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df7c83d6950f5770dab1a36375824357 | https://www.britannica.com/place/France/The-Wars-of-Religion | The Wars of Religion | The Wars of Religion
Guise’s forces occupied Paris and took control of the royal family while the Huguenots rose in the provinces, and their two commanders—Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé, and Admiral Gaspard II de Coligny—established headquarters at Orléans. The deaths of the opposing leaders—the Protestant Anthony of Bourbon, king consort of Navarra, and the Catholic marshal Jacques d’Albon, seigneur de Saint-André—and the capture of Condé caused both sides to seek peace. After the Battle of Dreux (December 1562) the war drew to a close, despite the assassination of the duc de Guise by a Protestant fanatic. A compromise was reached at the Peace of Amboise in March 1563: liberty of conscience was granted to the Huguenots, but the celebration of religious services was confined to the households of the nobility and to a limited number of towns.
The second war was precipitated by Huguenot fears of an international Catholic plot. Condé and Coligny were persuaded to attempt a coup to capture Catherine and Charles IX at Meaux in September 1567 and to seek military aid from the Protestant Palatinate. In the following brief war, the Catholic constable Anne, duc de Montmorency, was killed at the Battle of Saint-Denis (November 1567). The Peace of Longjumeau (March 1568) signaled another effort at compromise. This peace, however, proved little more than a truce; a third war soon broke out in September 1568. In an attempt to restore their authority, Catherine and King Charles dismissed L’Hospital in September and restored the Guise faction to favour. The edicts of pacification were rescinded; Calvinist preachers faced expulsion from France, and plans were made to seize Condé and Coligny. The former was killed at the Battle of Jarnac (1569), and the Huguenots were again defeated in that year at Moncontour. But the Catholic side failed to consolidate its successes, and yet another compromise was arranged at the Peace of Saint-Germain in August 1570.
Coligny subsequently regained the king’s favour but not the queen mother’s, and he remained an object of hatred with the Guises. In 1572 he was murdered. At the same time, some 3,000 Huguenots who gathered in Paris to celebrate the marriage of Margaret of Valois (later Margaret of France) to Condé’s nephew, Henry IV of Navarra, were massacred on the eve of the feast day of St. Bartholomew, and several thousand more perished in massacres in provincial cities. This notorious episode was the signal for the fifth civil war, which ended in 1576 with the Peace of Monsieur, allowing the Huguenots freedom of worship outside Paris. Opposition to these concessions inspired the creation of the Holy League, or Catholic League. Local Catholic unions or leagues had begun to appear in the 1560s, headed by nobles and prelates. In 1576, after the Peace of Monsieur with its concessions to the Huguenots, these local leagues were fused into a national organization. The league was headed by the Guise family and looked to Philip II of Spain for material aid. It sought, like the Protestants, to attract mass support; its clandestine organization was built around the house of Guise rather than the monarchy, from which it was increasingly alienated. In 1577 King Henry III (reigned 1574–89) tried to nullify the league’s influence, first by putting himself at its head and then by dissolving it altogether. This maneuver met with some success.
Renewed fighting broke out in 1577 between Catholic and Protestant noblemen, who defied Henry III in his attempt to assert royal authority. The Huguenots were defeated and forced by the Peace of Bergerac (1577) to accept further limitations upon their freedom. An uneasy peace followed until 1584, when, upon the death of François, duc d’Anjou, the Huguenot leader Henry of Navarra became the heir to the throne. This new situation produced the War of the Three Henrys (1585–89), during which the Guise faction—led by Henri I de Lorraine, 3e duc de Guise—sought to have Navarra excluded from the succession. The threat of a Protestant king led to the revival of the Catholic League, which now took on a more radical form. This movement was centred in Paris among middle-class professional men and members of the clergy and soon spread among the Parisian artisans, guilds, and public officials. Henry III, who was considered far too tolerant toward the Huguenots, was an object of attack. In town after town, royalist officials were replaced by members of the league. In Paris the mob was systematically aroused; in 1588, on the famous Day of the Barricades (May 12), Henry III was driven from his own capital. In a welter of intrigue and murder, first the duc de Guise (December 1588) and his brother Louis II de Lorraine, 2e cardinal de Guise (December 1588), and then Henry III himself (August 1589) were assassinated, allowing the Protestant Henry of Navarra (Henry IV) to ascend to the throne. After the murder of the Guises, the league came out in open revolt against the crown. Towns renounced their royal allegiances and set up revolutionary governments. In Paris, however, where the league was most highly organized, a central committee called the Sixteen set up a Committee of Public Safety and conducted a reign of terror in a manner similar to the much more famous one that occurred during the revolution 200 years later. Paradoxically, this genuinely populist and revolutionary element in the Holy League paved the way for the triumph of Henry IV (1589–1610), the first king of France from the house of Bourbon (a branch of the house of Capet). The aristocratic members of the league took fright at the direction in which the extreme elements in the movement were proceeding. Their fears reached a climax in 1591, when the Sixteen arrested and executed three magistrates of the Parlement of Paris. The growing split in the ranks of the members of the league, combined with Henry’s well-timed conversion to Roman Catholicism, enabled Henry to seize the initiative and enter Paris, almost unopposed, in 1594. In its final stages, the war became a struggle against Spanish forces intervening on behalf of Isabella Clara Eugenia, the daughter of Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth of Valois, who also laid claim to the French throne. The Peace of Vervins (1598), by which Spain recognized Henry IV’s title as king, and the Edict of Nantes of the same year, which granted substantial religious toleration to the Huguenots, ended the Wars of Religion.
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e089b1cd89dbf5fec122f42f39ea28a2 | https://www.britannica.com/place/France?anchor=ref468812 | France | France
France, officially French Republic, French France or République Française, country of northwestern Europe. Historically and culturally among the most important nations in the Western world, France has also played a highly significant role in international affairs, with former colonies in every corner of the globe. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the Alps and the Pyrenees, France has long provided a geographic, economic, and linguistic bridge joining northern and southern Europe. It is Europe’s most important agricultural producer and one of the world’s leading industrial powers.
France is among the globe’s oldest nations, the product of an alliance of duchies and principalities under a single ruler in the Middle Ages. Today, as in that era, central authority is vested in the state, even though a measure of autonomy has been granted to the country’s régions in recent decades. The French people look to the state as the primary guardian of liberty, and the state in turn provides a generous program of amenities for its citizens, from free education to health care and pension plans. Even so, this centralist tendency is often at odds with another long-standing theme of the French nation: the insistence on the supremacy of the individual. On this matter historian Jules Michelet remarked, “England is an empire, Germany is a nation, a race, France is a person.” Statesman Charles de Gaulle, too, famously complained, “Only peril can bring the French together. One can’t impose unity out of the blue on a country that has 265 kinds of cheese.”
This tendency toward individualism joins with a pluralist outlook and a great interest in the larger world. Even though its imperialist stage was driven by the impulse to civilize that world according to French standards (la mission civilisatrice), the French still note approvingly the words of writer Gustave Flaubert:
At once universal and particular, French culture has spread far and greatly influenced the development of art and science, particularly anthropology, philosophy, and sociology.
France has also been influential in government and civil affairs, giving the world important democratic ideals in the age of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution and inspiring the growth of reformist and even revolutionary movements for generations. The present Fifth Republic has, however, enjoyed notable stability since its promulgation on September 28, 1958, marked by a tremendous growth in private initiative and the rise of centrist politics. Although France has engaged in long-running disputes with other European powers (and, from time to time, with the United States, its longtime ally), it emerged as a leading member in the European Union (EU) and its predecessors. From 1966 to 1995 France did not participate in the integrated military structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), retaining full control over its own air, ground, and naval forces; beginning in 1995, however, France was represented on the NATO Military Committee, and in 2009 French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that the country would rejoin the organization’s military command. As one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—together with the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and China—France has the right to veto decisions put to the council.
The capital and by far the most important city of France is Paris, one of the world’s preeminent cultural and commercial centres. A majestic city known as the ville lumière, or “city of light,” Paris has often been remade, most famously in the mid-19th century under the command of Georges-Eugène, Baron Haussman, who was committed to Napoleon III’s vision of a modern city free of the choleric swamps and congested alleys of old, with broad avenues and a regular plan. Paris is now a sprawling metropolis, one of Europe’s largest conurbations, but its historic heart can still be traversed in an evening’s walk. Confident that their city stood at the very centre of the world, Parisians were once given to referring to their country as having two parts, Paris and le désert, the wasteland beyond it. Metropolitan Paris has now extended far beyond its ancient suburbs into the countryside, however, and nearly every French town and village now numbers a retiree or two driven from the city by the high cost of living, so that, in a sense, Paris has come to embrace the desert and the desert Paris.
Among France’s other major cities are Lyon, located along an ancient Rhône valley trade route linking the North Sea and the Mediterranean; Marseille, a multiethnic port on the Mediterranean founded as an entrepôt for Greek and Carthaginian traders in the 6th century bce; Nantes, an industrial centre and deepwater harbour along the Atlantic coast; and Bordeaux, located in southwestern France along the Garonne River.
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cefcf0ac41728b125cf11d126316379a | https://www.britannica.com/place/Franceville | Franceville | Franceville
Franceville, town, southeastern Gabon, on the east bank of the Ogooué River, just south of its confluence with the Mpassa. The French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza founded it in 1880, and until 1946 it was a part of the Middle Congo Colony.
Franceville is now an active trading centre in a mining region. The exploitation of manganese at Mouanda and uranium at Mounana, both to the northwest, has greatly stimulated population growth and commerce in the area. Gold, a less-important export, is mined southwest of the town, and coffee is a major cash crop in the region. Nearby Poubara is the site of a major power installation. Pop. (2003 est.) 41,300.
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b7af24b04988b734dae0421ddc9cfe8e | https://www.britannica.com/place/Francia-Occidentalis | Francia Occidentalis | Francia Occidentalis
Francia Occidentalis in the west went to Charles II the Bald, Francia Orientalis in the east went to Louis II the German, and Francia Media, including the Italian provinces and Rome, went to Lothar, who also inherited the title of emperor.
…Francia Media to Lothar, and Francia Occidentalis to Charles the Bald. The three kings were equal among themselves. Lothar kept the imperial title, which had lost much of its universal character, and the imperial capital at Aix-la-Chapelle (now Aachen, Germany).
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f23d31aece06ab339b217cdef8425baa | https://www.britannica.com/place/Frankfort-Kentucky | Frankfort | Frankfort
Frankfort, capital (since 1792) of Kentucky, U.S., and seat of Franklin county, located 50 miles (80 km) east of Louisville and 26 miles (42 km) northwest of Lexington. Frankfort was founded in 1786 on the Kentucky River by General James Wilkinson. The name is a corruption of the name Frank’s Ford, which was derived from an incident in which Stephen Frank, a frontiersman, was killed (1780) in an Indian skirmish at a local fording place on the river. Twice during Frankfort’s early history the capitol building was burned, and at both times the larger cities of Louisville and Lexington attempted to usurp the seat of state government; Frankfort was retained, however, because of its central location. During the American Civil War it was occupied briefly (1862) by Confederate general Braxton Bragg. The city was flooded in 1937 and suffered widespread damage.
Frankfort is a trading centre for the Bluegrass region, producing tobacco, corn (maize), and Thoroughbred horses. Its manufactures include automotive parts, bourbon whiskey, candy, furniture, electronic parts, machinery, and apparel. The State Normal School for Colored Persons (1886) eventually became Kentucky State University. The State Capitol (1910) is crowned by a dome 212 feet (65 metres) high. The city’s historic buildings include the Old Capitol (1827–30), Liberty Hall (c. 1796), and the Orlando Brown House (1835). The graves of pioneer Daniel Boone and his wife, Rebecca, are in the Frankfort Cemetery. Newer attractions include the Kentucky History Center (1999) and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where a sundial casts a shadow on the name of each veteran on the date of his death. Inc. city, 1839. Pop. (2000) 27,741; (2010) 25,527.
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c9e35fbb6442b43bc4659a61dbff6047 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Franklin-county-Maine | Franklin | Franklin
Franklin, county, west-central Maine, U.S. It consists of a mountainous region bordered to the northwest by Quebec, Canada. Some of the county’s highest peaks—Mount Abraham and Sugarloaf, Crocker, and Saddleback mountains—are located along the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. The chief waterways are Rangeley, Webb, and Kennebago lakes and the Sandy, Androscoggin, and Kennebago rivers. Parklands include Mount Blue and Rangeley Lake state parks and Bigelow Preserve on Flagstaff Lake. County timberland includes maple, birch, spruce, fir, and aspen.
Farmington, an early centre of agricultural trade, became the county seat when the county was formed in 1838. The county was named for Benjamin Franklin. The University of Maine at Farmington was founded in 1863. Other towns are Wilton, Jay, Rangeley, and Phillips. Principal industries are paper and wood products, footwear, and tourism. Sugarloaf/USA and Saddleback Mountain are two major ski resorts. Area 1,698 square miles (4,398 square km). Pop. (2000) 29,467; (2010) 30,768.
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75aa6a386df93be993a3c2f2d00160ba | https://www.britannica.com/place/Fraser-River | Fraser River | Fraser River
Fraser River, major river of western North America, draining a huge, scenic region of some 92,000 square miles (238,000 square km) in central British Columbia. About 70 percent of the region drained is over 3,000 feet (900 m) high, and human exploitation of this rather isolated area has been relatively recent. The natural beauties of the river course (particularly its spectacular canyon section) and the surrounding countryside have nevertheless remained relatively unspoiled. The river was named for Simon Fraser, who first descended it to the Pacific Ocean in 1808. The Cariboo gold rush, which began in 1858, took place in the Fraser River basin.
From its source in Yellowhead Lake on the British Columbia–Alberta border, the Fraser flows 851 miles (1,370 km) to its mouth on the Strait of Georgia. From its mountain source, the river’s course is initially northwestward, descending by gentle gradients along the Rocky Mountain trench. Near latitude 54° N the river makes a great bend southward to traverse the Interior Plateau and then the Coast Mountains. Entrenchment and gradients increase progressively downstream, and through the Coast Mountains the raging waters traverse a canyon about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) deep. Below this canyon the Fraser turns westward to flow placidly across an alluvial plain to its debouchment near Vancouver, B.C. The Thompson River, which enters the Fraser about 145 miles (235 km) from its mouth, is the most important of numerous tributaries, many of which rise in extensive mountain lakes. Navigation is important only in the tidal estuary where New Westminster serves deep-sea ships.
The economy of the Fraser River basin is based mainly on forestry. Coniferous forests cover most of the Interior Plateau, except in the dry, southern valleys, which are covered with narrow strips of grassland on the lower slopes. Prior to 1940 small sawmills cut a little lumber along the three railway lines that crossed the basin. After 1950, however, the northward extension of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (subsequently called the British Columbia Railway) and the improvement of highway facilities increased the accessibility of the forests and the merging of smaller companies, together with the introduction of pulp mills, consuming chips and small trees, heightened the utilization of forest resources. Forest products are either transported to Vancouver for overseas markets or are taken eastward by rail to central Canada and the midwestern United States. The turbulent Fraser River itself is not actually used in the forestry industry, even for the transport of logs to the sawmills.
Agriculture has not developed greatly within the river basin, except for cattle ranching on the grasslands and upper level parklands in the Chilcotin Plateau, west of the Fraser River, and the Nicola Valley, south of the Thompson River. Ranching was established in the 1860s to supply the gold mining camps and then, after gold mining declined, to supply meat to the growing city of Vancouver.
The Fraser River is the major producer of salmon in British Columbia, and its tributaries and headwater lakes are the spawning grounds of several species of salmon. These salmon ascend the river in late summer to spawn and then go downstream the following year to spend the next two or three years in the ocean. Because of these migratory habits, salmon fishing takes place mainly off the Fraser River mouth, and only Indians have fishing rights in the river basin itself. Hydroelectric exploitation of the river system may eventually threaten salmon migration.
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0acc9a7cb9b2a490ac8d55b851a5615d | https://www.britannica.com/place/Frederick-county-Maryland | Frederick | Frederick
Frederick, county, northern Maryland, U.S., bounded by Pennsylvania to the north, the Monocacy River to the northeast, Virginia to the southwest (the Potomac River constituting the border), and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west. It consists of a piedmont region bisected north-south by the valley of the Monocacy. Parklands include Cunningham Falls State Park and Catoctin Mountain (national) Park, site of the Camp David presidential retreat. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail follows the ridgeline along much of the county’s western border. The county was created in 1748 and named for Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore. Frederick, the county seat, is located a few miles north of the site of the Battle of Monocacy (July 9, 1864) of the American Civil War.
Principal economic activities are agriculture (corn [maize], hay, and dairy products) and manufacturing. Frederick has the largest area of any county in the state. Area 663 square miles (1,717 square km). Pop. (2000) 195,277; (2010) 233,385.
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55981671e8ccf246d857026457a9d09b | https://www.britannica.com/place/Fredericksburg-Virginia | Fredericksburg | Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg, city, administratively independent of, but located in, Spotsylvania county, northeastern Virginia, U.S., at the head of navigation of the Rappahannock River. The site, settled in 1671, was laid out in 1727 and named for Prince Frederick Louis, father of King George III of England. It developed as a port with a busy English trade (mostly of tobacco and iron products). William Paul, brother of American naval hero John Paul Jones, set up the first tailor shop there. In 1732 George Washington’s father, who owned Ferry Farm across the Rappahannock (where according to tradition George cut down the cherry tree), bought three lots in the town and became one of its trustees.
Guns were manufactured in Fredericksburg for the American Revolution. Strategically situated midway between Washington and Richmond, it was a major objective of both sides during the American Civil War and changed hands seven times. A bloody battle was fought there on December 13, 1862. Before the war ended, three other major engagements were fought in the area—those of Chancellorsville (April 27–May 6, 1863); the Wilderness (May 5–6, 1864); and Spotsylvania Courthouse (May 8–21, 1864). Parts of the four battlefields, a national cemetery with graves of 17,000 Union soldiers, and a museum are included in the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. The park, covering 12.5 square miles (32.4 square km), was established in 1927. A 7-mile (11-km) looped hiking path connects the prominent sites in the park.
The city serves an agricultural region (dairy and beef cattle) and has light manufacturing. It is the seat of the University of Mary Washington (1908) and Germanna Community College (1970). Historic sites include the home and grave of Washington’s mother (Mary Ball Washington), the law office of James Monroe (later president), the Rising Sun Tavern (c. 1760), built by Washington’s youngest brother Charles, and the apothecary shop of Hugh Mercer, Washington’s friend. George Washington Birthplace National Monument is 38 miles (61 km) east, with James Monroe’s birthplace also close by. Inc. town, 1781; city, 1879. Pop. (2000) 19,279; (2010) 24,286.
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a184d1e841a2a20ccf41ad4aa2d71475 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Fredonia | Fredonia | Fredonia
Fredonia, village in the town (township) of Pomfret, Chautauqua county, western New York, U.S. It lies on Canadaway Creek, near Lake Erie, immediately south of Dunkirk. Settled in 1804, its pseudo-Latin name—coined about 1800 by physician and politician Dr. Samuel Latham Mitchill and meaning “place of freedom”—was originally proposed as the name of the nation. It was the site of the first natural-gas well in the U.S. to be harnessed for illumination (1825). The first local unit of the Grange (a fraternal organization of farmers) was established there in 1868, as was the first branch of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (1873). There is some agriculture and food processing, but Fredonia’s economy depends primarily on the State University of New York College at Fredonia, which originated in 1826 as Fredonia Academy. Inc. 1829. Pop. (2000) 10,706; (2010) 11,230.
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7a737f854d6987487a15ee0346911e2f | https://www.britannica.com/place/Fremont-California | Fremont | Fremont
Fremont, city, Alameda county, California, U.S. Fremont lies on the southeastern shore of San Francisco Bay (there spanned by the Dumbarton Bridge), southeast of San Francisco, on the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct. Originally inhabited by Ohlone Indians, the area became the site of the Spanish Mission San José de Guadalupe (founded in 1797). The city, named for explorer John C. Frémont, was formed in 1956 through the amalgamation of five agricultural communities—Centerville, Irvington, Mission San José, Niles, and Warm Springs. Freeway connections stimulated residential and industrial growth as part of San Francisco Bay area development. Fremont’s high-technology industry is closely linked to that of the rest of Silicon Valley. Automobile manufacturing is also important.
