely within the county of Senegal from which it won it's independence. The river is navigable up to 241km inland. After that point is impossible to further follow the river without the aid of a specialized boat for such a trip. Gambia is 1999-09-15T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Gambia-985.aspx Georgia The state of Georgia has a total area of 152,750 sq km (58,977 sq mi), including 2618 sq km (1011 sq mi) of inland water and 122 sq km (47 sq mi) of coastal waters over which the state has jurisdiction. The state is the 24th largest in the country and has the largest land area of any state east of the Mississippi River. Georgia has a top range north to south of 515 km (320 mi) and east to west of 441 km (274 mi). The mean elevation is about 180 m (about 600 ft). Georgia occupies parts of six natural regions, or physiographic provinces. They are the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, the Blue Ridge province, the Ridge and Valley province, and the Appalachian Plateaus. Almost the whole area of Georgia was forested in early colonial times, and about three-fifths of the land is still covered by forests and woodlands. Mixed forests of deciduous and coniferous trees cover most of the Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountain areas. Normal trees in these areas include species of ash, beech, birch, hemlock, hickory, poplar, sweetgum, sycamore, red oak, white oak, and Virginia, shortleaf, and loblolly pines. Pines which dominate on the Piedmont are loblolly and shortleaf pine trees. On the coastal plains, slash, loblolly, and longleaf pines are found. The live oak, the state tree, thrives in the southern part of the coastal plains. Palmettos are found in areas of sandy soil, and bald cypresses and tupelo gums are commonly found in swampy and badly drained areas. Spanish moss festoons many of the cypresses in Okefenokee Swamp. Other trees that are found in the state include the red maple, sweet bay, black cherry, butternut, sassafras, southern magnolia, cottonwood, locust, and elm. Flowering plants grow in great abundance in Georgia. Those natural to the state include the trillium, galax, bellwort, hepatica, mayapple, bloodroot, violet, columbine, lady slipper, and Cherokee rose, which is the stte of Georgia's state flower. Among the many shrubs and tiny flowering trees common in Georgia are species of laurel, mimosa, redbud, flowering dogwood, rhododendron, and flame azalea. White-tailed deer are the most common of the larger mammals found in the state. There are black bears in the northern mountains and in Okefenokee Swamp, and bobcats roam many of the rural areas. Red foxes, gray foxes, muskrats, raccoons, opossums, flying squirrels, foxes and gray squirrels are 1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Georgia-931.aspx Brazil The name Brazil comes from Pau Brasil. There are around 145 million people living in Brazil, most of them near the coast. The population is growing rapidly and half of all Brazilians are under the age of 20. By the end of the century, it is estimated that Brazil's population will have reached 180 million. Brazil borders on ten other Latin American countries. Most of the northern part of Brazil is low-lying and veined by the mighty Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon is the largest river in the world. The native peoples of Brazil lived in the forests and along the rivers, hunting, fishing, and gathering fruits and nuts. When the Portuguese arrived early in the 16th century, it is estimated that there were between 1 and 2 million native Amerindian people. They were used as slaves, and many thousands died from diseases brought by the Europeans. Recently Amerindians have been exploited and killed as land speculators and highways go farther into the rain forest. There are probably less than 150,000 Indians now. Portuguese settlers developed vast sugarcane estates in the Bahia region, and for 150 years these estates were in the world's main source of sugar. To work the estates, the owners used salves from Africa. Today there is still an African tradition in Brazil. Modern immigration began early in the 19th century. Only about 4.5 million foreigners, mostly from Europe, settled in Brazil after then. Most were Italians and Portuguese, but there were also Spaniards and Germans, and later Slavs from Poland, Russia, and the Ukraine, and Arabs from the Middle East. In this century the most significant immigrants have been Japanese. They have become the most prosperous ethnic group in Brazil, growing a fifth of the coffee, a third of the cotton, and all the tea. Traditionally the majority of Brazilians settled near the coast, but in the last 30 years the rapid movement from rural areas to urban centers has led to a very uneven distribution of the population. In parts of the interior there is an average of just two people per square mile. More than 75 percent of the people live in towns. Half of these are in just two cities. Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. People have moved from rural areas to the towns to seek work and better medical and educational facilities for their families. But the reality has been very different. 1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Brazil-952.aspx Japan: Social Customs The information provided, talks about family traditions, marriage customs, and education in Japan. I think the way marriages are setup in Japan are much different than thus of the United States. Family roles are also very different. In Japan, it is common for newly wed couples to live by themselves until their parents get old. Many couples intend to live with their parents only after spending years all by themselves. However, if the husband is not in a position to support his parents, which means most of the time that he is not the first child of the parents, they don't plan to live with them. With this tendency, the housing industry is prosperous. Increase of the nuclear family is generating a fashion in housing, that is Nisetai-jutaku. The word literally means a "house for two generations". An example of this is: a two-storied house first-floor for older people, second-floor for younger people, one kitchen, one toilet, and sometimes one bathroom. Japanese people love to have a party in Western style, and a Wedding party is of no exception. Almost all wedding halls have a miniature of a Japanese shrine inside, to have a new couple vow their marriage to the Japanese God, as well as many rooms to celebrate their wedding in Western style after the vow. A bride wears a pure-white Japanese Kimono (Shiro-muku) in front of the God at first. Then she changes it to a colorful Kimono at the beginning of the wedding party, then again to a beautiful Western-style in the middle of the party and finally to a pure-white wedding dress (Western-style). Changing clothes in the middle of the party is called oiro-naoshi. However, recently some people prefer the tendency of simplification, so they choose the way in simple styles, sometimes without oiro-naoshi or even without the party itself. Of course, there also exist people who love to have their wedding party even in a bigger way. Japan's school-age children attend school regularly. Attendance is required through the lower level of secondary school. Children begin nursery school when they are about three. At six, they begin elementary school at twelve, middle school. Any student who has completed middle school may enroll in high school, which offers either a technical or a college preparatory course of instruction. Japanese students, especially those who plan to attend college, take entrance examinations in order to qualify for the best middle 1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Japan-Social-Customs-855.aspx Melbourne, Australia Melbourne, one of the most beautiful city's in the world. I have traveled through the USA, Canada & the Bahamas, and still, I find Melbourne is the greatest. In 1981 I was born in a New South Wales mid-coast town of Port Macquarie. I lived there until I was the age of four, and that's when we made the move to Victoria. I grew up in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, not far from the actual city. Most of my family lived there, and was the main cause for the move. I went to school and met lots of friends. Nearly every night my friends and I would get together and go to the local car park and roller-blade for a few hours before going to 7-11 for a Slurpee. I look back at those days, and see how Melbourne was in the 80's and early 90's. Old buildings and great friendly people. Still, Melbourne has all of this, as well as new developments, such as new multi-million dollar entertainment complex's. Over the past 5 years, Melbourne have brought us the all new Exhibition Building and of course, the Crown Casino. This was a great move for the Kennett government, as it proved to be successful with the un-employment problem. It didn't stop the problem, but it sure did help it. The casino complex is not only for gambling, it is also a great place for teenager's to go the movies or even the special area for arcade games, sort of a side show alley. Crown also contains 2 nightclubs and is host to many international bands. In 1997, the decision was made to start construction of the Docklands stadium, for football and cricket, much bigger then the MCG. Construction is underway and it should be complete in the year 2000. As well as all these new constructions, Melbourne is home to a lot of well known events. The Ford Australian Tennis Open, is one of the biggest with thousands of international visitors annually. Biggest of them all, has got to be the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. It was only a few years ago that Melbourne got this wonderful event, as it used to be held in the streets of Adelaide. It is now located along the banks of Albert Park Lake. Moomba is an event which every Victorian, cant wait for. Its an annual event, held at the same time as 1999-06-05T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Melbourne,-Australia-706.aspx Atlantis: We Will Never Know Fantasy is a tough sell in