Fremont is the seat of Ohlone (junior) College (1965). Ardenwood Historic Farm preserves the area’s agricultural past. Coyote Hills Regional Park, a 1,000-acre (400-hectare) wildlife sanctuary, contains ancient Indian shell mounds and a restored Indian village. Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is adjacent. Inc. 1956. Pop. (2000) 203,413; Oakland-Fremont-Hayward Metro Division, 2,392,557; San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont Metro Area, 4,123,740; (2010) 214,089; Oakland-Fremont-Hayward Metro Division, 2,559,296; San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont Metro Area, 4,335,391.
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8007f4df94f2b787707b71e87bf9ad2c | https://www.britannica.com/place/French-Guiana | French Guiana | French Guiana
French Guiana, overseas territorial collectivity of France, situated on the northeastern coast of South America. French Guiana is bounded by Brazil to the south and east, Suriname to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast. The capital is Cayenne.
Geologically, the rock underlying French Guiana forms part of the crystalline massif of the Guiana Highlands. Rivers—which flow generally northeastward, to the sea—have greatly eroded the massif, and most of French Guiana is low-lying. The Maroni River forms the French Guiana–Suriname border in the west, and the Oyapock River forms the border with Brazil in the east. The Tumuc-Humac Mountains in the south reach an elevation of 2,300 feet (700 metres). Recent alluvial deposits have formed a swampy coastal plain southeast of Cayenne. Older alluvial deposits form a savanna west of Cayenne. Dense tropical forests (mostly hardwoods) predominate outside the coastal plain and cover more than nine-tenths of the land area.
French Guiana is subject to heavy rainfall between December and July; annual precipitation reaches 150 inches (3,800 mm) around Cayenne and tapers off toward the northeast. High temperatures predominate, and monthly averages vary between 77 and 80 °F (25 and 27 °C) at Cayenne. Wildlife includes tapirs, caimans, ocelots, sloths, great anteaters, and armadillos.
French Guiana’s population is principally Creole (mixed descent, also referred to as Guianese Mulatto), with minorities of metropolitan French, Haitians, Surinamese, Antilleans, Chinese, Brazilians, South Asians, and others. The principal languages spoken are French (official); Guianese Creole French; several indigenous languages, including Wayampi, Carib, and Emerillon; and the various languages of the immigrant communities. The principal religious affiliation is Christianity (primarily Roman Catholicism), adhered to by more than four-fifths of the population.
The populace is concentrated principally in and around Cayenne, the largest city, and the coastal regions; the interior is largely uninhabited. Demographic rates are those generally typical of a developing country. There was immigration from Southeast Asia, Haiti, and the French Caribbean territories beginning in the late 20th century.
French Guiana has a developing market economy, patterned on that of metropolitan France and sustained by aid and technical assistance from France. A rocket-launching base at Kourou, used by the European Space Agency, is of great importance to the economy, accounting for about one-fourth of the country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP). Services, manufacturing, and construction are the largest sectors of the economy. The gross national income (GNI) per capita is among the highest in South America.
Agriculture produces only a small part of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates and centres on the growing of cassava, rice, bananas, and cabbages. Most small farms are worked and owned by families, but there are some large estates engaged in growing cash crops, largely for export to metropolitan France.
The heavily forested land includes valuable commercial species. Some forestland is reserved by the state, but most is open to exploitation. Most of the timber cut is used for industrial purposes, and of that about two-fifths is exported. Pastures support mainly cattle, pigs, and poultry. Meat and milk production is limited, and large quantities of both must be imported. Shrimps account for a large portion of the annual fish catch.
Mineral exploitation is of negligible importance, and French Guiana must import fossil fuels and metallic minerals. Gold and clays are the only minerals extracted.
Manufacturing industries are concentrated on cement, rum, and finished wood products. Most capital and consumer goods must be imported. Electricity is generated entirely from thermal plants using imported fossil fuels.
Most of the labour force is employed in services and industry, with a small fraction in agriculture. Wages and benefits are legislated at the same rates as those that prevail in France. Unemployment and inflation rates are high.
Although about two-fifths of the country’s roads are paved, the road system is underdeveloped in the interior. Dégrad des Cannes, Larivot, Saint-Laurent du Moroni, and Kourou are principal ports. Some of the country’s waterways are navigable by small oceangoing craft, but most are navigable only by shallow-draft vessels. There is an international airport at Cayenne.
The balance of trade is chronically unfavourable, with the value of exports far outweighed by that of imports. Machinery, food and agricultural products, and refined petroleum dominate imports, whereas motor vehicles and their parts, gold, electrical machinery and electronics, fish, and shrimps are the leading exports. Major trading partners are France, the other countries of the European Union, and the French Antilles (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy, and Saint Martin).
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aba9263ae167f330ec6a8de403d4a90e | https://www.britannica.com/place/French-Lick-Indiana | French Lick | French Lick
French Lick, resort town, Orange county, southern Indiana, U.S. It lies 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Louisville, Kentucky, and is nearly encircled by Hoosier National Forest. Founded in 1811, the settlement was named for an 18th-century French trading post in the area and an animal (salt) lick within the town boundaries. The first hotel on the site was built in 1840 by William A. Bowles, who laid out the town in 1857. Thomas Taggart (1856–1929), three-time mayor of Indianapolis and later chairman of the Democratic National Committee, purchased the hotel in 1901 and was instrumental in French Lick’s development as a year-round health resort and convention centre. The French Lick Springs Hotel has spa facilities based on water with high mineral content from nearby artesian springs. At West Baden Springs, a mile north, is a former grand resort hotel (built 1901–03). From 1966 to 1983 it housed Northwood Institute, a business college; it was subsequently renovated for its original use. Basketball star Larry Bird is a French Lick native. Inc. 1857. Pop. (2000) 1,941; (2010) 1,807.
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465df64441f111af8bbe353bfd51e3e0 | https://www.britannica.com/place/French-Polynesia | French Polynesia | French Polynesia
French Polynesia, overseas collectivity of France consisting of five archipelagoes in the south-central Pacific Ocean. Included are some 130 islands scattered across the Pacific between latitudes 7° and 27° S and longitudes 134° and 155° W—a total land area roughly equivalent to that of metropolitan Paris and London combined but spread across a swath of ocean five times as large as France.
The archipelagoes of French Polynesia are the Society Islands, Tuamotu Archipelago, Gambier Islands, Marquesas Islands, and Tubuai Islands. The capital, Papeete, is on Tahiti, French Polynesia’s largest island (403 square miles [1,043 square km]), in the Society group.
The islands are all protrusions of parallel submarine ridges trending from the northwest to the southeast. The Society Islands are the most westerly and extensive group, accounting for two-fifths of the land area and nearly nine-tenths of the population. They consist of two groups, the Îles du Vent (Windward Islands) in the east and the Îles Sous le Vent (Leeward Islands) in the west. Except for a few small coral atolls, the Society Islands resulted from the emergence of underwater volcanoes. The volcanic cones are highly eroded and cut up into high crests and deep, radiating valleys. The often lushly vegetated mountains drop abruptly to narrow coastal strips or directly into lagoons or the sea. The islands are protected from the force of the sea by almost completely encircling barrier reefs.
Tahiti, formed of two ancient volcanic cones, is particularly striking because of its dramatic silhouette, which rises 7,352 feet (2,241 metres) above sea level. The mountains are empty of human settlement, habitation and planting being entirely limited to the coastal strip and valley outlets of the island. The island of Moorea, separated from Tahiti by a channel 8.5 miles (14 km) wide, is also a high island and is encircled with brilliant white coral sand beaches. It is well-connected to Tahiti by boat and taxi planes—a consequence of the booming tourist trade there.
Some 75 miles (120 km) west of Tahiti are the Îles Sous le Vent, made up of five volcanic islands and four atolls. They closely resemble the Îles du Vent in appearance. Raiatea, a double island group, is the largest and most densely populated of the Îles Sous le Vent. Separated by a channel that is about 2 miles (3 km) wide, Raiatea and its northern neighbour, Tahaa, are located on the same mountain mass and lie within a single barrier reef. Both have coastal plains suitable for growing coconut palms and raising livestock. Some vanilla is also grown. The group’s main port is Uturoa, located on Raiatea. To the east of Raiatea is the picturesque island of Huahine, a volcanic structure bisected by a shallow arm of the sea.
Finally, to the west of Raiatea lies the beautiful little island of Bora-Bora. It is formed from two volcanic peaks rising to 2,385 feet (727 metres) and 2,169 feet (661 metres) and dropping abruptly to the lagoon. Bora-Bora is one of the centres of the tourist trade in French Polynesia.
The Tuamotu Archipelago, lying to the east of the Society Islands, has a land area of 266 square miles (689 square km) and consists of some 80 islands. These are low, flat islands or atolls of coral origin, surrounding a lagoon. Their size varies greatly, from 30 square miles (75 square km) in Rangiroa to a few acres of land barely protruding above the surface of the sea. With only porous, coral-based soils and with no permanent streams, they have no agricultural potential aside from the ever-present coconut trees. The lagoons, however, are a source of fish, pearls, and mother-of-pearl shell. Only Rangiroa, with its airport, is in close contact with Tahiti. Elsewhere, living conditions are difficult, and many people emigrate to Tahiti.
Administratively linked to the Tuamotu Islands but morphologically different, the Gambier Islands lie at the southern extremity of the Tuamotu Archipelago and include four large, high volcanic islands and a few islets covering a total of 14 square miles (36 square km). The main island is Mangareva, whose name is sometimes used to refer to the whole group.
The 14 islands of the Marquesas group lie 900 miles (1,450 km) to the northeast of Tahiti. They have a land area of 405 square miles (1,049 square km). Some of them are volcanic islands rising above 4,000 feet (1,200 metres), with sharp and twisting contours. Unlike the Society Islands, they are not protected from the sea by a barrier reef, with the result that they lack a coastal plain. Approaching the islands from the sea is difficult. People live exclusively in the valleys, where they engage in farming.
The Tubuai, or Austral, Islands, situated 450 miles (720 km) south of Tahiti, make up the southernmost part of French Polynesia. This chain of four islands, with the addition of the isolated island of Rapa in the southeast and the uninhabited Marotiri and Maria islands, covers 57 square miles (148 square km). All of the islands are of volcanic origin but are relatively low (rising to elevations of 270 to 1,440 feet [80 to 440 metres]) and rounded. Income is derived from agriculture (taro, arrowroot, copra, market vegetables) and pandanus plaiting.
Like the Marquesas and the Tuamotu-Gambiers, the Tubuai Islands have poor connections with Tahiti. As elsewhere, the hard living conditions cause many people to migrate to Tahiti and Papeete.
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c8eedf0b8a23ef1bf610dd5e10ce89d6 | https://www.britannica.com/place/French-Polynesia/History | History of French Polynesia | History of French Polynesia
This section focuses specifically on the history and development of the area and country now known as French Polynesia. For a discussion of the history of French Polynesia in its broader, regional context, see Pacific Islands.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the Marquesas Islands may have been settled about 200 bce from western Polynesia. In subsequent dispersions, Polynesians from the Marquesas migrated to the Hawaiian Islands about 300 ce and reached the Society Islands by about the 9th century. Large chieftainships were formed on Tahiti, Bora-Bora, and Raiatea. Teriaroa, north of Tahiti, was a royal retreat, and Taputapuatea, on Raiatea, was the most sacred shrine in the islands.
European contact with the islands of French Polynesia was gradual. The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan sighted Pukapuka Atoll in the Tuamotu group in 1521. The southern Marquesas Islands were reached in 1595. The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen in 1722 discovered Makatea, Bora-Bora, and Maupiti. Capt. Samuel Wallis in 1767 reached Tahiti, Moorea, and Maiao Iti. The Society Islands were named for the Royal Society, which had sponsored the expedition under Capt. James Cook that observed from Tahiti the 1769 transit of the Sun by the planet Venus. Cook reached Tubuai on his last voyage, in 1777.
The history of the Society Island groups is virtually that of Tahiti, which was made a French protectorate in 1842 and a colony in 1880. French missionaries went to the Gambier group in 1834, and in 1844 a French protectorate was proclaimed, followed by annexation in 1881. The Tubuai Islands were also evangelized from Tahiti, and as late as 1888 Rimatara and Rurutu sought British protection, which was refused. They were placed under the French protectorate in 1889 and annexed in 1900. The Tuamotus were part of the kingdom of the Pomare family of Tahiti, which came originally from Fakarava Atoll. These islands were claimed as dependencies of Tahiti within the protectorate by France in 1847 and became part of the colony in 1880. In the Marquesas, Nuku Hiva was annexed to the United States in 1813 by Capt. David Porter of the frigate Essex, but the annexation was never ratified. French occupation of the group followed the landing of forces from a French warship, requested by the chief of Tahuata (near Hiva Oa). Soon after there was a quarrel with the French; in 1842 the chiefs ceded sovereignty to France.
The islands were administered as the French Colony of Oceania. The colony was ruled by a naval government until 1885, when an organic decree provided for a French governor and Privy Council and for a General Council, representing the islands, that had some control over fiscal policies. The powers of the General Council, however, were cut back in 1899, and in 1903 it was replaced by an advisory council, which was purely administrative in function. In 1940 the voters on the islands chose to side with the Free French government of Charles de Gaulle, and many islanders fought alongside Allied armies during World War II. French Polynesia was made an overseas territory of France in 1946. It was provided with a territorial assembly and was allowed to elect one representative to the French National Assembly and one to the French Senate.
In 1957 the French government extended the powers of the local Territorial Assembly. In 1958 Pouvanaa a Oopa, vice president of the Council of Government, announced a plan to secede from France and form an independent Tahitian republic. He was subsequently arrested; the movement collapsed, and local powers were again curtailed. France issued new statutes granting more local autonomy in 1977, but the pro-independence and pro-autonomy parties continued to call for popular election of the president and either more autonomy or outright independence. The territory became autonomous in 1984. In March 2003 France changed the classification of French Polynesia from overseas territory to overseas collectivity. In 2004 an organic act increased French Polynesia’s powers of self-government. Oscar Temaru, a pro-independence leader, was elected president that year and served briefly before losing to his predecessor, Gaston Flosse, who at that time was opposed to independence. Over the next decade, the presidency rotated among several politicians—including Temaru, Flosse, and Gaston Tong Sang, who served multiple times each—representing different visions of French Polynesia’s future in relation to France.
In 1963 the French government had begun testing nuclear weapons on Mururoa, which the territorial assembly ceded to France the following year, along with neighbouring Fangataufa. In response to worldwide pressure the tests were moved underground on Fangataufa in 1975. However, the detonations continued. In the mid-1980s political parties and environmental-protection and human rights groups united to protest France’s nuclear testing. In 1985 world attention focused on the area when French commandos blew up a yacht owned by the environmental group Greenpeace as it was preparing to lead a protest near Mururoa Atoll. In 1992 French prime minister Pierre Bérégovoy suspended testing, but Pres. Jacques Chirac ordered its resumption in 1995. Amid widespread opposition from the French public and within the territory itself, France exploded a bomb under Mururoa. The test was followed by rioting within the French territory. Mounting antinuclear pressure led the French to reduce the number of planned tests from eight to six, and the last device was detonated below Fangataufa Atoll in January 1996. Later in 1996 France signed the protocols of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga). Military and civilian facilities related to the nuclear testing were dismantled. Hundreds of French soldiers subsequently left the area, causing the loss of many associated service jobs. Questions remained regarding the effect that radiation from the nuclear tests had had on the region’s population, and a government committee of inquiry reported to the legislature in 2006 that France had hidden the extent of radioactive fallout from the aboveground tests. The committee recommended that France monitor public health in the region, compensate the Polynesian citizens affected, and clean up the environment; the French government rejected the report.
In 2009 the French government offered approximately $10 million in compensation to those affected by the nuclear testing, but the offer was refused as insufficient. Although French health officials in 2012 identified fallout from the nuclear tests as a probable cause of ill health in those exposed and financial restitution remained on the table, France disregarded ongoing requests for environmental remediation. Meanwhile, independence for French Polynesia continued to be discussed. In 2013, at the urging of Temaru and the pro-independence faction, the UN put French Polynesia on its list of non-self-governing territories working toward self-determination, from which France had had the territory removed in 1947. Both pro- and anti-independence French Polynesian leaders were in favour of a referendum on the question, although the desired timetable for the vote varied.
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944921dd2b6ebb8c762982133a480115 | https://www.britannica.com/place/French-Southern-and-Antarctic-Territories | French Southern and Antarctic Territories | French Southern and Antarctic Territories
French Southern and Antarctic Territories, French Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises, French overseas territory consisting of the islands of Saint-Paul and Nouvelle Amsterdam (q.v.) and the island groups of Kerguelen and Crozet (qq.v.) in the south Indian Ocean, as well as the Adélie Coast (q.v.) on the Antarctic continent. The barren and for the most part uninhabited lands were linked for administrative purposes with Madagascar from 1924 until 1955, when they became a French territory governed under a special statute by a senior administrator who is partially resident in Paris. It was not until the arrival of scientific personnel in 1949–50 that they were effectively occupied. French scientists use weather and other research stations on the islands.
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e5dfcacdda7c7aada0438b5a4c618748 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Fresnes | Fresnes | Fresnes
Fresnes, town, a southern suburb of Paris, Val-de-Marne département, Île-de-France région, north-central France. Recorded as Fretnes in the 12th century and Fraximus in the 13th, the village grew around Saint-Eloi Church (15th century). It is the site of a prison where political prisoners were kept during the German occupation of France, 1940–44. Pop. (1999) 25,213; (2014 est.) 26,808.
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c2c0a19c75326ce63b04730560f1e71e | https://www.britannica.com/place/Fribourg-canton-Switzerland | Fribourg | Fribourg
Fribourg, German Freiburg, canton, western Switzerland, bounded by Lake Neuchâtel and the cantons of Vaud on the west and south and Bern on the east, with enclaves within Vaud. It lies in an elevated plain (Swiss Plateau) and rises from flat land in the west through a hilly region up to the PreAlps in the south and east. The highest summits are to the south in La Gruyère district and include the Vanil Noir (7,836 feet [2,389 metres]). The canton is bisected by the Sarine River (Saane), which flows from south to north (to join the Aare), and by its tributaries. On the west, La Broye flows northeast into Lakes Morat (Murtensee) and Neuchâtel, and, in the southwest, La Veveyse flows south to Lake Geneva (Lac Léman).
Traces of prehistoric settlements have been found on the shores of Lakes Neuchâtel and Morat. The canton, made up of districts acquired by its capital, the city of Fribourg, reached its present extent with the inclusion of the town of Morat (now Murten) in 1803. It joined the Sonderbund (separatist league of Catholic cantons) in 1846 but surrendered to the federal army in 1847. Predominantly Roman Catholic, it has numerous monasteries and convents.
The canton is predominantly rural. Cattle breeding and dairying (including the processing of milk and cheese, notably in La Gruyère district) are important. Market gardening, cereals, tobacco, and fruit prosper in the fertile north and on hillsides in the centre of the canton. Light industries, including food processing, and the manufacture of machinery, metal products, and precision instruments, are largely concentrated in Fribourg city, Düdingen, and Murten and the timber industry in La Gruyère. Power plants in the Sarine district generate electricity for home use and for export. Tourism is most developed in the mountain and lake regions and in Fribourg. The canton is served by the main railway line from Lausanne to Bern, with several branch lines.
Situated on the Swiss linguistic frontier, Fribourg’s population is two-thirds French speaking (west) and one-third German speaking (east). Area 645 square miles (1,671 square km). Pop. (2007 est.) 258,252.
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694bc6ebc62e876b6ce4853c7629d3d8 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Frisian-Islands | Frisian Islands | Frisian Islands
Frisian Islands, low-lying chain of islands from 3 to 20 miles (5 to 32 km) off the northern European mainland. They extend in an arc from near the port of Den Helder (northern Netherlands), eastward along the Dutch and German coasts as far as the Elbe River, and then turn sharply north along the coast of Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) and the southern part of the Jutland Peninsula coast (Denmark). Although they form a single physical feature, it is customary to subdivide them into the West, East, and North Frisian Islands. After the North Sea established a southwestern outlet to the Atlantic about 7,000–5,000 bce, its southeasterly shore probably coincided with the present curve of the Frisians. Periodic subsidence, storms, and flooding have since produced this long chain of islands separated from the mainland by the narrow belt of shallow waters and tidal mud flats generally called wadden in Dutch (German: Watten).
Not surprisingly, many Frisian legends and folk songs tell of drowned villages. The Dutch and German governments have spent large sums not only to protect their seaward coasts but also to reclaim the land from the wadden for farming. Fishing, sheep and cattle raising, and rye, oat, and potato growing are the main occupations in most islands; the sandy beaches and resorts attract many tourists. Some inhabitants still speak Frisian, a language related to but distinct from the adjacent Dutch and Low German dialects.
The West Frisian Islands (Dutch: Friese Eilanden), belonging to the Netherlands, include from west to east the inhabited islands of Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland, and Schiermonnikoog and the virtually uninhabited group of Simonszand, Boschplaat, Rottumerplaat, and Rottumeroog (Rottum). Extending southeast from the coastal dunes, Texel has an extensive area of polder (land previously under water) reclaimed from the Wadden Sea. Very small polder areas also exist in Terschelling, Ameland, and Schiermonnikoog. Eierland in north Texel is partly a nature reserve in which thousands of seabirds nest. Scattered farmsteads with a few villages are typical of the five main islands.
The East Frisian Islands (German: Ostfriesische Inseln) belong to Germany and extend from the Ems River estuary eastward to Jade Channel, the outer part of Jade Bay, with two small islands, Scharhörn and Neuwerk, lying near the estuary of the Elbe River. Smaller than most of the West Frisian group, the main islands from west to east are Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Baltrum, Langeoog, Spiekeroog, and Wangerooge, which have scattered farmsteads and small villages. Scharhörn is uninhabited, whereas Neuwerk has only lighthouse keepers and lifeboat crews. In summer, tourists visit the main islands, and the towns of Nordseebad Borkum and Norderney are popular resorts. Holiday steamers ply the islands’ sheltered south coasts, many of which have light railways to carry visitors inland.
The North Frisian Islands (German: Nordfriesische Inseln) are divided between Germany and Denmark. Apart from the rocky red sandstone island of Helgoland that stands aloof both in location and geologically, the North Frisian Islands run from Trischen, north of the Elbe estuary, northward along the coasts of Schleswig-Holstein and the Jutland Peninsula to Fanø, near the Danish port of Esbjerg. Until 1634 the present German islands of Nordstrand, Nordstrandischmoor, and Pellworm were part of one large island. A similar situation exists farther north with the German islands of Hooge, Nordmarsch-Langeness, Amrum, Föhr, and Sylt. Still north of these lie the Danish islands of Rømø, Manø, and, lastly, Fanø. Rømø and Sylt are connected to the mainland by long embankments.
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b709d18168826194801dd2c3e954d26b | https://www.britannica.com/place/Frobisher-Bay | Frobisher Bay | Frobisher Bay
Frobisher Bay, inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean extending into southeastern Baffin Island, Nunavut territory, Canada. The bay is about 150 miles (240 km) long and 20–40 miles (32–64 km) wide and has a maximum depth of 400 feet (120 metres). It was discovered in 1576 by Sir Martin Frobisher, who believed it to be a strait. It was identified as a bay in 1860. The city of Iqaluit at the head of the bay is the capital of Nunavut territory and the headquarters of Baffin region.
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c2b2f22be166d6073da66e5b8075e8fd | https://www.britannica.com/place/Fuerte-River | Fuerte River | Fuerte River
Fuerte River, Spanish Río Fuerte, river in northwestern Mexico, formed in Chihuahua state by the junction of the Verde and Urique rivers, and descending generally southwestward through Sinaloa state from the Sierra Madre Occidental to the Gulf of California, 27 miles (43 km) west of Los Mochis at Lechuguilla Island. Waters of the river, controlled in part by the Hidalgo Dam, are used for extensive irrigation projects on the gulf lowlands around Los Mochis. The Fuerte is approximately 180 miles (290 km) long (350 miles [560 km] including the Verde River).
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12ac01a6e19041795c8684a11a08a344 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Fukuyama | Fukuyama | Fukuyama
Fukuyama, city, southeastern Hiroshima ken (prefecture), western Honshu, Japan. It lies on the delta of the Ashida River, facing the Inland Sea.
It was a small fishing village before the construction of Fukuyama Castle in 1619–22, and it subsequently developed as a commercial port for the surrounding region during the Edo (Tokugawa) period (1603–1868). Its importance grew with the opening of the railway line between Kōbe and Moji (now in Kitakyūshū) in 1901. Fukuyama was heavily damaged by Allied bombing during World War II, which also largely destroyed the castle; restoration of a portion of the castle was completed in 1966. Industrialization was rapid, however, from the mid-1960s.
Besides the traditional spinning industry, the manufacture of kotos (Japanese zithers), machinery, steel products, rubber, and processed foods is important. Pop. (2010) 461,357; (2015) 464,811.
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a341276beeac4baea280a9ba8730bd25 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Funafuti-Atoll | Funafuti Atoll | Funafuti Atoll
Funafuti Atoll, coral atoll, capital of Tuvalu, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Funafuti is the most populous of the country’s nine atolls. Its main islet is Fongafale, the site of the village of Vaiaku, where most of Tuvalu’s government offices are located.
The atoll comprises some 30 islets strung around a lagoon (13.5 by 10 miles [21.7 by 16.1 km]) that affords good anchorage. A U.S. military base was established there in 1942, during World War II, to combat Japanese forces in the Pacific. The urbanization of Funafuti in the 21st century and the increasing salinization of its sandy soil reduced agricultural productivity on the atoll, which traditionally produced copra for export as well as bananas and papaya for domestic consumption. Subsistence fishing is a significant economic activity. The three-story Government Building in Vaiaku is situated on the west (lagoon) side of Funafuti. Government offices in Vaiaku include those of the governor-general, the prime minister and the cabinet, the High Court, and the unicameral Parliament. A hospital and a hotel are also located in Vaiaku, as is Funafuti International Airport. Area 0.9 square mile (2.4 square km). Pop. (2002) 4,362; (2012) 6,025.
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1e9bb072dfe6951aea97931abc6a2796 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Furness | Furness | Furness
Furness, region, administrative county of Cumbria, historic county of Lancashire, England. Except for a narrow coastal plain, Furness is predominantly upland, with such eminences as the Old Man of Coniston and Wetherlam. Principal rivers are the Duddon, Leven (draining Windermere), and Crake (draining Coniston Water), flowing south into Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea coast. Between the Duddon estuary and Morecambe Bay is a peninsula, off which lies the Isle of Walney, 8 miles (13 km) long and 1 mile wide. Much of Furness is in the Lake District, and Roudsea Wood is a nature reserve.
Furness became important in the Middle Ages because of its abbey, the ruins of which are north of the principal town, Barrow-in-Furness. The abbey was founded in 1127 by Benedictine monks from Savigny, France, who later joined the Cistercian order. They were granted the lordship of Furness by Stephen (ruled 1135–54), and the abbey became one of the richest in England. At Conishead was an Augustinian foundation, and at Cartmel is the fine parish church of a former abbey (1188). Ulverston became a market town for the region.
Industry was based on the iron ore of the limestones in the southwest, worked from early times and exploited by the monks of Furness. Production reached a peak in the 1880s and has since declined. Opening of the Furness Railway (1846) initiated industrial development, and Barrow grew as an ore-exporting port and a shipbuilding and iron and steel centre. Decline of these industries in the 20th century resulted in heavy unemployment, and attempts to attract new manufacturing have been handicapped by the region’s inaccessibility. Farming remains an important activity, with emphasis on fat lambs and store cattle, while tourism has become increasingly significant. A coastal railway connects Barrow and the region with Carlisle to the north and the rest of historic Lancashire to the south.
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df463b7dc1afa64bcabf6d0c08a3a3b1 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Furstenburg | Fürstenburg | Fürstenburg
…most famous buildings is the Fürstenburg, with a balcony with a gilded copper roof, supposedly built by Duke Frederick and refashioned by the emperor Maximilian in about 1500. Other notable landmarks include the Hofburg (1754–70, on the site of a 15th-century ducal residence) and the Franciscan, or Court, church (1553–63),…
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86b4edfb61959b41e6f2f47469da14f7 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Further-Spain | Further Spain | Further Spain
…creating two provinces, Nearer and Further Spain. They also exploited the Spanish riches, especially the mines, as the Carthaginians had done. In 197 the legions were withdrawn, but a Spanish revolt against the Roman presence led to the death of one governor and required that the two praetorian governors of…
…areas (provinciae) of Nearer and Further Spain (Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior) in 197, after which elected magistrates (praetors) were sent out, usually for two-year periods, to command the armies; the Romans, however, were more interested in winning victories over Spanish tribes (and so gaining the accolade of a triumph—a…
…divided it into two provinces: Hispania Ulterior (present Andalusia, Extremadura, southern León, and most of modern Portugal) and Hispania Citerior, or Tarraconensis (all of what is now northern, eastern, and south-central Spain). Under Augustus (reigned 27 bce–14 ce), Hispania Ulterior was further divided into Lusitania (Portugal and part of western…
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8c53eff68203b0a97cea31d5b4e9a6c2 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Fuzhou-China | Fuzhou | Fuzhou
Fuzhou, Wade-Giles romanization Fu-chou, conventional Foochow, city and capital of Fujian sheng (province), southeastern China. It is situated in the eastern part of the province on the north bank of the estuary of Fujian’s largest river, the Min River, a short distance from its mouth on the East China Sea. The Min gives the city access to the interior and to the neighbouring provinces of Jiangxi and Zhejiang. Pop. (2002 est.) city, 1,387,266; (2007 est.) urban agglom., 2,606,000.
Fuzhou was one of the first places in Fujian to be settled. At the beginning of the 2nd century bce, it was called Ye, or Dongye, and it was once the capital of the kingdom of Min-Yue. After the Han dynasty emperor Wudi subjugated the area, it became the seat of Ye county. In the 2nd century ce its name was changed to Houguan, and it became the military seat for the eastern coastal area. In 592, after the Sui conquest of southern China (581), it was renamed Min county, and under the Tang dynasty (618–907) it became the seat of Fuzhou prefecture. After the An Lushan rebellion of 755 it became the seat of the civil governor of Fujian, and in 789 the prefectural city was divided into two counties. In the 9th and 10th centuries the population of Fujian as a whole rapidly increased.
Fuzhou was briefly the capital of the independent kingdom of Min (909–945) and has remained the capital of Fujian ever since. In Song times (960–1279) much overseas trade was concentrated at Fuzhou, which also became an important cultural centre for the empire as a whole. Fuzhou prospered from the 16th to the 19th century, and its prosperity reached its height when it was opened as a treaty port after the first Opium War (1839–42). It subsequently became the chief port for the tea trade, being much nearer to the producing districts than Guangzhou (Canton), to which tea had to be shipped overland. The eclipse of the Guangzhou tea trade was completed when the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64) disrupted the overland route. However, with the decline of the tea trade, Fuzhou’s export trade fell by half between 1874 and 1884; tea was gradually rivaled by exports of timber, paper, and foodstuffs.
In 1866 the port was the site of one of China’s first major experiments with Western technology when the Fuzhou Navy Yard was established; a shipyard and an arsenal were built under French guidance, and a naval school was opened. A naval academy was also established at the shipyard, and it became a centre for the study of Western languages and technical sciences. The academy, which offered courses in English, French, engineering, and navigation, produced a generation of Western-trained officers, including the famous scholar-reformer Yan Fu (1854–1921).
The yard was established as part of a program to strengthen China in the wake of the country’s disastrous defeat in the trading conflict known as the second Opium War (1856–60). But most talented students continued to pursue a traditional Confucian education, and by the mid-1870s the government had begun to lose interest in the shipyard; the facility had trouble securing funds and declined in importance. Fuzhou remained essentially a commercial centre and a port, with relatively little industry, until World War II. The port was occupied by the Japanese during 1940–45.
Fuzhou has grown considerably since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Its water communications have been improved by the clearing of the Min River for navigation by medium-sized craft upstream to Nanping in central Fujian. In 1956 a railway linking Fuzhou with the interior of the province and with the main Chinese railway system was opened. The port too has been improved; Fuzhou itself is no longer accessible to seagoing ships, but Mawei (Luoxingta) port and another outer harbour, at Guantou on the coast of the East China Sea, have been modernized and improved. An express highway connects the city with Xiamen (Amoy), another major coastal city in Fujian. Fuzhou’s international airport has regular flights to Hong Kong and other major cities in China.
Two large power-generating facilities near Fuzhou—a thermal plant and the Shuikou hydroelectric station on the Min River—supply power to the city. The city is a centre for industrial chemicals and has food-processing, timber-working, engineering, electronics, papermaking, printing, and textile industries. In 1984 Fuzhou was designated one of China’s “open” cities in the new open-door policy inviting foreign investments, and an economic and high-technology development zone in Mawei—together with other foreign investment districts—has been established.
Handicrafts remain important, and the city is famous for its lacquer and wood products. Among Fuzhou’s institutions of higher learning are Fujian Medical University (1937), Fuzhou University (1958), Fujian Normal University (1907), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (1936), and a research institute of the Chinese Academy of Science. Fuzhou is a city two millennia old, known for its history and culture, and in 1986 the central government added it to the list of specially designated historical and cultural cities.
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8d743a9fddf747775a834c9795aafc60 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gabon | Gabon | Gabon
Gabon, country lying on the west coast of Africa, astride the Equator. A former French colony, Gabon retains strong ties to France and to the French language and culture. The capital is Libreville.
Gabon is bordered by Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west; the islands of Sao Tome and Principe are situated off the coast.
The narrow coastal plain—often no more than 20 miles (32 km) wide in the south—is formed of sandstone and alluvium; northward it broadens to a width of 100 miles (160 km), with outcrops of chalk, limestone, and Cretaceous sandstone. The Atlantic’s northward-flowing Benguela Current softens Gabon’s southern coastline by creating sandbars but loses its effectiveness north of the country’s most westerly point, Cape Lopez, where the contour of the coast becomes more jagged. Inland, the relief is characterized by a series of granite plateaus, extending generally northwest to southeast and rising to elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 feet (300 to 600 metres). Farther to the west and north the Cristal Mountains have been dissected by the river system from the western plateau escarpment into a distinct upland area, and to the south the Ogooué River drains through a sandstone saddleback before descending to the lowlands through the granite formations of the Lambaréné region. Granite also forms Gabon’s central watershed, the Chaillu Massif south of the Ogooué, which rises to more than 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) and is topped by the 3,346-foot (1,020-metre) Mount Milondo. Gabon’s highest point, Mount Bengoué (3,510 feet [1,070 metres]), is in the northeastern part of the country.
Gabon has an equatorial climate, with year-round high temperatures and humidity. Rainfall varies from an annual average of 120 inches (3,050 mm) at Libreville to 150 inches (3,810 mm) on the northwest coast, with almost all of it falling between October and May. In the period from June to September there is little or no rainfall, but humidity remains high. Temperature shows little seasonal variation, the daily average being in the low 80s F (upper 20s C).
About three-fourths of the country is covered by a dense equatorial rainforest containing more than 3,000 species of vegetation, including the okoumé, a hardwood tree that forms the backbone of Gabon’s timber industry. The rainforest is inhabited by antelope, monkeys, gorillas, numerous tropical birds, and several varieties of elephants. Gabon has several national parks, including Lopé National Park (originally Lopé-Okanda Wildlife Reserve, founded in 1946) in the centre of the country. The park and related archaeological sites—referred to as the Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda—were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007.
Except for a few thousand Pygmies, Gabon’s 40 or so peoples speak Bantu languages that are classified into 10 linguistic groups. The Myene group (including the Mpongwe and Orungu), though only a relatively small part of the population today, has played an important role in the history of the country as a result of its location along the northern coasts. The Fang, also found in southern Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, account for more than one-fourth of the population and live north of the Ogooué River. The largest groups south of the Ogooué are the Sira (including the Punu), the Nzebi, and the Mbete, who together form about one-third of the population. Less-numerous peoples include the Benga and Seke in the far northwest, the Kota and Teke in the east, and the Vili along the far southern coast.
Many of the Bantu languages do not have written forms. During the 19th century, Christian missionaries transliterated several of them into the Latin alphabet and prepared Bible translations and catechisms for their followers. But the French policy of limiting the use of indigenous languages solely to religious instruction inhibited the growth of other types of literature. Because of the extensive efforts to teach French, nearly all adult Gabonese can speak the language, and almost three-fourths can read it.
A large majority of Gabon’s population is Christian, of which Roman Catholics account for more than two-fifths. Though Gabonese serve as Catholic bishops, they rely heavily on foreign clergy, particularly the French Holy Ghost Fathers. The largest Protestant body, the Evangelical Church of Gabon, has Gabonese pastors in its parishes throughout the north. Other Christian churches include the Christian Alliance church, generally found in the southwest and in coastal cities, and the Evangelical Pentecostal church (Assembly of God) and Adventist church, both found in the estuary and far northern regions. A small segment of the country’s population is Muslim. Adherents of traditional religions also account for a small segment of the population, but that does not include Christians and Muslims who also follow some traditional beliefs and practices. A syncretic religion called Bwiti (based on an earlier secret society of the same name) came into existence in the early 20th century and later played a role in promoting solidarity among the Fang.
More than four-fifths of Gabon’s population is urban, with about half the people living in its largest city, Libreville. Other major cities include Port-Gentil, Franceville, Oyem, and Moanda. The remainder of the population is scattered widely among several hundred rural villages, which are concentrated along the rivers and roads; a village often will have no more than a few families. Port-Gentil is the centre of the country’s wood and petroleum industries, and Libreville is the administrative capital and commercial centre.
Gabon, like its central African neighbours, has a low population density. Since 1970, as a result of increased urbanization, the low rate of natural increase of the previous half century gave way to a relatively high growth rate; by the early 21st century, it was more than twice the world average. The extent to which the heavy immigration of foreign workers and refugees has contributed to this growth is unclear. The population is relatively young: almost three-quarters are younger than age 30. Life expectancy is more than 50 years of age and is about average for the continent.
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77c8954c68bcdc61bb6bbc44f790bb40 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gaborone | Gaborone | Gaborone
Gaborone, formerly (until 1969) Gaberones, town, capital of Botswana. The seat of government was transferred there from Mafeking (now spelled Mafikeng), South Africa, in 1965, one year before Botswana became independent of Britain. Gaborone is located on the Cape-Zimbabwe railway and is the site of government offices, parliament buildings, health facilities, a thermal power station, and an airport. It is the seat of the University of Botswana (founded 1976), and it also has a national museum and art gallery (1968), which includes departments of natural history, archaeology, and prehistory. Pop. (2001) 186,007; (2011) 231,592.
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c5d87a05d34cae71f23e6e42db9f8913 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Galati-Romania | Galaƫi | Galaƫi
Galaƫi, German Galatz, city, capital of Galaƫi judeƫ (county), southeastern Romania. An inland port about 120 miles (190 km) northeast of Bucharest, it is situated on an eminence among the marshes at the confluence of the Danube and Siret rivers, on the southwestern shore of Lake Brateş.
By the beginning of the 15th century a fishing village, referred to as “the village of Galaƫi,” was documented; a century later, there was a reference to Schela Galaƫi (schela being an old word for the place where ships are moored for loading and unloading). The port was important for the Turks, who occupied it from the early 16th century until 1829. Its rapid 19th-century development was stimulated by the adoption of free-port status from 1837 to 1883. Owing to the intensive rebuilding effort since World War II, Galaƫi has large areas of modern buildings.
Galaƫi is a centre of culture. The University of Galaƫi was founded in 1948. The city has theatres, as well as museums of modern art, history, and natural science. Among historic buildings is the fortified Precista Church (15th century).
The city is one of the chief ports for Romanian imports and the leading exporter of timber. The country’s largest shipyard is at Galaƫi. Industries include metalworking and the production of chemicals, textiles, building materials, and foodstuffs. In the 1970s Romania’s largest ironworks and steelworks were completed there. Pop. (2007 est.) 293,523.
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044043f1a1f424907d0d49fa04c605de | https://www.britannica.com/place/Galgodon-Highlands | Galgodon Highlands | Galgodon Highlands
Galgodon Highlands, also called Ogo Highlands, region of broken mountain terrain, northern Somalia, eastern Africa. It lies parallel to the Gulf of Aden south of the “burnt” Guban coastal plain, and extends from the Ethiopian border in the west to Cape Gwardafuy (Caseyr) in the east. Rising abruptly from the Guban, the highlands slope gradually to the Hawd plateau in the south and the Nugaaleed (Nogal) Valley in the southeast. Near Ceerigaabo (Erigavo) the highlands rise to Somalia’s highest point, Surud Cad, which has an elevation of 7,900 feet (2,408 m). Consisting of old volcanic lava, the region is deeply dissected by a series of shallow, dry riverbeds and narrow, steep valleys. Passes, including the Shiikh and Karinduusha, divide the highlands into separate mountain peaks rising to elevations between 6,000 and 7,900 feet (1,830 and 2,410 m). Boswellia and Commiphora trees, sources of frankincense and myrrh, respectively, occur in the northeastern part; on higher elevations (above 5,000 feet [1,500 m]) there are some remnants of juniper and cedar forests, now protected by the government. Roads have been cut through the highlands at Shiikh to connect Berbera and Burko and at Tabah to link Maydh and Ceerigaabo.