the twentieth century. The world has been fully discovered and fully mapped. Popular media has effectively minimized the legend and the fantastic rumor, though to make up for this it has generated falsities not as lavish but just as interesting. Satellites have mapped and studied the earth, leaving only a space frontier that is as yet unreachable. But standing out is a charming fantasy the modern world has yet to verify or condemn: the lost continent of Atlantis. The father of the modern world's perception of Atlantis is Plato (circa 428-circa 347 b.c.). The Greek philosopher spoke in his works Timaeus and Critias of a continent in the Atlantic ocean larger than Africa and Asia Minor combined which rivaled Athens as the most advanced in the world. According to the legend surrounding Plato's dialogues, the island of Atlantis was violently thrown into the sea by the forces of nature, and its few survivors managed to swim ashore and relate their story. There the legend was passed by word of mouth until an Egyptian priest related the story to Solon, a character in Timaeus. The priest admired the achievements of prehistoric Athenians, because when the rulers of Atlantis threatened to invade all of Europe and Asia the Athenians, on behalf of all Greeks, defeated the Atlanteans to avoid enslavement. The works of Plato opened the floodgates to endless speculation on whether the continent described was fact or fiction. Atlantis has since been placed in Spain, Mongolia, Palestine, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Brazil, Sweden, Greenland and Yucatan. Every nook and cranny of the globe has been hypothesized; mountain peaks, desert lands, the ocean floor and even the barren wasteland of Antarctica have been mentioned in theories. While some of these theories are compatible with Plato's works and are within relative reason, numerous crackpot theories have been developed using the lost continent as a basis. One of these theories, posted on the computer internet where it has access to over fifteen million people, talks in twenty-one pages of pre-historical lands with names like Oz and Luxor. These world wide web pages list over two hundred separate articles of proof for the existence of Atlantis, as in the following: "Most all ancient civilizations believed in the TITANS, the race of giant humans that inhabited Earth long ago. Different races knew them by different names. These 7 to 12 foot humanoids were 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Atlantis-We-Will-Never-Know-249.aspx Benin Benin, independent nation of W Africa, formerly called Dahomey. Once a French protectorate, it is a country of 40 ethnic tribal groups and a low-level economy. <b>Land and Economy</b> Located in the bulge on the S side of W Africa, Benin is bordered by Nigeria, Toga, Berkina Faso, and Niger, with 75 mi (121km) on the Gulf of Guinea. The coast is hot and humid, and there are two rainy and two dry seasons; average annual rainfall is 32in (813mm). Benin has three plateaus, one fertile, another of bare rocks, and a third with streams flowing to the Volta and Niger rivers and including the Atakora range. The E section is a plain. Subsistence agriculture is the economic base. Palm products and cotton account for half of export revenues. <b>People</b> The leading class in Benin is composed of male-line descendants of the Aja (Fons, or Dahomey) who had established the early kingdom. Trained for civil service by the French, they are the best educated; literacy is 25% among school-age children. In the N are the nomadic Fulani and the Somba tribe, hunters with no political organization; E are Baribas. 90% of the population is rural, and 65% practices animist religion. French is the common language. <b>Government</b> Benin has been under military rule since 1970. The constitution of 1977 instituted a national assembly, whose members belong to the sole legal political party, the Benin People's Revolutionary Party. <b>History</b> Benin's history dates back to three principalities-Allada, Porto-Novo, and Dahomey-in the S area who were being pushed by the N Kingdom of Abomey in the 16th century. Dahomey was the most aggressive, pushing N and selling slaves. In 1863 the king of Porto-Novo sought French protection. By 1892 France had subjugated all groups and made them protectorates as part of French West Africa. In 1960 the country became independent as Dahomey. The official name was changed to Benin in 1976. Economic and regional rivalries have caused numerous military coup d'‚tats and changes of government since 1960. The Marxist-Leninist military government in power since 1972, led by Brig. Gen. Mathieu Kerekou, relaxed its authority somewhat during the late 1970s and improved relations with France. Benin became the center of an international environmental controversy in 1988 when it became known that European nations planned to dump toxic wastes there. <b>Profile</b> <li>Official name: People's Republic of Benin <li>Area: 43,483sq mi (112,621sq km) <li>Population: 4,663,832 <li>Density: 107.3per sq mi (41.4per sq km) <li>Chief