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262b188520b9077e4ea03c6771eaf400 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Galicia-region-Spain | Galicia | Galicia
Galicia, comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) and historic region of Spain, encompassing the northwestern provincias (provinces) of Lugo, A Coruña, Pontevedra, and Ourense. It is roughly coextensive with the former kingdom of Galicia. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, by the autonomous communities of Asturias and Castile-León to the east, and by Portugal to the south. A 1936 plebiscite on a Galician statute of autonomy registered overwhelming support but was nullified by the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco. The autonomous community of Galicia finally was established by a second statute of autonomy on April 6, 1981. Galicia has a parliament, headed by a president, and a unicameral assembly. The capital is Santiago de Compostela, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985. Area 11,419 square miles (29,574 square km). Pop. (2011) 2,772,927.
The terrain of Galicia is hilly and relatively uniform in elevation, with more than half its area lying between elevations of 1,300 and 2,000 feet (400 and 600 metres) and less than one-fifth at elevations lower than 650 feet (200 metres). Mountains ring the interior, isolating the region from the Spanish provinces of Asturias, León, and Zamora to the east and from Portugal to the south. The interior is dominated by strongly dissected mountains, which gradually give way to the coastal plains of the Atlantic and Bay of Biscay littorals. Numerous rivers and their tributaries drain seaward through Galicia, permitting the region to export hydroelectric power to the rest of Spain. Annual precipitation is moderately high, exceeding 40 inches (1,000 mm) in most places, but it is of only limited benefit, because the badly eroded soil retains little moisture.
Villages are ordinarily small and isolated, the parish being the common denominator among the widely dispersed villages of a locality. The terrain favours animal husbandry over cultivation, and the former is the premier agricultural activity; nonetheless, the farm population is large and fairly evenly dispersed, resulting in the subdivision of the countryside into small landholdings, or minifundios. Families generally own and cultivate the minifundios, and the inability of those farms to support a growing population has resulted in a higher-than-average emigration from Galicia since the 18th century. Overseas emigration was particularly high between 1920 and 1935. Emigration since World War II has been not only to the industrialized countries of Europe but also to the Spanish provinces of Madrid, Vizcaya, and Barcelona. Emigration has been especially high among men, resulting in serious demographic and economic imbalances, among them an aging population and declining economic productivity.
Subsistence farming prevails among the minifundios, with potatoes and corn (maize) among the leading crops and cattle among the leading livestock. Underemployment plagues the agricultural sector, and large numbers of migrant labourers periodically leave Galicia in search of seasonal work elsewhere in Spain. On the mountains, considerable quantities of timber (pine) are produced, and sawmills are widespread. The port of Vigo is one of Spain’s leading fishing ports.
Galicia’s manufacturing sector is well developed. Fish processing and ship building are of particular importance; Ferrol and Vigo have major shipbuilding works. The textile, automotive, and foodstuffs industries are economically significant as well. The manufacture of turbine components is important to the construction of wind turbines; Galicia has dozens of wind farms throughout its provinces that generate about one-third of Spain’s total energy output. Lignite deposits are used to produce thermoelectric power. The installation of a petroleum refinery in A Coruña has stimulated industrial development in that province. Services make up slightly less than one-tenth of the economy; tourism increased in the early 21st century.
Galicia’s culture and language developed in relative isolation, showing greater affinity for the Portuguese culture and language than for the culture and language of Spain until the final separation of the two countries in 1668. The literary use of Galician reached a high point in the 13th and 14th centuries, when its metre, drawing on that of Provençal, showed greater refinement and versatility than the then relatively underdeveloped Castilian metre. Other noteworthy literary periods include the Rexurdimento (“Resurgence” or “Revival”) of the late 19th century, as well as the 1920s and ’30s. Rosalía de Castro (1837–85) was a leading figure of the Resurgence. Her Cantares gallegos (1863; “Galician Songs”) was the first major work to be written in the Galician language in centuries. It represented the revival of Galician as a literary language and inspired a growing regional consciousness. In the years just before Franco came to power, a group of Galician writers born in the 1880s formed the core of the Galician cultural movement. Known as the Xeración Nós (“The We Generation”), these writers promoted their objectives in the literary and artistic journal Nós (1920; “We”), dedicated to consolidating Galician culture.
Other preeminent Galician cultural figures of the 20th century included Ramón Menéndez Pidal (1869–1968), a scholar whose works centred on Spanish philology and culture; Ramón Otero Pedrayo (1888–1976), who published much about Galician culture and wrote almost exclusively in Galician; author Camilo José Cela (1916–2002), winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature; painter Luis Seoane (1910–79), who promoted Galician culture while in exile in Argentina; and Urbano Lugrís (1902–73), a Surrealist painter who used the sea as a constant feature in his work.
Since the end of the 20th century there has been gradual and continuing growth in the publication of Galician texts, as well as in the production of Galician-language films. Some Spanish-language newspapers have sections in the Galician language, and there are Galician radio and television stations.
Galicia’s name is derived from the Celtic Gallaeci, who lived there when the region was conquered by the Roman legions about 137 bce. In Roman and Visigothic times Galicia stretched south to the Duero River and eastward to beyond the city of León and formed part of the archdiocese of Bracara Augusta (Braga). From about 410 ce it was an independent kingdom under the Suebi, who were finally destroyed by the Visigoths in 585. Galicia lost much of its political autonomy after the unification of Castile and Aragon in 1479 and fell under the administration of the royal Junta del Reino de Galicia in 1495.
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5f6dede8c7a9fa36d6de573c9ab79891 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Galloway-Scotland | Galloway | Galloway
Galloway, traditional region, southwestern Scotland, comprising the historic counties of Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire, which form the central and western portions of Dumfries and Galloway council area. Galloway is bounded by the historic county of Ayrshire (council areas of South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire) on the north, the historic county of Dumfriesshire on the east, the Solway Firth and Irish Sea on the southeast, and the North Channel on the southwest.
The Rhins is a hammer-shaped peninsula in the extreme southwest of Wigtownshire. At the southern end of the Rhins is the Mull of Galloway, the most southerly point in Scotland. Its cliffs stand 210 feet (64 metres) above the Irish Sea and are surmounted by a 60-foot (18-metre) lighthouse.
The name Galloway is derived from the Gallgaidhel, or Gallwyddel (“Stranger Gaels”), the original Celtic people of this region, called Novantae by the Romans. The last “king” of Galloway died in 1234. During the 14th century the Balliols and Comyns were the chief families, succeeded about 1369 by the Douglases (until 1458) and in 1623 by the Stewarts. The 17th-century Scottish Presbyterians known as the Covenanters found much support throughout the region.
Galloway’s economy is predominantly pastoral in the lowlands, based on dairy farming of the indigenous hornless Galloway cattle. Forests have been planted on the moor areas above 500 feet (150 metres) in elevation, and these now provide hope for the establishment of a forest industry (including a pulp and paper mill). The Galloway Hydro-Electric Scheme (1935) harnessed the waters of the Rivers Dee and Ken for the generation of hydroelectricity. Tourism plays an important economic role.
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3cb8bad31cbf861e17973d5f489e0d35 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Galt | Galt | Galt
…consolidation of the city of Galt, the towns of Hespeler and Preston, and parts of the townships of Waterloo and North Dumfries. Galt was founded about 1816 and, along with Dumfries Township, became the home of large numbers of Scottish immigrants. Hespeler and Preston were settled in the early 1800s,…
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6cc86e6140029357e460020822bd191e | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gamboa | Gamboa | Gamboa
Gamboa, unincorporated community, central Panama. It is situated on the Panama Canal at the southwestern end of Gatun Lake and the confluence with the Chagres River, 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Panama City.
Gamboa was established in the 1930s as the headquarters of dredging operations for the canal. It was located north of Gaillard (Culebra) Cut (a gorge blasted through the cordillera during construction of the canal) to protect the equipment from lake dumps in case of landslides. Dredging operations are still based at Gamboa, but it is now better known as a resort destination for tourists. Soberanía National Park is nearby to the north. The Panama Canal Railway (formerly Panama Railroad) connects Gamboa with Panama City and with Colón to the northwest on the Caribbean side.
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253e2fb4935390feee4282f5503ee8f8 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gandhinagar | Gandhinagar | Gandhinagar
Gandhinagar, city, capital of Gujarat state, west-central India. It lies on the banks of the Sabarmati River, just north of Ahmadabad.
Gandhinagar was named for Mohandas K. Gandhi, leader of the Indian nationalist movement. Built to supplant Ahmadabad as capital, the city was begun in 1966. State government offices were transferred to Gandhinagar in 1970, and the city subsequently became a commercial and cultural centre in Gujarat. An expressway connects Gandhinagar with Ahmadabad. Pop. (2001) 195,985; (2011) 206,167.
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e28df64a0195458dfd94ddb0ddd95c8a | https://www.britannica.com/place/Ganges-delta | Ganges delta | Ganges delta
Ganges delta, orGanges-Brahmaputra delta, Region in West Bengal state, India, and Bangladesh. An area of about 220 mi (355 km) wide along the Bay of Bengal, it is covered by the network of streams forming the mouths of the Ganges (Ganga) and Brahmaputra rivers. In Bangladesh the Brahmaputra is joined by the Tista River and, from there to its junction with the Ganges, is known as the Jamuna River. The main streams, the Ganges and the Jamuna, unite to form the Padma River. The river farthest west that enters the Bay of Bengal is the Hugli River. Many smaller streams of the delta form a swamp region for about 160 miles (260 km) along the coast, known as the Sundarbans. The delta was struck in 1970 by one of history’s most devastating cyclones.
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5f97931b0ae4dcc7e1ae5130b2128871 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Ganvie | Ganvié | Ganvié
…in the lakeside village of Ganvié in Benin. The buildings are constructed of mangrove poles, a material also used by coastal Swahili-speaking people in Kenya. In some coastal regions, such as that occupied by the Duala in Cameroon, houses are constructed of bamboo, though they are mud-plastered. Bamboo—which grows to…
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3bb140a3d0313495a02a77c7edc6e3ff | https://www.britannica.com/place/Ganzhou | Ganzhou | Ganzhou
Ganzhou, Wade-Giles romanization Kan-chou, conventional Kanchow, city, southern Jiangxi sheng (province), southeastern China. It is located on the Gan River and is a natural route centre at the confluence of the various river systems that branch off from the north-south route to Nanchang, the provincial capital.
The city was first settled in Han times (206 bce–220 ce) and became a county seat in the 3rd century ce. In 589, under the Sui dynasty (581–618), it became the seat of Qianzhou prefecture, the name being changed to Ganzhou (for the river on which it stands) in the late 12th century; it was called Ganxian during the Republican period (1911–49). In the 18th and 19th centuries, when all foreign trade was restricted to Guangzhou (Canton), it became an important centre on the route from Guangzhou to Nanjing in Jiangsu province and to the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) valley, particularly for the tea trade. In the 20th century the construction of the Hankou-Guangzhou railway transferred the mainstream of the north-south trade to Hunan province, and Ganzhou has, to some degree, suffered a decline. Before World War II, Ganzhou was a large regional centre of commerce but little more.
Since 1949 Ganzhou has remained a centre for the collection and distribution of goods for the surrounding areas of Jiangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, and Hunan provinces. There are four trunk highway lines running to Nanchang and to neighbouring provinces. In addition, Ganzhou is the starting point for navigating the Gan River and therefore a busy dock for land and water transport. The Beijing-Kowloon (Hong Kong) rail line, opened in the late 1990s, runs across Jiangxi province, passing through Ganzhou. There are also scheduled flights between Ganzhou and Guangzhou. In addition, there are rich deposits of tungsten and tin, along with the considerable timber and water resources in the area, and Ganzhou has developed profitable metallurgical and papermaking industries. Pop. (2002 est.) 319,673.
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0e87642601d86a3cca658a96686ec45c | https://www.britannica.com/place/Ganzi-Tibetan-Autonomous-Prefecture | Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture | Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
…headquarters at Ma’erkang (Barkam); the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, with its capital at Kangding; and the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, with its capital at Xichang. As a rule, the autonomous prefectures represent little more than a symbolic cultural indulgence of local minorities. The actual control of the units is exercised…
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1c2587d78706da65354302cf5ce163b7 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gao-Mali | Gao | Gao
Gao, historically Kawkaw, town, eastern Mali, western Africa. It is situated on the Niger River at the southern edge of the Sahara, about 200 miles (320 km) east-southeast of Timbuktu. The population consists chiefly of Songhai people.
Gao, founded by fishermen in the 7th century, is one of the oldest trading centres in western Africa. Gao became the capital of the Songhai Empire in the early 11th century. Under Songhai rule the town thrived as a major trans-Saharan trading centre for gold, copper, slaves, and salt. The rulers of the kingdom of Mali annexed Gao in 1325, but the Songhai regained control of it some 40 years later. The tomb for the Songhai emperor Askia Mohamed, built in 1495, reflects the prosperity of Gao under the Songhai as well as regional mud-building styles. The structure, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004, was reclassified to the organization’s list of endangered properties in 2012 because of a threat of armed conflict in the area.
The Moroccans ended Songhai rule over Gao permanently in 1591, and the town’s importance as a commercial centre declined thereafter. Gao now serves as a terminus for large steamers originating upstream at the Malian towns of Mopti and Koulikoro. A road crossing the Sahara links the town with Algeria, and other roads connect Gao with Timbuktu and Mopti. Crops (wheat, rice, and sorghum) are grown by irrigation near the banks of the Niger, and phosphate is mined in the Tilemsi area, north of the town. Pop. (1998) 54,903; (2009) 86,633.
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b4bee70f401920bc174d36d54a2d05e3 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gaoligong-Mountains | Gaoligong Mountains | Gaoligong Mountains
…from west to east, the Gaoligong, the Nu, and the Yun. Branching farther out from the Yun Range are some secondary ranges—the Wuliang and the Ailao in the south-central area and the Wumeng in the northeast.
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f5eea3022bf69e14bda321b17c2929c1 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gaoual | Gaoual | Gaoual
Gaoual, town, northwestern Guinea, West Africa, on the Fouta Djallon plateau. It lies at the point where the Koumba and Nomo rivers join to form the Tominé and is at the intersection of trade routes from Boké, Labé, Télimélé, and Koundara. It is the chief market town for cattle, peanuts (groundnuts), rice, millet, and cotton produced in the area and is also the site of a hospital. Gaoual region (area 4,439 sq mi [11,497 sq km]) is mostly a hilly savanna and is mainly inhabited by the Muslim Fulani (Peul), Landuma, and Tyapi peoples. Bauxite and iron-ore deposits have been discovered in the region. Pop. (latest est.) 6,400.
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cd0f4a4e2fc9fc77a649959a7e68efcf | https://www.britannica.com/place/Garabit-Viaduct | Garabit Viaduct | Garabit Viaduct
…type, the 540-foot (162-metre) span Garabit viaduct over the Truyère River in southern France, for many years the highest bridge in the world, 400 feet (120 m) over the stream. He was one of the first engineers to employ compressed-air caissons in bridge building. He designed the movable dome of…
…1884 of Eiffel’s 162-metre (541-foot) Garabit Viaduct over the Truyère River near Saint-Flour, France. Unlike the bridge at Duoro, the Garabit arch is separated visually from the thin horizontal girder. Both arches were designed with hinges at their supports so that the crescent shape widens from points at the supports…
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2bc64fbd15fa5c404237191e6ccc9114 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Garamea | Garamea | Garamea
…as the Parthian capital, was Garamea, with its capital at modern Kirkūk. Adiabene had Arbela as its capital, and farther north was a province called Beth Nuhadra in Aramaic, which seems to have been governed by a general who was directly responsible to the Parthian king, because this province bore…
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1bf552f8ba2cc1d2dec429b168b30bc4 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Garden-Grove | Garden Grove | Garden Grove
Garden Grove, city, Orange county, southern California, U.S. Adjacent to the cities of Santa Ana (southeast) and Anaheim (northeast), Garden Grove is 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Los Angeles. The area was explored by Gaspar de Portolá in 1769 and was part of Rancho Los Nietos, a Spanish land grant made to Manuel Nieto in 1784. The modern city now occupies parts of Ranchos Los Alamitos, Las Bolsas, and Los Coyotes. Garden Grove was founded in 1874 by Alonzo Cook, and it developed as a small farming community until a railway link was completed in the early 20th century and the city began to grow. Two disasters struck in the first decades of the 20th century: a major flood covered the city in several feet of water in 1916, and an earthquake destroyed much of the older sections of the city in 1933. After World War II, when many servicemen who had been stationed in Orange county made southern California their home, Garden Grove became one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Among its leading industries are construction, services, aerospace, and biotechnology.
The most popular local event is the city’s annual strawberry festival, held annually (since 1958) over the Memorial Day weekend. Garden Grove also hosts festivals celebrating Korean and Arab cultures. One of the city’s most prominent features is the Crystal Cathedral (1980; designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee), which has more than 10,000 panes of tempered silver glass. The Stanley Ranch Museum, centred on a home built in 1892, contains a park and several buildings of historical significance to the region. Inc. 1956. Pop. (2000) 165,196; (2010) 170,883.
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d482f55d7e477b000126770ebeb78bb8 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gardiner-Maine | Gardiner | Gardiner
Gardiner, city, Kennebec county, southwestern Maine, U.S., on the Kennebec River (head of navigation) just south of Augusta and bounding the towns of Farmingdale, West Gardiner, and Richmond. Founded in 1754 by Sylvester Gardiner as Gardinerstown Plantation, it was set off from Pittston in 1760 and was incorporated as a town in 1803. By 1850, when it became a city, it had acquired shoe factories, paper mills, and woodworking shops. One of the first workable steam automobiles in America was built there in 1858. It was the boyhood home of the poet Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869–1935) and is considered to be the “Tilbury Town” of his poems. Laura E. Richards (1850–1943) lived in Gardiner, where she wrote many of her novels, including Captain January (1890). Pop. (2000) 6,198; (2010) 5,800.
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74e039e7f693df652d95e13b605dea1c | https://www.britannica.com/place/Garganta-del-Diablo | Garganta del Diablo | Garganta del Diablo
Garganta del Diablo, (Spanish: Devil’s Gorge or Devil’s Throat) , Portuguese Garganta do Diabo, spectacular cataract on the Río Iguazú (Rio Iguaçu) at the border of Argentina and Brazil. The water roars down a descent of 269 feet (82 metres).
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0fc5be3f50f5b7a400c3c246940fcf11 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gargas | Gargas | Gargas
Gargas, cave in the French Pyrenees that contains important examples of Late Paleolithic mural art, paintings, and engravings, most of them probably dating from the Gravettian Period (about 27,000 to 22,000 years ago).
The cave’s decoration was discovered in 1906. Many “macaroni,” or finger tracings, appear on the clay walls and ceiling of the cave; some are simply tangled lines, but others contain outlines of animal forms. A large number of animal images—including horses, ibex, stags, aurochs, bison, mammoths, and some birds—are engraved in the cave’s rock walls.
The most distinctive feature of the decoration at Gargas, however, is the large number of stencils of human hands painted on the walls of the cave. These are “negative imprints” of real hands, achieved by spitting or blowing paint around and between the fingers while the hand is pressed, palm up or down, to the wall surface. Such hand stencils occur throughout the cave art of France and Spain, but at Gargas there are no fewer than 230 of these images, painted in red or black, and the stencils are sometimes arranged in rows. A curious feature of these silhouettes is that many are lacking one or more phalanges on some fingers, most frequently the last two joints of the four fingers. Often the same incomplete hand is stenciled repeatedly over an area. Debate still rages, as it has for a century, over whether the fingers were simply bent over as a form of code, or whether the joints were actually missing, in which case either disease (such as some kind of frostbite) or a ritual mutilation was responsible. A bone fragment found stuck into a crack in the wall next to some hand stencils has been radiocarbon dated to 26,860 years ago, which may give an indication of the age of the stencils.
The significance of this artwork is unknown. The hand stencil motif is widespread in Stone Age art, appearing not only in Ice Age Europe but also in the art of other hunting cultures, most notably in Australia and Patagonia. From the testimony of Australian Aborigines, it is known that it may be a kind of personal signature, denoting a relationship with the site, a symbol of possession, a memorial, or even a record of growth.
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5540f5842e06d35ba4a50fc35545e012 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Garonne-River | Garonne River | Garonne River
Garonne River, Spanish Río Garona, most important river of southwestern France, rising in the Spanish central Pyrenees and flowing into the Atlantic by way of the estuary called the Gironde. It is 357 miles (575 km) long, excluding the Gironde Estuary (45 miles in length). Formed by two headstreams in the Maladeta Massif (mountainous mass) in the Aragon region of northeast Spain, which flow from glaciers situated at elevations of more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m), the Garonne flows north for 30 miles (48 km) through Spanish territory, traversing the high mountain Val d’Aran through a gorge before crossing the frontier through the narrow defile of Pont-du-Roi at an elevation of 1,902 feet (580 m). Flowing east around Saint-Gaudens, the river veers northeast across one of the largest alluvial plains of France, receiving a tributary, the Ariège, from the southeast before passing Toulouse and then winding northwestward to Bordeaux. The Garonne receives the Tarn west of Moissac and is then joined by the Lot River below Aiguillon, southeast of Marmande. About 34 miles above Bordeaux it passes through Castets—its highest tidal point. At Bordeaux the river is 1,800 feet broad. Flowing between the wine-growing Entre-deux-Mers peninsula to the east and the Médoc coastal strip to the west, it unites with the Dordogne 16 miles north of Bordeaux to form the vast Gironde Estuary.
The Garonne, which is regulated by 50 locks, is subject to sudden floods. The seasonal flow of the river is irregular, with high springtime levels at its source in the snows of the mountains, and its lowest levels in August and September. The Garonne is not navigable; it is accompanied by an old and little used lateral canal from Toulouse to Castets. The Canal du Midi, equally old, connecting the Garonne with the Mediterranean, starts at Toulouse. The river’s basin is some 21,600 square miles (56,000 square km) in area.
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24873f56d86809997a98dd5313d39fb9 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gastein-Valley | Gastein Valley | Gastein Valley
Gastein Valley, German Gasteinertal, side valley of the Salzach River, in Bundesland (federal state) Salzburg, west-central Austria. Lying along the north slope of the Hohe Tauern Mountains and traversed by the Gasteiner River, it is a popular scenic area centred on the resorts of Badgastein (q.v.) and Bad Hofgastein.
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a76ff27162c2c66ec30470da41a745df | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gaza-city-Gaza-Strip | Gaza | Gaza
Gaza, Arabic Ghazzah, Hebrew ʿAzza, city and principal urban centre of the Gaza Strip, southwestern Palestine. Formerly the administrative headquarters for the Israeli military forces that occupied the Gaza Strip, the city came under Palestinian control in 2005.
Records exist indicating continuous habitation at the site for more than three millennia, the earliest being a reference by Pharaoh Thutmose III (18th dynasty; 15th century bc). It is also mentioned in the Tell el-Amarna tablets, the diplomatic and administrative records of ancient Egypt. After 300 years of Egyptian occupation, the Peleset (Philistines), one of the Sea Peoples, settled the city and surrounding area. Gaza became an important centre of the Philistine Pentapolis (league of five cities). There the biblical hero Samson perished while toppling the temple of the god Dagon. Because of its strategic position on the Via Maris, the ancient coastal road linking Egypt with Palestine and the lands beyond, Gaza experienced little peace in antiquity; it fell, successively, to the Israelite king David and to the Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, and Persians. Alexander the Great met stiff resistance there, and, after conquering it, he sold its inhabitants into slavery. Throughout its history it was a prosperous trade centre. In Hellenistic and Roman times the harbour, about 3 miles (5 km) from the city proper, was called Neapolis (Greek: “New City”).
In ad 635 the Arabs took Gaza, and it became a Muslim city. Gaza has long been an important centre of Islamic tradition and is the reputed site of the burial place of Hāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf, great-grandfather of the Prophet Muḥammad, and the birthplace of al-Shāfiʿī (767–820), founder of the Shāfiʿite school of Muslim legal interpretation. The city declined during the Crusades and never regained its former importance. After the sultan Saladin (Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn) defeated the Crusaders occupying the region at the Battle of Ḥaṭṭīn (1187), Gaza reverted to Muslim control; it passed to the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century. In World War I it was stoutly defended by the Turks and was not taken by British forces until November 1917.
After the war Gaza became part of mandated Palestine, and a small coastal port (fishing, lighterage) was operated on the coast. When the Palestine partition plan was promulgated by the United Nations (1947), Gaza was assigned to what was to be an Arab state. That state, however, was not set up, and Gaza was occupied in 1948 by Egyptians. At the time of the signing of the Israeli-Egyptian armistice (February 1949), Egypt held Gaza and its environs, a situation that resulted in the creation of the Gaza Strip. (See Arab-Israeli wars.) Egypt did not annex the city and territory but administered it through a military governor. Gaza and its surroundings have continued to be greatly overpopulated by Palestinian Arab refugees.
During the Sinai campaign of November 1956, Gaza and its environs were taken by Israeli troops, but international pressure soon forced Israel to withdraw. Reoccupied by Israel in the Six-Day War (June 1967), the city remained under Israeli military administration until 1994, when a phased transfer of governmental authority to the Palestinians got under way. In 2005 Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, handing over control of the region to the Palestinians.
Long a prosperous citrus centre, Gaza also has extensive truck farms within the city limits. Dark pottery, food products, and finished textiles are manufactured; the city has a long-standing textile industry. Sites of interest include at the harbour an early Byzantine mosaic floor (6th century ad), evidently of a synagogue, showing King David playing the harp and dressed as the Greek hero Orpheus. Pop. (2005 est.) 479,400.
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e0b18f01ba522467a387e7833ef21006 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gdynia | Gdynia | Gdynia
Gdynia, city, Pomorskie województwo (province), north-central Poland. It lies along the Gulf of Gdańsk, just northwest of Gdańsk city.
First mentioned in 1253, Gdynia began as a fishing settlement. Major growth came only after World War I, when Gdynia was returned from Germany to Poland by the Treaty of Versailles. When the German-controlled legislative assembly in Gdańsk barred Poland’s use of that port’s facilities, Poland chose Gdynia as the site for its new port. From 1924 to 1939 Gdynia was the major Baltic port, surpassing Gdańsk and Szczecin. Nazi Germany destroyed the town and harbour during World War II, but Gdynia was quickly rebuilt after the war.
It is the site of the “Paris Commune” shipyard, one of Europe’s most modern. Gdynia is part of the Trójmiasto (“Three-City”) urban area, with Gdańsk and Sopot, and is the main passenger port for the three cities. It is a manufacturing centre and the home port of the Polish navy. Its chief exports are lumber, coal, and sugar, while iron ore and food products are the main imports. The city contains a naval museum and several maritime schools. Pop. (2011) 249,139.
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638384fa5d9305ec204476f32987930e | https://www.britannica.com/place/Georgetown-county-South-Carolina | Georgetown | Georgetown
Georgetown, county, eastern South Carolina, U.S. The Atlantic Ocean is the eastern border, the Great Pee Dee River the irregular northeastern border, and the Santee River the southern border. It also is drained by the Waccamaw, Black, and Sampit rivers, which empty into Winyah Bay. A portion of the Sea Islands, with their sandy beaches, line the coast, and swamps and pine forests cover much of the inland area.
The region was inhabited by Siouan-speaking Winyah Indians when Europeans began settling Carolina in the 1670s. During the colonial era rice and indigo cultivation made it important agriculturally. Georgetown county was established in 1785 and named for George II of England. The deep harbour at the town of Georgetown, the county seat, made it a crucial port of entry for supplies during the U.S. War of Independence; the British seized the town in 1780 and destroyed it the next year. The county first became noted as a resort area in the 18th century; Huntington Beach State Park and oceanside communities such as Murrells Inlet, Litchfield Beach, and Pawleys Island continue to attract vacationers who enjoy fishing and swimming.
Tourism, commercial fishing, lumbering, and textile, steel, and paper production are important elements in the economy, but, apart from tobacco growing, agriculture is a minor element. Area 815 square miles (2,110 square km). Pop. (2000) 55,823; (2010) 60,158.
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fba3354cec859e667cbe33d55aff793e | https://www.britannica.com/place/Geres-Mountains | Gerês Mountains | Gerês Mountains
Gerês Mountains, Portuguese Serra Do Gerês, short range of mountains, less than 20 mi (32 km) long, with a maximum width of about 11 mi, reaching an elevation of nearly 5,000 ft (1,507 m). They run east-northeast from Portugal’s northwestern interior into Spanish Galicia. The area is known for its Roman ruins, including the remains of a highway that led from Braga to Rome.
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dd7725a6e1235c72f5196186a9160943 | https://www.britannica.com/place/German-National-Library | German National Library | German National Library
The German National Library at Frankfurt am Main is the country’s library of deposit and bibliographic centre. The Technical Library at Hannover is Germany’s most important library for science and technology and for translations of works in the fields of science and engineering. The great university…
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3154eb021790d8d900d8e0e6578bec06 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana | Ghana | Ghana
Ghana, country of western Africa, situated on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. Although relatively small in area and population, Ghana is one of the leading countries of Africa, partly because of its considerable natural wealth and partly because it was the first black African country south of the Sahara to achieve independence from colonial rule.
In addition to being known for its lush forests, diverse animal life, and miles of sandy beaches along a picturesque coast, Ghana is also celebrated for its rich history—its habitation possibly dating from 10,000 bce—and as a fascinating repository of cultural heritage. The country takes it name from the great medieval trading empire that was located northwest of the modern-day state until its demise in the 13th century. Direct sea trade with Europe, established in the 15th century, had much impact on the area’s inhabitants, many of whom actively traded with the Portuguese, Dutch, British, and other Europeans. Forts and castles, many of which still dot the Ghanaian coast today, were constructed by Europeans to protect their trade interests. Although trading was originally centred on the gold that was readily available in the area (and from which the future British colony the Gold Coast would take its name), the focus shifted to the lucrative slave trade in the 17th century. The area later became known for growing cacao, the source of cocoa beans. Introduced there in the late 19th century, cacao continues to provide an important export for Ghana.
Modern-day Ghana, which gained its independence on March 6, 1957, consists primarily of the former Gold Coast. The colony’s drive for independence was led by nationalist and Pan-African leader Kwame Nkrumah, who viewed Ghana’s sovereignty as being important not only for the Ghanaian people but for all of Africa, saying “Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.” Indeed, more than 30 other African countries, spurred by Ghana’s example, followed suit and declared their own independence within the next decade.
Nkrumah quickly laid the groundwork for fiscal independence within the new country as well, embarking on many economic development projects. Unfortunately, decades of corruption, mismanagement, and military rule stymied growth and achievement. By the 1990s, though, the country’s state of affairs began showing signs of improvement, and Ghana is now held up as an example of successful economic recovery and political reform in Africa.
Ghana’s administrative capital is the coastal city of Accra. Originally founded on the site of several Ga settlements, Accra developed into a prosperous trading hub; today it serves as the commercial and educational centre of the county. Kumasi, another prominent commercial centre, is located in the south-central part of the country. Known as the “Garden City of West Africa,” Kumasi is also the seat of the king of the Asante people, the vestige of an empire (see Asante empire) that existed in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Situated on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in western Africa, Ghana is bordered to the northwest and north by Burkina Faso, to the east by Togo, to the south by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west by Côte d’Ivoire.
Relief throughout Ghana is generally low, with elevations not exceeding 3,000 feet (900 metres). The southwestern, northwestern, and extreme northern parts of the country consist of a dissected peneplain (a land surface worn down by erosion to a nearly flat plain, later uplifted and again cut by erosion into hills and valleys or into flat uplands separated by valleys); it is made of Precambrian rocks (about 540 million to 4 billion years old). Most of the remainder of the country consists of Paleozoic deposits (about 250 to 540 million years old), which are thought to rest on older rocks. The Paleozoic sediments are composed mostly of beds of shales (laminated sediments consisting mostly of particles of clay) and sandstones in which strata of limestone occur in places. They occupy a large area called the Voltaian Basin in the north-central part of the country where the elevation rarely exceeds 500 feet (150 metres). The basin is dominated by Lake Volta, an artificial lake that extends far into the central part of the country behind the Akosombo Dam and covers about 3,275 square miles (8,500 square km). Along the north and south, and to some extent along the west, the uplifted edges of the basin give rise to narrow plateaus between 1,000 and 2,000 feet (300 and 600 metres) high, bordered by impressive scarps. The most outstanding are the Kwahu (Mampong) Scarp (see Kwahu Plateau) in the south and the Gambaga Scarp in the north.
Surrounding the basin on all of its sides, except in the east, is the dissected Precambrian peneplain, which rises to elevations of 500 to 1,000 feet above sea level and contains several distinct ranges as high as 2,000 feet.
Along the eastern edge of the Voltaian Basin, and extending from the Togo border to the sea immediately west of Accra, is a narrow zone of folded Precambrian rocks running northeast to southwest, forming the Akwapim-Togo Ranges, which vary in elevation from 1,000 to 3,000 feet (300 to 900 metres). The highest points in Ghana are found there, including Mount Afadjato (2,903 feet [885 metres]), Mount Djebobo (2,874 feet [876 metres]), and Mount Torogbani (2,861 feet [872 metres]), all situated east of the Volta River near the Togo border. These ranges are part of the Togo-Atakora Mountains, which extend northward into Togo and Benin.
The southeastern corner of the country, between the Akwapim-Togo Ranges and the sea, consists of the gently rolling Accra Plains, which are underlain by some of the oldest Precambrian rocks known—mostly gneisses (coarse-grained rocks in which bands containing granular minerals alternate with bands containing micaceous minerals); in places they rise above the surface to form inselbergs (prominent steep-sided hills left after erosion). The only extensive areas of young rocks less than about 136 million years old are in the wide, lagoon-fringed delta of the Volta, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Accra, and in the extreme southwest of the country, along the Axim coast.
In the east the predominant rocks are less than 65 million years old, though there is a patch of Cretaceous sediments (about 65 to 145 million years old) near the Ghana-Togo border. To the west of Axim, near the Côte d’Ivoire frontier, the rocks date to the Cretaceous Period. The intervening coastal zone between eastern and western extremes contains patches of Devonian sediments (about 360 to 415 million years old). With the older and more resistant rocks of the Precambrian peneplain, these form a low, picturesque coastline of sandy bays and rocky promontories.
The drainage system is dominated by the Volta River basin, which includes Lake Volta and the Black Volta, White Volta, and Oti rivers. Most of the other rivers, such as the Pra, the Ankobra, the Tano, and a number of smaller ones, flow directly south into the ocean from the watershed formed by the Kwahu Plateau, which separates them from the Volta drainage system. South of Kumasi, in the south-central part of the country, is Ghana’s only true natural lake—Bosumtwi—lying in a meteorite impact crater and without any outlet to the sea. Along the coast are numerous lagoons, most of them formed at the mouths of small streams.
Over much of the surface of Ghana, the rocks are weathered, and great spreads of laterite (red, leached, iron-bearing soil) and lesser spreads of bauxite and manganese are found on the flat tops of hills and mountains. Although the movements of Earth’s crust that produced the basic geologic structure of the country have now virtually ceased, periodic earthquakes occur, especially near Accra along the eastern foot of the Akwapim-Togo Ranges, where there is a major fault line.
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46173fc89e78c41bfcac617aa47d21ba | https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghazipur-India | Ghazipur | Ghazipur
Ghazipur, city, southeastern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is located on the Ganges (Ganga) River near the border with Bihar state, about 40 miles (65 km) northeast of Varanasi (Benares).
Its ancient name of Gadhipur was changed to Ghazipur about 1330, reputedly in honour of Ghāzī Malik, a Muslim ruler of the Tughluq dynasty. The town was a strategically important river port under the British, whose former cantonment (military base) now contains a college, a church, a bazaar, and the mausoleum of Lord Cornwallis, the British governor-general of India when he died there in 1805. Ghazipur became known in the 19th century for the production of opium, which is still made there legally.
The city is an agricultural market with some industry, which, in addition to the manufacture of opium, includes perfume making and hand-loom weaving. The city lies on a major road and two railways. The surrounding region is a tract of alluvial plain traversed by the Ganges River. It is subject to frequent floods and droughts but produces a variety of crops, including opium poppies. Pop. (2001) 95,356; (2011) 110,587.
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34c560395432f2ac3c17d41e19a62e31 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Giants-Causeway | Giant's Causeway | Giant's Causeway
Giant’s Causeway, Irish Clochán an Aifir, promontory of basalt columns along 4 miles (6 km) of the northern coast of Northern Ireland. It lies on the edge of the Antrim plateau between Causeway Head and Benbane Head, some 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Londonderry. There are approximately 40,000 of these stone pillars, each typically with five to seven irregular sides, jutting out of the cliff faces as if they were steps creeping into the sea.
Formed 50 to 60 million years ago, during the Paleogene Period, the Giant’s Causeway resulted from successive flows of lava inching toward the coast and cooling when they contacted the sea. Layers of basalt formed columns, and the pressure between these columns sculpted them into polygonal shapes that vary from 15 to 20 inches (38 to 51 cm) in diameter and measure up to 82 feet (25 metres) in height. They are arrayed along cliffs averaging some 330 feet (100 metres) in elevation.
First documented in 1693, the formation has been intensively studied by geologists. The Giant’s Causeway and its coastal environs were bequeathed to the National Trust (a British organization that promotes the preservation of natural and architectural wonders) in 1961. Subsequently, the site was extended to some 200 acres (80 hectares); it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986. It is protected not only for its beauty but also because its cliffs, seashores, marshes, and grasslands are home to some 50 species of birds, as well as to more than 200 species of plants. Humans settled around the Giant’s Causeway in the 19th century, but the site is now uninhabited. It does, however, attract some 300,000 tourists annually. Deriving its name from local folklore, it is fabled to be the work of giants, particularly of Finn MacCumhaill (MacCool), who built it as part of a causeway to the Scottish island of Staffa (which has similar rock formations) for motives of either love or war.
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23e375363d7f2a7eb0d1ea51f7e16550 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Giglio-Island | Giglio Island | Giglio Island
Giglio Island, Italian Isola del Giglio, Latin Igilium, mountainous, volcanic islet of the Tuscan Archipelago, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, opposite Mount Argentario, on the west coast of Italy. The island rises to 1,634 feet (498 m) and has an area of 8 square miles (21 square km). Wine is produced, and there is considerable offshore fishing. The village of Giglio Castello, surrounded by medieval walls, and the bathing resort of Campese attract tourists. Giglio Porto, on the east coast, is the only landing place; it is connected by daily ship service with Porto Santo Stefano, on the mainland of Italy. The island was controlled by the cities of Pisa and Florence during most of the European Middle Ages. Pop. (2006 est.) 1,413.
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71a3b6aee25f18d32239bc560a53000b | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gilgit-River | Gilgit River | Gilgit River
Gilgit River, river in the Gilgit-Baltistan area of the Pakistani-administered portion of the Kashmir region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent.
The river rises from a high alpine glacier in the area where the Hindu Kush, Karakoram Range, and western (Punjab) Himalayas meet. Descending through a deep valley, it flows north and then east and southeast to the town of Gilgit. Just southeast of town the river is joined by the Hunza River, and the Gilgit then flows a short distance more before joining the Indus River just north of Bunji. The Gilgit’s total course is some 150 miles (240 km).
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f27abe81c61079a3065822f8989d8a97 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Giresun | Giresun | Giresun
Giresun, also spelled Keresun, city and seaport, northeastern Turkey. It lies along the Black Sea about 110 miles (175 km) west of Trabzon.
The older parts of the city lie on a peninsula crowned by a ruined Byzantine fortress, sheltering the small natural harbour. Nearby is Giresun Island, in ancient times called Ares. Giresun was known to the ancient Greeks as Choerades or Pharnacia and to the Romans as Kerasous or Cerasus. The name for the cherry is believed to have been derived from Cerasus (Latin cerasum, French cerise). Cherries have been replaced by hazelnuts as Giresun’s chief product. Other exports include walnuts, hides, and timber. An artificial harbour constructed in the early 1960s greatly increased the port’s exports. Pop. (2000) 83,636; (2013 est.) 100,712.