cities: Porto-Novo (capital); <li>Cotonou Government: Military <li>Religion: Animist, Christian, and 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Benin-250.aspx What I know about China China is located around Mongolia, Russia, Nepal, Laos, East China Sea, South China Sea, and Myanmar. A better described location would be Southeast of Asia. I know that the people who live in China speak Chinese. Some of my opionions on China are that they make cheap goods that fall apart in a week. The pencils you get that says "made in China," the erasers 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/What-I-know-about-China-251.aspx The Trip to The New England Colonies My trip started off with the 30 day voyage across the mighty Atlantic. Not knowing that I would be sent to the well established colony of Jamestown. I would be staying with the average family. They are to let me stay on account of rent from my publisher in England. My renter, a well developed man. He runs a silversmith shop. He is also an artist. I am sure he will show me pieces of his work. His wife, a very friendly lady from the reports. She is half Indian. They have 2 sons. Both well built and are very courteous. They are young adults. So far in day 12 of my 30 day voyage I don't have any sickness symptoms. I had seen many people eating rotten food and not knowing it. I was afraid so I ate as little as possible. I knew I could make it. Finally day 28 had reached. I was excited to be off the coast of Jamestown. I figured that by the time we reached at the dock that we would be in for the treat of fresh food. The water on board is yellow and it stinks. The food is growing this so called hair. It was nasty to eat but we had nothing else. It was past midnight and I cant sleep due to the crowded floors. I hear a voice, "I heard we've reached the point." I began to get excited and over whelmed. I finally could eat something fresh. I ran up to the deck not knowing that the captain wasn't in his cabin. He looked up to the guy on the Crow's nest. He said, "Sir I see land." I never think it would happen. I made it. The sun was beginning to come out and light began to reveal land. I could see the fort but it was a faint view. I see the people at the coast line waving and happy to see the passengers. I couldn't tell who I was to accommodate with but I thought I had an idea. There was a nice family standing in the far left. I think that they new what I looked like. After a week had gone by I got used to the living. I helped out with my share of chores and in the shop. I helped out with the boys studying. I didn't know that here they 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Trip-to-The-New-England-Colonies-252.aspx Holiday on Mackinaw Island <i>Audience: Vacation Takers, Recommended for Over 20 Years Old</i> Although Mackinaw Island is very small, it is very beautiful and has lots of exciting activities, such as bicycling, horseback riding, buggy riding, and fudge shopping. Mackinaw Island is located in the upper part of Michigan between Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. It makes a perfect place for a quick getaway. The tourist season runs from mid-May to mid-October. The Island, being only 8.2 miles around, looks like a small old-fashioned town. Mackinaw Island is usually packed with people making the main road look narrow. Often fifty bicycles or more are parked on both sides of the road every 300 feet. People are walking in every direction. Horses walk on the right side of the street and horse buggies wait to pick up passengers. The place looks very congested and it doesn't look like an enjoyable vacation spot but a little farther away from the downtown area peace and beauty exists. Mackinaw Island has beautiful scenery. One unique place, the Arch Rock, looks very neat. It towers above the tourists. The rock has a huge round hole carved in it making it resemble like a donut hole. It is about fifteen to twenty feet in diameter. Through the hole, tourists can only see the bicycle path and Lake View. The lake has clear blue water. One of the other attractive places it has is the butterfly house. Hundreds of butterflies fly around the house. When they get tired, they sit on one of the wire fences. They are in every size and color. Some of them look like ladybugs and others look like zebras with black and white stripes. Mackinaw Island has lots of activities to do from riding bicycles to horse carriage tours. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the Island. One of the exciting activities the Island has is the bicycle riding, which is different from other bicycle rides because it is around the shoreline. The bicycle path is seven miles around the shoreline road. The path is very peaceful, unlike the Island's downtown area. Signs on brown boards on the left side of the road describe the next upcoming scenery. Wherever there is scenery to view there is a special parking place for the bicycles. When tourists get tired while riding bicycles they can just pull over on the side and sit along the lake and enjoy the sun 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Holiday-on-Mackinaw-Island-254.aspx Madagascar: The Exotic Island Looking at a map of the southern hemisphere, one wouldn't expect such a seemingly "small" island to be so exotic and bountiful, but the island of Madagascar is just that. A 226,658 square mile (587,041 square kilometers) piece of land, with a a coastline of about 2,480 miles (3,990 kilometers), it's a beautiful and different view of its large neighbor, Africa. The island itself is made up of ridges, rivers, valleys, and tropical forests sectioning off the different regions of the landscape, scattered trees and tall grasses to one side, narrow coastal plains, and low plataeus and plains off to another. To the north is Mt. Maromokotro, the highest peak on the island at 9,436 feet (2,876 meters). Coral beaches line the east coast, adding to the natural beauty of the already lovely landscape. The tropical climate provides varying amounts of rainfall-from 83 inches (211 centimeters) in the northwest to 14 inches (36 centimeters) in the southwest. The drought-infested south is extremely hot and dry, and the west is hot and wet. Indian Ocean cyclones bring periodic heavy rains and destructive floods. Once covered by forests, most of the island now has a savannah-steppe vegetation with a few forests in the west and evergreen forests on the eastern edge of the central plateau. An interesting climate for such a unique place. The animals there are also different and the likes of which not found anywhere else; not even in Africa. 50 species of lemurs inhabit the island, as well as 800 different types of butterflies. Though near the once-dubbed "Dark Continent", the species and vegitation seem to have remnants of Eastern India, proof perhaps that the island is a breakaway of the decidedly larger continent of Asia. The peoples of the large island are as diverse as the wildlife, ranging from the Malagasy to the French, several native groups mixing with those of foreign origins. The population in itself has near doubled since 1950, 80 percent, mostly rural. Malagasy and French are the officials languages of the island, with Christians (both Roman Catholic and Protestent) making up the most of the religious groups. Half still follow traditional ways, however. Education is free to all citizens of Madagascar ranging in age from 6 to 14. However, some tend to skip school and go straight to work. This is especially common in the rural areas. Most hospitals are concentrated in urban areas, but they are very 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Madagascar-The-Exotic-Island-255.aspx Egypt: The Gift of the Nile The Nile, is the longest river in the world, and is located in northeastern Africa. Its principal source is Lake Victoria, in east central Africa. The Nile flows north through Uganda, Sudan, and Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, with a total distance of 5584 km. From its remotest headstream in Burundi, the river is 6671 km long. The river basin covers an area of more than 3,349,000 sq km. Not only is the Nile considered a wonder by Herodotus, but by people all over the world, due to its impotance to the growth of a civilization. The first great African civilization developed in the northern Nile Valley in about 5000 BC. Dependent on agriculture, this state, called Egypt, relied on the flooding of the Nile for irrigation and new soils. It dominated vast areas of northeastern Africa for millennia. Ruled by Egypt for about 1800 years, the Kush region of northern Sudan subjugated Egypt in the 8th century BC. Pyramids, temples, and other monuments of these civilizations blanket the river valley in Egypt and northern Sudan. To Egypt, the Nile is seen as the fountain of life. Every year, between the months of June and October, the great rivers of the Nile rush north, and flood the highlands of Etiopia. The flooding surges of the land, and leaves behind water for the people, and fertile land, which can be used for agriculture. The impact the Nile has on Egypt during the ancient times and present are consierably apparent. The influence the Nile has is so extensive, that even the speech is transposed. For example, "To go north" in the Egyption language is the same as, "to go down stream"; "to go south" the same as "to go upstream." Also, the term for a "foreign country" in Egypt would be used as "highland" or "desert", because the only mountains or deserts would be far away, and foreign to them. The Nile certainly had an exceptional influence on Egypts, both lifestyle and thinking. The Nile also forced a change on the political system and ruling in Egypt. Because of the vast floods every year, the country needed a ruler that was capable of enforcing of the farmings and methods used. Such as the hoarding of the water and the stocking of the food harvested. Second, only a stongly cetralized administration could manafe the economy properly. To Egypts benefit, they lived in a fairly isolated area, 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Egypt-The-Gift-of-the-Nile-329.aspx