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91a0490e8d32fc7c6b6a0988df3e4817 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gironde-department-France | Gironde | Gironde
…the southwestern départements of Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques. In 2016 the Aquitaine région was joined with the régions of Poitou-Charentes and Limousin to form the new administrative entity of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The present-day région of Nouvelle-Aquitaine roughly matches the western half of the historical region of Aquitaine.
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b086e18cbbc4360d651e4bf024c7704b | https://www.britannica.com/place/Goa | Goa | Goa
Goa, state of India, comprising a mainland district on the country’s southwestern coast and an offshore island. It is located about 250 miles (400 km) south of Mumbai (Bombay). One of India’s smallest states, it is bounded by the states of Maharashtra on the north and Karnataka on the east and south and by the Arabian Sea on the west. The capital is Panaji (Panjim), on the north-central coast of the mainland district. Formerly a Portuguese possession, it became a part of India in 1962 and attained statehood in 1987. Area 1,429 square miles (3,702 square km). Pop. (2011) 1,457,723.
Sandy beaches, estuaries, and promontories characterize the 65-mile (105-km) coastline of mainland Goa. In the interior region, low, forested plateaus merge with the wooded slopes of the Western Ghats, which rise to nearly 4,000 feet (1,220 metres) on the eastern edge of the state. The two largest rivers are the Mandavi and the Zuvari, between the mouths of which lies the island of Goa (Ilhas). The island is triangular, the apex (called the cape) being a rocky headland separating the harbour of Goa into two anchorages.
Goa’s climate is equable, with high temperatures generally in the 80s F (30s C) and low temperatures in the 70s F (20s C) throughout the year. A southwest monsoon blows between June and September. The state receives about 115 inches (3,000 mm) of rainfall annually, most occurring during the monsoon season.
The Portuguese colonial heritage and the diverse local population of Goa have cultivated a unique cultural landscape. The population is primarily a mixture of Christians and Hindus: the western coastland and estuaries are dotted with wayside crosses and Roman Catholic churches, while the hilly east is scattered with Hindu temples and shrines. There is also a notable Muslim population in Goa, as well as smaller communities of Jains, Sikhs, and practitioners of local religions. Portuguese was once the language of the administration and the elite, and as part of that legacy, many Goans bear Portuguese personal names and surnames. Today, however, most Goans tend to speak Konkani, Marathi, or English.
Old Goa, on the island of Goa, was once the hub of the region, but the city was decimated by war and disease in the 18th century; for the most part, only its ruins remain. Since the mid-20th century, however, efforts have been made to preserve Old Goa. Among the city’s most notable landmarks are the Basilica of Bom Jesus, which enshrines the tomb of St. Francis Xavier, and the Se Cathedral, dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria. Both were built in the 16th century, and, with several other churches of Goa, they were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.
There are three principal cities in contemporary Goa: Panaji (Panjim), Marmagao (Mormugão), and Madgaon (Margão). Panaji was originally a suburb of Old Goa. Like its parent city, Panaji was built on the left bank of the Mandavi estuary. Now a busy port city, it contains the archbishop’s palace, the government house, and many markets. Marmagao, sheltered by a promontory and outfitted with a breakwater and quay, is one of the major ports between Mumbai and Kozhikode (Calicut; in the state of Kerala). It specializes in the shipment of iron ore and manganese. As Marmagao developed, so too did nearby Madgaon, with its industrial estate, cold-storage facilities, and large produce market.
Over the course of Goa’s history, Portuguese rule and fluctuating economic conditions caused emigration on a large scale. Many Goans have moved not only to other parts of India but also to the former Portuguese colonies on the eastern coast of Africa.
Agriculture remains a mainstay of Goa’s economy, with rice, fruits (such as mangoes), coconuts, pulses (legumes), cashews, betel (areca nut), and sugarcane among the leading crops. Principal forest products include teak and bamboo. The state has an active fisheries industry along its coast, although sustainability has been a growing concern in the 21st century. The state exports a number of its agricultural commodities.
Goa is rich in minerals. Mining began in the mid-20th century, and over the next few decades it emerged as a central component of the state’s economy. Iron ore, manganese, and bauxite are among the primary products of the industry. Especially since the late 20th century, however, the adverse environmental impact of opencast mining has prompted heated controversy and intermittent government-mandated moratoria on production. Although new environmental regulations were put into place in the early 21st century, mining remains a sensitive issue.
Since the late 20th century, government policies and concessions have promoted Goa’s rapid industrialization, particularly through the development of many industrial estates. Fertilizer, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, iron products, and processed sugar are among the leading large-scale industries. There also are medium- and small-scale industries, including traditional handicrafts. Goa’s manufactures are distributed both domestically and abroad.
The service sector of Goa’s economy has increased in importance since the late 20th century. This is attributable largely to the rapid growth of the tourism industry. By the early 21st century, tourism constituted a significant segment of Goa’s economy, as the state’s long, sandy beaches, coastal vegetation, coconut palms, and unique hotels attracted large numbers of international and domestic visitors. The expansion of tourism, however, has raised concerns about preservation of the natural environment.
Goa is well connected to the rest of India—and the world—by road, rail, sea, and air. In Panaji there is a large bus terminal that adjoins the station on the Konkan railway. Completed in 1998, the Konkan railway runs along India’s western coast from west-central Maharashtra to southern Karnataka, where it links with the country’s southern railway. Another rail line connects the state’s primary port at Marmagao (via Madgaon) with the country’s southwestern rail system by way of Castle Rock (in Karnataka) in the Western Ghats. There is an international airport at Dabolim, near Panaji.
The structure of Goa’s government, like that of most other Indian states, is defined by the national constitution of 1950. The governor is appointed by the president of India for a five-year term. In addition to governing Goa, the governor administers the union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Assisting the governor is the Council of Ministers, which is headed by a chief minister and is responsible to the elected Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha).
Educational and training institutes range from primary schools to technical and collegiate institutions. Goa University (1985), one of India’s premier postsecondary institutions, is located at Bambolim, near Panaji. The National Institute of Oceanography (1966), which is famous for its oceanographic research and for its expeditions to Antarctica, is located at Dona Paula, on the far western tip of Goa Island.
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662381f565535dffa8917289aef9eda2 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gobekli-Tepe | Göbekli Tepe | Göbekli Tepe
Göbekli Tepe, Neolithic site near Şanlıurfa in southeastern Turkey. The site, believed to have been a sanctuary of ritual significance, is marked by layers of carved megaliths and is estimated to date to the 9th–10th millennium bce.
At Göbekli Tepe (Turkish: “belly hill”), near the Syrian border, a number of T-shaped limestone megaliths, some of which surpass 16 feet (5 metres) in height and weigh as much as 50 tons, are arranged in circular formations. Several such formations are positioned on top of one another: each completed circle was covered with dirt, and the process began again atop the same site. While some of the megaliths are blank, others are carved on their broader sides with elaborate designs featuring foxes, scorpions, lions, and other imagery.
Göbekli Tepe, which predates Stonehenge by some 6,000 years, was first investigated in the 1960s but was dismissed as a medieval cemetery. It was explored again in the 1990s, when its true age, which was estimated by comparing the remnants of tools discovered at the site with those that had been carbon-dated from nearby sites, was revealed. The remains of undomesticated plant material and tens of thousands of wild animal bones—chiefly gazelle bones—have been uncovered there, but the lack of trash pits, hearths, or other signals of domestic life indicates that it was most likely not a permanent settlement. Most experts instead identify it as a ritual site, one that may have attracted worshipers from great distances.
Because remains at the site indicate that Göbekli Tepe was constructed by hunter-gatherers (the presence of such quantities of wild animal bones indicates that they had not yet domesticated animals or begun farming), the site has prompted some to reconsider the relationship between settlement and sociocultural development. Although it has long been presumed that settlement was a prerequisite for the construction of temples and the development of complex social systems, the work needed to construct Göbekli Tepe would have required that a large number of builders be housed and fed in one place, meaning that the coordinated effort may have necessitated settlement, not followed it.
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c343df679ccd5b7528c106a8bae404c9 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Godavari-River | Godavari River | Godavari River
Godavari River, sacred river of central and southeastern India. One of the longest rivers in India, its total length is about 910 miles (1,465 km), and it has a drainage basin of some 121,000 square miles (313,000 square km).
The Godavari River rises in northwestern Maharashtra state in the Western Ghats range, only about 50 miles (80 km) from the Arabian Sea, and flows for most of its course generally eastward across the broad plateau of the Deccan (peninsular India). After traversing central Maharashtra it enters northern Telangana state northwest of Nizamabad and continues through a broad valley and forms a short stretch of Telangana’s northeastern border with Maharashtra. The river then turns southeastward for the last 200 miles (320 km) of its course, flowing through a gap in the Eastern Ghats ranges and then across Andhra Pradesh state before reaching the Bay of Bengal. There it empties via its two mouths: the Gautami Godavari to the north and the Vasishta Godavari to the south.
From its source to the Eastern Ghats, the Godavari River flows through gentle, somewhat monotonous terrain, along the way receiving the Darna, Purna, Manjra, Pranhita, and Indravati rivers. Upon entering the Eastern Ghats region, however, the river flows between steep and precipitous banks, its width contracting until it flows through a deep cleft only 600 feet (180 metres) wide, known as the Gorge. On either side wooded hills rise almost vertically from the waters. Having passed through the Eastern Ghats, the river widens again, traversing wide lowland plains, the low islands in its stream being used to grow a variety of crops, notably tobacco. At that point the Godavari flows placidly. Just below the city of Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, a dam was constructed on the river in the mid-19th century by the British engineer Sir Arthur Thomas Cotton, the first major irrigation project on the Godavari. Since Indian independence from Britain in 1947, some newer projects have been completed to provide irrigation and hydroelectric power, including the Jayakwadi Dam in west-central Maharashtra, and other projects have been planned.
The upper reaches of the Godavari are dry in winter and spring, making it virtually useless for irrigation. At its mouths, however, the development of a navigable irrigation-canal system, linking its delta with that of the Krishna River to the southwest, has made the land one of the richest rice-growing areas of India. The Godavari, throughout its entire length, is sacred to the Hindus.
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819029a9a1a60c0f65aaff59ecee354d | https://www.britannica.com/place/Golan-Heights | Golan Heights | Golan Heights
Golan Heights, also called Golan Plateau, Arabic Al-Jawlān, Hebrew Ramat Ha-Golan or Ha-Golan, hilly area overlooking the upper Jordan River valley on the west. The area was part of extreme southwestern Syria until 1967, when it came under Israeli military occupation, and in December 1981 Israel unilaterally annexed the part of the Golan it held. The area’s name is from the biblical city of refuge Golan in Bashan (Deuteronomy 4:43; Joshua 20:8).
Geographically, the Golan is bounded by the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee on the west, Mount Hermon (Arabic: Jabal Al-Shaykh; Hebrew: Har Ḥermon) on the north, the seasonal Wadi Al-Ruqqād (a north-south branch of the Yarmūk River) on the east, and the Yarmūk River on the south. As a political unit the boundaries differ; Israel is the suzerain of almost all of the Golan except for a narrow strip in the east that follows the Israeli-Syrian armistice line of June 10, 1967, which was later modified by the separation of forces agreement of May 31, 1974. The Golan extends about 44 miles (71 km) from north to south and about 27 miles (43 km) from east to west at its widest point. It is roughly boat-shaped and has an area of 444 square miles (1,150 square km). The better agricultural land lies in its southern portion; the stony foothills of Mount Hermon in the north, with patches of woodland and scrub, are a stock-raising area. The Israeli portion of the Golan rises to 7,297 feet (2,224 metres) at its extreme northeast point on the Mount Hermon slopes.
In 1894 the French-Jewish banker Baron Edmond de Rothschild bought a large tract of land for Jewish settlement in the Golan; he was followed by other groups in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Jewish colonization was attempted but was frustrated by the hostility of the Arab population and by the Ottoman land laws, which virtually forbade settlement by nonnatives. After World War I the Golan became part of the French mandate of Syria and in 1941 passed to independent Syria. After the Arab-Israeli War of 1948–49, Syria fortified the western crest of the Golan Heights, which commands the Ḥula Valley, the Sea of Galilee, and the upper Jordan River valley, all in Israel. In these sections many Israeli civilians were killed by Syrian artillery and sniper fire; agriculture and fishing were rendered difficult, and at times impossible.
On the last two days (June 9–10, 1967) of the Six-Day War, the Israeli armed forces, after defeating Egypt and Jordan, turned their attention to Syria. Under cover of the Israel Air Force, engineer troops built access roads up the steep Golan Heights, which were then frontally assaulted by armoured vehicles and infantry. The Syrian defenders and most of the Arab inhabitants fled, and Syria asked for an armistice; fighting ceased on June 10. The heights were placed under Israeli military administration, and Golan was integrated into the communications and financial framework of Israel. Five villages of mostly Druze Arabs remained and were offered Israeli citizenship, though most declined and retained Syrian citizenship. By the late 1970s nearly 30 Jewish settlements had been established on the heights, and in 1981 Israel unilaterally annexed the area.
A disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria, signed following the Yom Kippur War of October 1973, established a United Nations buffer zone in the Golan Heights, monitored by a UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). The UNDOF mandate was renewed every six months thereafter.
Negotiations between Syria and Israel, initiated during bilateral talks held in Madrid in 1991, continued intermittently until they broke down in 2000 over Syria’s insistence on Israel’s full withdrawal from the Golan Heights territory. Discussions between the two countries were renewed in 2008 through the mediation of Turkey, which was then a close ally of both countries, but those talks fell apart after the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Meanwhile, developments in both Israel and the region in the 2010s stirred the traditionally quietist Golan Druze to become more vocal about their status: Israel witnessed an uptick in citizenship applications from some in the community, while others began holding public rallies reaffirming loyalty to Syria. In March 2019 the United States became the only country to recognize Israel’s annexation of the region.
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446f6df8ced2164e982f7aa2cac62508 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Golden-Horde | Golden Horde | Golden Horde
Golden Horde, also called Kipchak Khanate, Russian designation for the Ulus Juchi, the western part of the Mongol empire, which flourished from the mid-13th century to the end of the 14th century. The people of the Golden Horde were a mixture of Turks and Mongols, with the latter generally constituting the aristocracy.
The ill-defined western portion of the empire of Genghis Khan formed the territorial endowment of his oldest son, Juchi. Juchi predeceased his father in 1227, but his son Batu expanded their domain in a series of brilliant campaigns that included the sacking and burning of the city of Kiev in 1240. At its peak the Golden Horde’s territory extended from the Carpathian Mountains in eastern Europe to the steppes of Siberia. On the south the Horde’s lands bordered on the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, and the Iranian territories of the Mongol dynasty known as the Il-Khans.
Batu founded his capital, Sarai Batu, on the lower stretch of the Volga River. The capital was later moved upstream to Sarai Berke, which at its peak held perhaps 600,000 inhabitants. The Horde was gradually Turkified and Islamized, especially under their greatest khan, Öz Beg (1312–41). The Turkic tribes concentrated on animal husbandry in the steppes, while their subject peoples, East Slavs, Mordvinians, Greeks, Georgians, and Armenians, contributed tribute. The Russian princes, particularly those of Muscovy, soon obtained responsibility for collecting the local tribute. The Horde carried on an extensive trade with Mediterranean peoples, particularly their allies in Mamlūk Egypt and the Genoese.
The Black Death, which struck in 1346–47, and the murder of Öz Beg’s successor marked the beginning of the Golden Horde’s decline and disintegration. The Russian princes won a signal victory over the Horde general Mamai at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. Mamai’s successor and rival, Tokhtamysh, sacked and burned Moscow in retaliation in 1382 and reestablished the Horde’s dominion over the Russians. Tokhtamysh had his own power broken, however, by his former ally Timur, who invaded the Horde’s territory in 1395, destroyed Sarai Berke, and deported most of the region’s skilled craftsmen to Central Asia, thus depriving the Horde of its technological edge over resurgent Muscovy.
In the 15th century the Horde disintegrated into several smaller khanates, the most important being those of Crimea, Astrakhan, and Kazan. The last surviving remnant of the Golden Horde was destroyed by the Crimean khan in 1502.
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d4de7d814c47e9388ddf3243bf3cf003 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gondwana-historical-region-India | Gondwana | Gondwana
Gondwana, historic region in central India, comprising portions of Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra states. It is inhabited by the Gonds, a group of Dravidian-speaking peoples exceeding three million in population, who are among the officially designated Scheduled Tribes.
The Gonds were first mentioned in 14th-century Muslim chronicles. From the 14th to the 18th century the area was held by powerful Gond dynasties, which during Mughal times remained independent or served as tributary chiefs. When in the 18th century the Gonds were conquered by the Marathas, the greater part of Gondwana was incorporated into the dominions of the Bhonsle rajas of Nagpur or the nizams of Hyderabad. Many Gonds took refuge in relatively inaccessible highlands and became tribal raiders. Between 1818 and 1853 the greater part of the region passed to the British, although in some minor states the Gond rajas continued to rule until Indian independence in 1947.
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2aaee583083d384caffad0f683095670 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gorizia | Gorizia | Gorizia
Gorizia, German Görz, Slovene Gorica, town, Friuli–Venezia Giulia regione, northeastern Italy, on the Isonzo River north of Trieste. From the 11th century Gorizia was the seat of the independent county of Gorizia until it passed to Austria in 1500. A noted cultural centre under Austrian rule, it was the capital of the Habsburg crownland of Görz-Gradisca after 1815. The area, especially around Monte San Michele (899 feet [274 m]) to the southwest, was the scene of heavy fighting between the Austrians and the Italians during World War I, and the town, much damaged, was annexed by Italy in 1919. By treaty in 1947 Yugoslavia received the northern outskirts of the town, and the adjoining Yugoslav town of Nova Gorica was developed.
The partly 14th-century cathedral contains treasures of the patriarchate of Aquileia, which was dissolved in 1751 and replaced by the archbishoprics of Gorizia and Udine. Also notable are the old castle of the counts with the Church of San Spirito, the Baroque Church of San Ignazio, the historical museum in the Palazzo Attemis (1745), and the war museum. The town lost its commercial importance after the border settlement, but it has foundries and chemical and textile industries. Pop. (2006 est.) mun., 36,418.
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96c3307dbb34ad0cbf024ef8038daf0a | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gorno-Badakhshan | Gorno-Badakhshan | Gorno-Badakhshan
…this Pamir region became the Gorno-Badakhshān autonomous oblast, part of the Tadzhik S.S.R. (Tajikistan after 1991). In the 1979 Soviet military intervention, the Afghan towns of Feyẕābād and Eshkāshem were captured from Afghan guerrillas, and in 1980 the Soviets established a military command at Feyẕābād.
…the highest mountains in the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous oblast (province).
Tajikistan includes the Gorno-Badakhshan (“Mountain Badakhshan”) autonomous region, with its capital at Khorugh (Khorog). Tajikistan encompasses the smallest amount of land among the five Central Asian states, but in terms of elevation it surpasses them all, enclosing more and higher mountains than any other country in the region.…
…this region was renamed the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region. In 1929 the status of the Tajik A.S.S.R. was raised to that of a Soviet socialist republic. The change in status marked the first time that the Tajik people had their own state, albeit not a fully independent one, as it was…
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62277b0b17a0da5fc3416ddb919efe6c | https://www.britannica.com/place/Granada-Nicaragua | Granada | Granada
Granada, city, southwestern Nicaragua. It lies at the foot of Mombacho Volcano on the northwestern shore of Lake Nicaragua at 202 feet (62 metres) above sea level. Granada was founded in 1523 by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, and it soon became the economic hub of the region. As the longtime headquarters of the Conservative Party in Nicaragua, the city greatly influenced the political life of the country for many years. It was also a keen political and trade rival of León city, farther north, which was the centre of the Liberal Party. Nicaragua’s national capital, Managua, was founded between the two older cities as a political compromise. Granada was raided by pirates from the Caribbean many times in the 17th century. William Walker, the U.S. filibuster, made Granada the centre of his attacks and his headquarters; he sacked and burned the city in 1857.
It is typically Spanish in appearance and is laid out in a rectangular grid. Among its houses are many fine mansions. The city’s churches are massive, and some are ornate. Granada is an industrial centre, manufacturing furniture, soap, clothing, cottonseed oil, and rum. It is the terminus of the Pacific Railway, which leads from Corinto on the Pacific through Managua to the northwest. Granada is linked to other cities by highway and to Managua by expressway, and steamers service lakeside towns. Masaya Volcano National Park, established in 1979, is located just west of Granada. Pop. (2005) urban area, 79,418.
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48b75880dcb164c810306f87f308d398 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Granada-province-Spain | Granada | Granada
Granada, provincia (province) in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Andalusia, southern Spain, on the Mediterranean coast. Its varied landscapes range from the arid zones of the Guadix and Baza plains in the north and centre to the fertile valleys and beaches of the Costa del Sol in the south. Granada is not a wealthy province. The economy is predominantly agricultural, with cereals (barley and wheat) as the most widely grown crop, although sugarcane and, especially, tobacco are also important. Olive and fruit trees (oranges, lemons, figs, almonds, and pomegranates) and vineyards are common. The principal industries are agriculture-based and include sugar refining, although manufacturing is carried on in Granada city, the provincial capital.
The province contains the lead mines of the Sierra de Gador (the richest in the world during the 19th century), and the Marquesado de Zenete region is one of Spain’s largest producers of iron ore. The Granada coast (part of the Costa del Sol) includes the thriving beach resorts of Motril, Salobreña, and Almuñécar. Other important towns are Guadix, Loja, and Baza. The service industry, especially tourism, has grown in importance. Area 4,883 square miles (12,647 square km). Pop. (2007 est.) 884,099.
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714e3c13e3846cf36d5156612acadd6e | https://www.britannica.com/place/Great-Lakes | Great Lakes | Great Lakes
Great Lakes, chain of deep freshwater lakes in east-central North America comprising Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. They are one of the great natural features of the continent and of the Earth. Although Lake Baikal in Russia has a larger volume of water, the combined area of the Great Lakes—some 94,250 square miles (244,106 square kilometres)—represents the largest surface of fresh water in the world, covering an area exceeding that of the United Kingdom. Their drainage basin of about 295,710 square miles (which includes the areas of the lakes themselves and their connecting waterways) extends approximately 690 miles from north to south and about 860 miles from Lake Superior in the west to Lake Ontario in the east. Except for Lake Michigan, the lakes provide a natural border between Canada and the United States, a frontier that was stabilized by a boundary-waters treaty of 1909. It is a source of pride for both countries that there are no fortifications or warships along the boundary.
Individually, the lakes rank among the 14 largest in the world (see table). They played a central role in the European colonization and development of North America and for decades have attracted people and industry; Lakes Erie and Ontario and the southern portion of Lake Michigan are now ringed with large population concentrations. The lakes have not benefited from this development, however, and have been seriously affected by pollution. Concern over the fate of the lakes reached a high pitch in the late 20th century, with both the U.S. and the Canadian governments and individuals investigating methods for reversing the consequences of years of misuse of the lakes’ waters.
The Great Lakes form the western portion of the larger St. Lawrence hydrographic system. This system extends generally eastward from the St. Louis River in Minnesota (which flows into Lake Superior), through the lakes and the St. Lawrence River, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of St. Lawrence. For a discussion of the system east of Lake Ontario, see Saint Lawrence River and Seaway.
The age of the Great Lakes is still not definitely determined. Estimates range from 7,000 to 32,000 years of age. Water began filling the glacially scoured basins as soon as the ice receded, some 14,000 years ago. It is generally accepted that Lake Erie reached its present level about 10,000 years ago, Lake Ontario about 7,000 years ago, and Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior some 3,000 years ago.
The present configuration of the Great Lakes basin is the result of the movement of massive glaciers through the mid-continent, a process that began about one million years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch. Studies in the Lake Superior region indicate that a river system and valleys formed by water erosion existed before the Ice Age. The glaciers undoubtedly scoured these valleys, widening and deepening them and radically changing the drainage of the area.
The last glaciation in North America is called the Wisconsin Glacial Stage because it left many fresh landforms and sediments in that state. As the ice sheet melted and receded about 14,000 years ago, the first segments of the Great Lakes were created. Lake Chicago, in what is now the southern Lake Michigan basin, and Lake Maumee, in present-day western Lake Erie and its adjacent lowlands, originally drained southward into the Mississippi River through the Illinois and Wabash drainages, respectively. As the ice retreat continued, Lake Maumee was drained into Lake Chicago through a valley that now contains the Grand River in Michigan. Eventually, drainage to the east and into the Atlantic Ocean was established, at one time down the valleys of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers and then along the course of the upper St. Lawrence River. At one high-water stage, the waters of the Huron and Michigan basin formed one large lake—Lake Algonquin. At the same time, Lake Duluth, in the western Lake Superior basin, also drained to the Mississippi.
The weight of the ice sheet exerted enormous pressures on the Earth’s crust. As the ice sheet retreated, low-lying, glacially depressed areas, such as the region to the east of Georgian Bay, were exposed. About 10,000 years ago, the upper lakes evidently discharged through this area via the Ottawa River valley, and their levels were substantially reduced. After the weight of the ice was removed, the land (i.e., the outlet to the lakes) began to rise, closing off some outlets and allowing the water levels of the lakes to slowly rise. The largest postglacial lake, Nipissing, occupied the basins of Huron, Michigan, and Superior. Drainage through the Ottawa River valley ceased, and outflow from the upper lakes was established by way of the St. Clair and Detroit rivers into Lake Erie. Uplift has continued at a rate of about 1 foot (30 centimetres) every 100 years; this is evidenced by the drowned river mouths of western Lakes Erie and Superior.
A wide range of rock types and deposits are found in the Great Lakes because of their broad area and glacial origin. The ancient rocks of the Canadian Shield cover part of the Superior and Huron basins, while Paleozoic sedimentary rocks make up the remainder of the basins. There are limestone outcrops and large deposits of sand and gravel, usually near shore. Glacial clays and organic sediments occur in the deep areas.
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e445810f162ec748ee3317beb321d855 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Greenwood-county-South-Carolina | Greenwood | Greenwood
Greenwood, county, western South Carolina, U.S. It consists of a hilly piedmont region bordered to the northeast by Lake Greenwood, which is impounded on the Saluda River by Buzzard Roost Dam. Lake Greenwood State Park and a portion of Sumter National Forest are within the county’s borders.
The Ninety Six National Historic Site commemorates an 18th-century trading centre at a junction of Indian paths and colonial roads. During the U.S. War of Independence the area was a Tory stronghold. The war’s first battle in South Carolina was fought in 1775 at the Ninety Six fort; six years later a 28-day patriot assault finally drove out the British. The area was a cotton-growing region until soil erosion, boll weevil infestations, and economic changes led to its becoming largely forested after the mid-20th century. Greenwood county was established in 1897; the city of Greenwood is the county seat.
Agriculture (cattle and eggs), lumbering, and industry (clothing and other textile products and electronic and technical equipment) form the basis of the economy. Area 456 square miles (1,180 square km). Pop. (2000) 66,309; (2010) 69,661.
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86fee35ece5b0eff4b64ac8c6c645561 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Grenadines | Grenadines | Grenadines
Grenadines, also called Grenadine Islands, chain of about 600 islands and islets in the southeastern part of the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies, ranging over 60 miles (100 km) generally southwesterly from Saint Vincent to Grenada. The northern Grenadines are administratively part of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, while the southern islands are a dependency of Grenada. The Saint Vincent group consists of Bequia, Canouan, Mayreau, Mustique, Union Island, and associated islets. Carriacou Island, the largest of the Grenada group, has an area of 13 square miles (34 square km).
Few of the islands are inhabited. The low, uncertain rainfall makes agriculture and settlement precarious, and the islands are only lightly cultivated, the main product being Sea Island cotton grown on Carriacou. Nevertheless, the Grenadines were, in the past, plantation areas settled by the French.
A ridge of hills rising 980 feet (300 metres) crosses Carriacou from northeast to southwest; on the west coast there are two good harbours, Hillsborough Bay (site of the chief town, Hillsborough) and Tyrell Bay, farther south. Resorts and home sites, hotels, and yachting marinas were developed in the 1970s on Bequia, Palm (formerly Prune), Petit Saint Vincent, Union, and Youngs islands. There is an airstrip on Carriacou. Pop. (2003 est.) Saint Vincent, 8,938; (2001) Grenada, 6,063.
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859f245b9edd410a8794f84c4f24b848 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Grossglockner | Grossglockner | Grossglockner
Grossglockner, also called Glockner, highest peak (12,460 feet [3,798 metres]) in Austria and in the Hohe Tauern (range of the Eastern Alps). It lies astride the border between Bundesländer (federal states) Tirol and Kärnten. The most magnificent of the glaciers on the mountain is the Pasterze Glacier, 5 miles (8 km) long and 3 miles (5 km) wide. The Grossglockner-Hochalpenstrasse, a highway (opened 1935) connecting Dölfach to the north with Heiligenblut to the south, lies to the east of the peak. The road has two tunnels (the Mitteltörl and Hochtor), and a branch road leads to the base of the Pasterze Glacier. Winter sports, mountain climbing, and beautiful scenery make the peak a noted tourist attraction. It was first climbed in 1800.
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2f3dc22a276c98a45f8c4361a72f4b42 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Guadalupe-Peak | Guadalupe Peak | Guadalupe Peak
Guadalupe Peak, highest point (8,749 feet [2,667 metres]) in Texas, U.S. The peak is situated in Culberson county, 100 miles (160 km) east of the city of El Paso. Guadalupe Peak is part of the Guadalupe Mountains (a division of the Sacramento Mountains), and together with its twin, El Capitan (8,078 feet [2,462 metres]), it forms the focus of Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
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7bf01421e781a2c4119dba2660a16791 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gualeguaychu | Gualeguaychú | Gualeguaychú
Gualeguaychú, city, southeastern Entre Ríos provincia (province), northeastern Argentina. It is located on the Gualeguay River near the border with Uruguay. Cattle, poultry, and grains from the agricultural and pastoral hinterland are processed in the city. It is also a regional cultural centre, housing a museum of natural history and fine arts. Buenos Aires, to the south, can be reached by rail, highway, and river. Pop. (2001) 74,164; (2010 est.) 80,100.
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d7c6d44091418a2594452eac9c1fe110 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Gudu-Barrage | Gudu Barrage | Gudu Barrage
The Guddu Barrage is just inside the Sindh border and is some 4,450 feet (1,356 metres) long; it irrigates cultivated land in the region of Sukkur, Jacobabad, and parts of Larkana and Kalat districts. The project has greatly increased the cultivation of rice, but cotton also…
Sindh’s largest water project, the Gudu Barrage, provides water for irrigation. Cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, corn (maize), millet, and oilseeds are the major crops in the province. There are also many orchards yielding mangoes, dates, bananas, and other fruits. Livestock raising is also important, with cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goats…
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d84d12010c5dab3ec46e0211146a61d9 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Hagerman-Fossil-Beds-National-Monument | Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument | Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, paleontological site in southern Idaho, U.S. It is located on the west bank of the Snake River, just west of Hagerman and about 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Boise. The monument, with an area of about 7 square miles (18 square km), was established in 1988. Park headquarters are at Hagerman.
The monument lies in an area along the Snake River Plain where bluffs 600 feet (180 metres) high have been eroded to expose numerous layers of sedimentary rock that are some three to four million years old. The Hagerman beds contain one of the world’s richest terrestrial-fossil assemblages of the Pliocene Epoch (about 5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago). The monument’s fossils have been important for the study of evolutionary patterns, ancient ecosystems, and climate change—both past and present.
About 200 plant and animal species have been cataloged, including mastodons, sabre-toothed cats, rodents, birds, reptiles, and fish. The site’s best-known fossil animal is the Hagerman horse (Equus simplicidens), which is recognized as the earliest known representative of the genus Equus. Some 30 complete skeletons and 200 partial skeletons of the creature—which had greater affinity to a modern-day zebra than to a horse—have been excavated.
Grasses and sagebrush are the dominant vegetation in the monument, with stands of tamarisks and willows in the moister areas. Wildlife found in the monument includes deer, pumas (mountain lions), small rodents, and rattlesnakes. The Oregon Trail once traversed the southern part of the monument; traces of it can still be seen from a road that parallels its route. Because of the fragile nature of the fossils, access to the bluffs themselves is limited to two designated trails in the northern portion of the monument.
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319f900d7ddb3ce7ce9f240167a86f52 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Haleakala-National-Park | Haleakala National Park | Haleakala National Park
Haleakala National Park, area centred on Haleakala Crater, south-central Maui island, Hawaii, U.S. Authorized as a part of Hawaii National Park (now Hawaii Volcanoes National Park) in 1916, Haleakala Crater was redesignated a separate park in 1961. The 47-square-mile (122-square-km) park now includes that volcanic crater, Kipahulu Valley (added 1951), and the pools of the ‘Ohe‘o Gulch area (added 1969) on the eastern slope.
Haleakala (meaning “House of the Sun” in Hawaiian) is a dormant shield volcano with one of the world’s largest volcanic craters. Its rim reaches an elevation of 10,023 feet (3,055 metres) at Red Hill on the southwest. The crater is 7.5 miles (12 km) long and 2.5 miles (4 km) wide and has a circumference of about 20 miles (30 km); its floor is about 2,300 feet (700 metres) below the Haleakala Visitor Center, situated 9,740 feet (2,969 metres) high on the rim. The volcano last erupted about 1790. Reddish cinder cones are scattered across the floor of the crater, together with black lava beds.
The park’s climate ranges from subalpine to subtropical. Petrels, honeycreepers, and the rare nene (Hawaiian goose) inhabit the crater. Silverswords, yuccalike plants that take as long as 50 years to flower once and then die, are found in the park. A diverse collection of trees and other plants, such as the ohia and lobelia, live in the park, many in the biological reserve of the Kipahulu Valley. Introduced plants and animals, including goats and mongooses, are destructive to native species.
The summit is accessible via a paved road, and there are some 30 miles (50 km) of trails inside the crater. Kipahulu Valley has rainforests, waterfalls, and lava, but it is closed to visitors; however, the ‘Ohe‘o (“Seven Sacred”) pools, located near the coast, are open to the public. Two of the park’s visitor centres have exhibits on the area’s cultural and natural history. Stargazing and watching the sunrise are popular activities in the park.
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c681d64cb0816459a9460a6f3abcb507 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Halifax-England | Halifax | Halifax
Halifax, town and urban area (from 2011 built-up area), metropolitan borough of Calderdale, metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, northern England. An old market town for grain, wool, and cloth trades, it lost its preeminence to Bradford (just to the northeast) in the 19th century. It is the administrative centre for the metropolitan borough.
Halifax lies in a hilly district on the Hebble, a tributary of the River Calder that flows just to the south. Beacon Hill rises sharply to an elevation of 850 feet (260 metres) and overlooks the town. Road and railway bridges span the valley. Extensive suburban development took place after World War II on the northern side of the town.
In Anglo-Saxon times Halifax formed part of the extensive manor of Wakefield held by King Edward the Confessor. After the Norman Conquest the manor of Halifax (Feslei in Domesday Book [1086]) was granted to William, earl of Warenne and Surrey, who made a gift of Yorkshire churches, including Halifax, to the Cluniac priory at Lewes in Sussex. The church was dedicated to St. John the Baptist, patron saint of wool weavers. The cloth trade has been plied in Halifax from an early date—the first record of a weaver there was in 1275. In the account books for 1473–75, Halifax parish had the largest cloth production in the West Riding (a division of the historic county of Yorkshire), a position it retained for three centuries.
Built largely in the 19th century, modern Halifax is a development of the industrial era, though some older buildings remain. The parish church is in the Perpendicular Gothic style, and two earlier churches are traceable—the first of Norman origin and the second of the Early English period. Features of the church are the western tower completed in 1482, unique commonwealth windows of plain glass with beautifully designed leading, and some fine woodwork. Among the public buildings are the town hall, designed by Sir Charles Barry in the Palladian style and opened in 1863; and the central library and Bankfield museum, both of which are housed in Victorian mansions.
Halifax, an industrial town, is traditionally a centre of the woolen and worsted industries, but textile manufacture declined during the 20th century. The manufacture of carpets is important, and other industries include brewing and confectionery. Halifax also specializes in the production of machine tools. Pop. (2001) urban area, 83,570; (2011) built-up area subdivision, 88,134.
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b795c689b130c23ca300a2ec84b4bb29 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/17/fed-leaves-considerable-time-statement-as-a-reference-not-policy.html | Fed leaves 'considerable time' statement as a reference, not policy | Fed leaves 'considerable time' statement as a reference, not policy
VIDEO2:3702:37Fed keeps 'considerable time,' but not as policyStreet Signs
The Fed's not ready yet.
Despite expectations that the Federal Reserve would take its first, albeit tentative, step toward raising interest rates Wednesday, the central bank instead opted to keep a key piece of language in its post-meeting statement.
The phrase "considerable period" has been included to assure financial markets that it would be quite some time before the central bank increased its target funds rate.
Though the statement remained in, the context changed. Instead of dropping the language, it offered a softening of the tone that indicated it was still prepared to hike, though perhaps not as close as the market anticipated.
Read MoreFed now expected to stay lower for a lot longer
The exact language:
Based on its current assessment, the Committee judges that it can be patient in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy. The Committee sees this guidance as consistent with its previous statement that it likely will be appropriate to maintain the 0 to 1/4 percent target range for the federal funds rate for a considerable time following the end of its asset purchase program in October, especially if projected inflation continues to run below the Committee's 2 percent longer-run goal, and provided that longer-term inflation expectations remain well anchored.
As always, the FOMC left itself wiggle room in case conditions change.
"[I]f incoming information indicates faster progress toward the Committee's employment and inflation objectives than the Committee now expects, then increases in the target range for the federal funds rate are likely to occur sooner than currently anticipated," the statement said. "Conversely, if progress proves slower than expected, then increases in the target range are likely to occur later than currently anticipated."
Read MoreHere'swhat changed in new Fed statement
Market participants debated over what it all meant: While the "considerable time" words remained, their meaning seemed to change.
"People were expecting them to drop the term 'considerable time.' That term is still in there, but the way that they've phrased the entire statement appears to say they're backing away from that and changing the language to a stance of being patient," said Ben Garber, an economist with Moody's Analytics.
"They are trying to open up more flexibility to raise rates as needed," he added.
There were three dissents, with two coming from the hawkish side—Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher and Philly Fed chief Charles Plosser—and one from the dovish side courtesy of Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota, who saw the statement as creating "undue downside risk to the credibility of the 2 percent inflation target." A three-dissent vote hasn't happened since 2011.
VIDEO2:4102:41The CNBC guide to 'Fedspeak'The Fed
Despite the mealy-mouthing, markets embraced the statement. Major averages accelerated from previously higher levels, with the S&P 500 up 1.7 percent for the session.
The Fed has held its rate near zero for six years, since the dark days of the financial crisis pushed it into a position of easing that had no precedent.
Investors had expected the widely telegraphed move, and stocks were trading considerably higher into the 2 pm statement release.
Read MoreFed closes year with 'optimistic' view on economy
There is still no set timetable for when rates actually will rise, but market consensus, despite some dissent, is that the FOMC will implement its first official hike in mid-2015.
"This is exactly what the Fed needed to do," said Lindsey Piegza, economist at Sterne Agee. "They are able to maintain their commit to accommodation for a considerable time but they are not using that phrase anymore. They are using the word patient. What that does it removes the market's arguably obsession over these two little words but keeping the same intentions in the policy."
The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building at sunrise in Washington.Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Fed officials went into the meeting amid a backdrop of volatile financial markets, featuring sagging bond yields and slumping oil prices. Interest rates have been kept on hold while inflation remains below the Fed's 2.5 percent target, even as the unemployment rate has dropped all the way to 5.8 percent, its lowest level since July 2008.
Read MoreWhat bothers me the most in Fed statement: Insana
In an accompanying document, FOMC economic projections changed a touch, with expectations for unemployment showing the most difference. In September, the consensus was for a jobless rate in 2015 of 5.4 percent to 5.6 percent, a projection that is now at 5.2 percent to 5.2 percent.
Inflation expectations in the face of those falling oil prices dimmed significantly. In September, the headline personal consumption expenditures level for 2015 was pegged at 1.6 percent to 1.9 percent, a range that plunged to 1.0 percent to 1.6 percent.
Read MoreLive blog: Fed news conference
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4648eff0e6e09c5d013d6ddf52d07862 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/17/i-will-not-invest-in-cuba-cuban-american-executive.html | I will not invest in Cuba: Cuban-American executive | I will not invest in Cuba: Cuban-American executive
VIDEO2:5602:56Opportunities in CubaPower Lunch
He runs his own real estate development group and sits on the board of the Mayo Clinic and Home Depot, but Cuban-American business executive Armando Codina has no interest in investing in Cuba now that the U.S. is re-establishing diplomatic relations with the communist country.
"I would not invest in a place until I could feel comfortable with a constitution, a rule of law and respect for private property," Codina, CEO of Codina Group, told CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, President Barack Obama declared an end to America's "outdated approach" to Cuba. Plans include expanding economic ties, opening an embassy in Havana, reviewing Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and easing some travel restrictions.
Read More Cooperman: Not interested in Cuba as an investment
Codina, who came to the United States from Cuba as a child as part of a U.S.-orchestrated airlift, said he has no immediate plans to return to his native country.
"I will go to Cuba when I can travel there with dignity and hopefully to do some good and not look into so much to invest, [but] what I could contribute," he said.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report
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6e2619fdb630f5fe3e98ec4074c2b7f6 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/17/japan-to-spend-up-to-30-billion-in-stimulus-keep-bond-issuance-in-check.html | Japan to spend up to $30 billion in stimulus, keep bond issuance in check | Japan to spend up to $30 billion in stimulus, keep bond issuance in check
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.Pablo Blazquez Dominguez | Getty Images
Japan will spend up to $30 billion in a stimulus package to revive the country's regions but will keep new bond issuance in check, sources say, highlighting the tough balance Prime Minister Shinzo Abe must strike between lifting growth and fixing Tokyo's tattered finances.
With his landslide win in Sunday's election giving him a fresh mandate to end 15 years of deflation, Abe has pledged to push through his "Abenomics" stimulus policies including the missing third arrow of structural and fiscal reforms.
The premier instructed his ministers in November to lay out a stimulus package and plans to finalize it on Dec. 27, as part of efforts to pull the economy out of a recession caused by the hit from a sales tax hike in April.
VIDEO1:2501:25Relax, bad data won't rock Japan's boat: ProSquawk Box Asia
The package, to be around 3.4-3.5 trillion ($29-$30 billion), will mainly consist of payouts to local governments and subsidies to households for fuel purchases, government and ruling party officials told Reuters on Thursday.
Read MoreJapan firms promise Abe 'utmost efforts' to lift wages, urge reforms
The Asahi newspaper reported on Thursday that Japan will spend over 3 trillion yen to revive the country's regions.
The focus on helping regional economies partly reflects Abe's intention to garner votes in local elections to be held nationwide in April.
Windfall profits
The aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus deployed under Abe since last year has bolstered stock prices and weakened the yen, allowing big manufacturers to reap windfall profits.
Read MoreJapan 4Q manufacturing sentiment worsens: Tankan
These developments are likely to lift tax revenue in the current fiscal year, which ends in March, to 51.7 trillion yen, above initial expectations and the highest level in 17 years.
That would allow the government to issue fewer new bonds than earlier anticipated in this fiscal year, the officials said.
The government will also cut new bond issuance for the third straight year in next fiscal year's budget, they said, underscoring Abe's resolve to fix Japan's finances even after his decision to postpone next year's sales tax hike.
In a draft outline of next fiscal year's budget, the government will pledge to "do its utmost" to meet its goal of halving Japan's primary balance deficit in fiscal 2015/16.
Read More
Japan's public debt is the biggest among advanced economies, as a rapidly ageing population pushes up social welfare and medical costs.
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e7ef92ba1003b6b20c7fc76d4a84a3a7 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/17/obama-to-speak-at-noon-et-about-cuba.html | US to start talks with Cuba to normalize full diplomatic relations: AP | US to start talks with Cuba to normalize full diplomatic relations: AP
VIDEO1:5901:59US debit & credit cards allowed in Cuba: Report
VIDEO1:4901:49Keys to eliminate Cuba embargo
VIDEO2:2302:23Cuba releases US prisoner Alan Gross
The U.S. is starting talks with Cuba to normalize full diplomatic relations and open an embassy, according to U.S. officials. The expanded relationship would also open imports of Cuban cigars somewhat, according to a CNN report.
U.S. President Obama, Cuba's Raul Castro spoke separately at noon ET about relations between the two countries.
Obama plans to overhaul Cuba's policy while Cuba plans to free 53 political prisoners and to allow U.S. debit and credit cards, Dow Jones reported. This follows Cuba's release of American Alan Gross from a Cuban prison where he spent five years on espionage charges, NBC reported.
Cuba and the United States have had a strained relationship for decades. The U.S. first imposed an embargo on Cuba in 1960 and broke diplomatic relations with the country the following year.
Following the news, Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund, which invests in countries in the Caribbean Basin, shot up 20 percent.
Read MoreCuba is Venezuela'sbiggest loser
In recent years, the Cuban government has slowly implemented some economic reforms, including letting Cubans buy cell phones and buy and sell used cars.
The president is set to announce a wide range of changes to the government's policy toward Cuba, CNN reported earlier. U.S, travelers will be able to import $400 in goods from the country. This includes up to $100 in alcohol and tobacco, such as Cuban cigars.
While the policy change wouldn't include tourism, it would permit more travel to Cuba, CNN reported.
The U.S. remains Cuba's biggest food supplier. Travel to Cuba is highly restricted.
Read MoreWhy Venezuela is sodesperate, in 5 easy charts
Cuba is facing extra pressure amid the political and economic turmoil in Venezuela. The South American country accounts for roughly 40 percent of Cuba's trade. Cuba largely depends on highly subsidized crude oil from Venezuela. As oil prices have plunged, the Venezuelan economy has fallen apart, putting pressure on it to reduce aid to Cuba and elsewhere.
—AP contributed to this report
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83fa4c65c7c97cffed6260713e9a1593 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/17/rubio-congress-wont-support-cuban-embassy.html | Rubio: No dough for US embassy in Havana | Rubio: No dough for US embassy in Havana
VIDEO1:1901:19Sen. Rubio: US ensuring permanence of Castro's regimeSquawk Alley
VIDEO2:4402:44Why Cuba wants embargo liftedSquawk Alley
VIDEO2:1502:15Business with Cuba's 'deadbeat' dictatorship makes no sense: Expert
Congress will not support lifting the half-century embargo on Castro's Cuba, Sen. Marco Rubio said Wednesday.
"I don't believe they have the voted to lift the embargo; I think they're going to struggle to get the votes to fund an embassy," the Florida Republican said on CNBC's "Squawk Alley."
He later told CNN that he would do everything he could to block any ambassador nominee from even coming up for a vote.
President Barack Obama announced plans Wednesday to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, vowing to expand banking, commerce and telecommunications ties with the country more than 50 years after they were severed.
Obama spoke following a prisoner exchange involving American contractor Alan Gross, who was held in a Cuban prison for five years on espionage charges, and the swap of an American spy held in Cuba for three Cubans jailed in Florida. U.S. officials said Havana also was taking steps to release 53 political prisoners.
"This president has to be the worst negotiator we've ever had in the White House," Rubio said. "In exchange for all that, Cubans are going to agree to release 53 political prisoners who would be right back in jail if they take up the cause of freedom again. ... This is absurd."
Read MoreUS to embark on massive overhaul of Cuba relations
Despite the concessions the U.S. has made, Cuba hasn't moved to further human rights and democracy, he said. There will be "no freedom of the press, no freedom of organization, there will be no elections, no democratic opening, nothing. Zero," said the Cuban-American senator, who has been mentioned as a possible GOP presidential candidate for 2016.
He warned it "potentially goes a long way in providing the economic lift that the Castro regime needs to become permanent fixtures in Cuba for generations to come."
Cuban-Americans in Rubio's home state of Florida, including some who fled the Castro regime, have grown increasingly supportive of changes in U.S.-Cuba relations.
Read MoreObama-Castro: Has 'the fever' broken?
"I don't care if the polls say 99 percent of people in Florida want to lift the embargo. I would still be for (keeping) it," Rubio said. "My goal is freedom and democracy in Cuba, and the embargo gives us leverage."
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.Tom Williams | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images
In June, 68 percent of Cuban-Americans favored re-establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba, 69 percent supported lifting travel restrictions, while 52 percent said they wanted the embargo lifted, according to a recent Florida International University poll.
In comparison, 87 percent of Cuban-Americans in Florida supported the embargo in 1991.
"We are witnessing a clear demographic shift with younger and more recently arrived Cubans favoring a change in policy toward the island," said Guillermo J. Grenier, who conducted the survey.
Since 1959, when Fidel Castro's regime took power in Cuba, Miami-Dade County in South Florida has become home to almost 900,000 Cuban exiles and their American-born children, according to the FIU survey.
Read MoreCuba is Venezuela's biggest loser
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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7bb3370815f37ed72da925af131b4399 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/17/signs-point-to-easing-bias-for-singapore.html | Signs point to easing bias for Singapore | Signs point to easing bias for Singapore
ROSLAN RAHMAN | AFP | Getty Images
Disappointing data could see Singapore's central bank change its tune at next year's monetary policy review, economists say.
Exports in the trade-reliant Southeast Asian city-state missed forecasts in November, data showed Wednesday, with non-oil domestic exports growing 1.6 percent on year, below estimates for a near 4 percent gain.
The data put exports on track for a second consecutive year of contraction, which could pose a serious headwind to 2015 growth, said economists at Australia New Zealand Banking (ANZ). Net exports account for nearly 30 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
Read MoreSingapore revised 3Q GDP beats forecasts
The report is one of many data prints weighing on Singapore's tight monetary policy; core inflation fell to an eight-month low in October, while a central bank survey on Wednesday showed significant downside risks to growth. Economists now expect fourth-quarter gross domestic product to rise 2.3 percent on year, compared with earlier estimates of a 3.1 percent.
"The dismal tone in high frequency economic prints reinforces our view that growth is clearly slowing in certain sectors in the midst of supply side adjustments, which builds the case for an easing bias," ANZ stated in a note.
"With the disinflationary impulse from the down-move in commodity price (particularly oil), there are downside risks to inflation, translating to an opportunity to return to a more neutral monetary policy stance next April," they added.
Read MoreSingapore: Is disinflation here to stay?
VIDEO3:5903:59Tracking the cost of living in HK, SingaporeSquawk Box Asia
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is known for hawkish policy, i.e. its commitment to a strong Singapore dollar. The central bank uses its trade-weighted exchange rate - the Singapore Dollar Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (SGD NEER policy band) - to set monetary policy by changing the slope, width and center of the band. A flatter slope enables gradual slower appreciation or depreciation. The central bank's tightening stance has been in place since April 2012.
Wei Zheng Kit, chief economist of Singapore and Malaysia at Citigroup, sees a 40 percent chance of a slight slope reduction next year if core inflation growth drops below 1.5 percent, adding that easing could also come in other ways.
"Even if MAS does not formally reduce the slope, it could still allow the NEER to fall into the lower half of the band as a form of de-facto easing," he said.
The Singapore dollar has fallen 3.5 percent against the greenback in the past three months against the backdrop of weaker growth.
Read MoreSoutheast Asia:Singapore tests its success
"The SGD NEER has fallen further from the upper bound of the trading band in recent months, briefly breaking through our estimated midpoint of the band on 19 November for the first time since March," said Wai Ho Leung, senior regional economist at Barclays.
"We continue expect the SGD NEER to retrace below the midpoint of the band in the months ahead," he added.
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fd950b1f373828ef8bec2429a62920c8 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/17/us-officials-say-north-korea-ordered-the-sony-hack.html | US officials: North Korea ordered the Sony hack | US officials: North Korea ordered the Sony hack
VIDEO2:3002:30Sony's real cost still to come: BibbFast Money
U.S. officials have concluded that the North Korean government ordered the hacking attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment — a breach that led to the studio cancelling the planned release of "The Interview" — and a U.S. official told NBC News that the country "can't let this go unanswered."
The officials told NBC News the hacking attack originated outside North Korea, but they believe the individuals behind it were acting on orders from the North Koreans.
Read MoreNorth Korea is more cyber-warrior than you think
"We have found linkage to the North Korean government," according to a U.S. government source.
An official said the U.S. is discussing what form a response could take, and couldn't detail what options the government has available.
The security breach embarrassed several high-profile Sony executives and led to the studio cancelling the Dec. 25 release of "The Interview," a comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco that depicts a fictional assassination attempt on North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Amid fallout from the Sony hack, a New Regency film tentatively titled "Pyongyang" and starring Steve Carell "will not be moving forward."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects KPA Air and Anti-Air Force Unit 458 in an undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang on Dec. 8, 2014.KCNA | North Korea
Sony on Wednesday dropped its plans to release "The Interview" on Christmas Day after some of the country's largest theater chains said they were holding back or dropping the movie following threats of violence made by the same group that claimed it hacked Sony, Guardians for Peace.
Read More After delay, Sony warns workers about leaked data
"Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business," Sony said in a statement Wednesday, saying that it reached the decision after the top cinema chains pulled out. Regal, Cinemark, Carmike and Cineplex were among the chains that said it would not show the film on the planned Dec. 25 premiere, citing security concerns.
The White House National Security Council said in a statement Wednesday that "the U.S. government is working tirelessly to bring the perpetrators of this attack to justice" and expressed support for Sony. "The United States respects artists' and entertainers' right to produce and distribute content of their choosing. … We take very seriously any attempt to threaten or limit artists' freedom of speech or of expression."
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58dce0b0b84a89cac443df8c6c617863 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/17/win-cash-prizes-playing-mobile-games.html | $46K for playing on her phone | $46K for playing on her phone
VIDEO5:2005:20Win cash prizes playing mobile gamesPower Pitch
Andrew Paradise, founder and CEO of the competition gaming platform Skillz, says killing time playing games on your phone can now make you thousands of dollars. Don't believe him? Well, he says his company paid $46,000 to one person for doing just that. The catch? You have to be really good at it.
CNBC gave Paradise 60 seconds to pitch his big idea to a panel with Alicia Syrett, founder and CEO of Pantegrion Capital; Kanyi Maqubela, venture partner at Collaborative Fund; and David Wu, partner at venture capital firm Maveron. Will the "Power Pitch" panel say game on—or game over?
Paradise said he became frustrated with mobile in-game ads disrupting his gaming experience. He decided to create an ad-free gaming experience and find a way for game developers to monetize their content. The founder claims that with more than 1.5 billion mobile gamers worldwide, he hasn't just created a new company, he's "created an entire new industry."
Gamers pay a fee for each tournament they enter, and each tournament has different entry fees. Tournaments have predetermined cash prizes, which can range from $1 to thousands of dollars. Skillz runs 100,000 tournaments daily and pays out approximately $10,000 to its gamers. Skillz told CNBC it cannot reveal the identity of the gamer that scored the big $46,000 win, but said the bulk of her winnings came from the matching game, Diamond Strike (talk about striking gold!).
On average, the company generates 31 cents per player in revenue per day.
During the "Power Pitch" panel, Wu asked Paradise what type of customer plays these games for real money.
"We get about 35 percent of every day's traffic in a given game to come in and try the tournament system. The most hardcore players are actually playing multiple hours per day on their mobile devices. And the average on the system right now is about 38 minutes per day per tournament player," Paradise said.
Source: Skillz
The company's platform is currently integrated in 200 mobile games and is expanding into new games every day.
According to a national consumer study conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates, the cash competition gaming market will grow to $9 billion in annual revenue by 2017.
Skillz has raised $13.3 million from its key investors and has been scaling 40 to 45 percent per month in revenue. Paradise said he's hoping to hit eight-figure revenue in the next couple of months. The company would not disclose to CNBC whether it has been profitable.
Comments, questions, suggestions? We'd love to hear from you. Follow us @CNBCPowerPitch and join the #PowerPitch conversation
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900746e6a6f47853cb0f31a79f2e6295 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/18/alls-not-lost-commodities-ex-oil-stage-comeback.html | All’s not lost: Commodities ex-oil stage comeback | All’s not lost: Commodities ex-oil stage comeback
Getty Images
Focus may be on volatile oil prices right now, but investors shouldn't overlook the strong performance in other commodities, one expert warns.
Ten commodities were in backwardation this month, a sign that markets outside of oil are recovering, according to a recent note from S&P Dow Jones Indices: copper, corn, cocoa, silver, coffee, live cattle, feeder cattle, heating oil, Kansas wheat, and lean hogs.
Backwardation occurs when the present spot price of a commodity is higher than the futures price, typically signaling a surge in demand and shortages in supply.
Read MoreThe silent crash in commodities—a warning sign
Jodie Gunzberg, global head of commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, called this is a sharp reversal of the trend seen in June through October, where only four commodities were in backwardation, with most sectors on the benchmark S&P GSCI Total Return Index posting losses from June onwards.
However, a look at the index now confirms the turnaround in sectors from their respective bottoms: Agriculture gained nearly 12 percent, livestock rose 6 percent, precious metals are 7 percent higher, and industrial metals recovered 0.6 percent.
VIDEO2:0502:05Coffee prices could remain high: ProWorldwide Exchange
Looking at individual commodities, corn traded on the Chicago Board of Trade is nearly 30 percent higher from a five-year low hit in October, while silver is up 1 percent from October's eight-month low.
Experts say those steep falls were on the back of conventional wisdom that lower oil prices add to downward pressure on other sectors. Crude oil benchmarks have lost nearly half their value in the past six months on the back of a supply glut.
Read MoreOil could fall to $30 a barrel: Emirates boss
"There are often good reasons to expect oil and other commodity prices to move in the same direction. For a start, there may be common drivers, such as the health of the global economy or the value of the U.S. dollar, which could affect all commodities in much the same way. What's more, oil itself is typically an important input cost in the production and transportation of other commodities, notably in mining and agriculture," said Julian Jessop, head of commodities research at Capital Economics on Thursday.
"At some point, the oil price slide decoupled from the other commodities since their fundamentals are different… now energy seems to be on its own," Gunzberg said. Indeed, energy's drop-off from other sectors is clear in the graph below:
Moreover, the current slump in oil prices is largely due to supply-side developments specific to the oil industry, and isn't indicative of generalized weakness in demand, Capital Economics' Jessop stated. These developments include the boom in U.S. shale production and the waning power of OPEC.
Read MoreTicking time bombs: Where oil's fall is dangerous
"Our interpretation is that other commodity prices have already adjusted to the sluggishness of the global recovery and the slowdown in emerging economies in particular, led by China," he added.
Each commodity has its own varying demand and supply factors, said Avtar Sandhu, senior manager of commodities at Phillip Futures, pointing to coffee as an example. One of 2014's standout commodities with year-to-date gains of 56 percent, coffee prices rallied on shrinking output from leading producers Brazil and Vietnam on the back of inclement weather.
Capital Economics expect cheaper oil to be a net positive for metals, especially gold.
Typically, lower oil prices are expected to reduce demand for inflation hedges like gold. Yet, the group believes the boon lower prices bring to energy importing economies like China and India, also the two largest markets for gold. Thus, the lower tax bill is expected to boost economic activity and offset gold's traditional relationship with oil.
Read MoreWall Street banks making huge bet on natural gas
"We therefore continue to expect the price of copper to recover to at least $7,200 per ton by end-2015 (from around $6,375 today), and gold to $1,300 per ounce (from $1,198), helped rather than hindered by the lower oil price."
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197bdc003ab33f22fd7e24e8a461c74d | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/18/global-ipo-market-booms-50-in-2014.html | Global IPO market booms 50% in 2014 | Global IPO market booms 50% in 2014
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.Scott Eells | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The global initial public offering (IPO) market was on a roll this year, as companies sought to take advantage of the rising stock market and strong investor appetite.
IPO volume totaled $257.7 billion – up 49 percent on year and the highest total since 2010, according to preliminary figures from Dealogic.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group's blockbuster $25.0 billion IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), was the largest this year and on record, topping Agricultural Bank of China's $22.1 billion listing in 2010.
Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank's $6.0 billion IPO and Australia's largest private health insurer Medibank Private's $4.9 billion IPO ranked in second and third place for the year.
Read More What will be hot for 2015 IPOs?
By sector, technology and finance companies were the most active in their equity market capital raising activities.
Technology IPOs raised $59.9 billion in 2014, surging from $11.0 billion last year and the second highest yearly volume on record behind 2000. Meanwhile, finance IPOs raised $38.5 billion, more than double the $19.2 billion raised in 2013.
Top exchange of 2014 is…
The NYSE retained its crown as the largest exchange by IPO volume in 2014, with 111 deals valued at $71.7 billion, a record year for the exchange. Last year, volume totaled $43.9 billion.
VIDEO3:5003:50Tracking Asia's IPO market
NYSE beat Nasdaq by clinching Alibaba's record-breaking IPO, a big blow to Nasdaq, which has been the preferred option for many tech companies listing in the U.S.
Nevertheless, Nasdaq led by number of deals with 173 IPOs valued at a total of $23.3 billion.
Asian companies rush to raise cash
By region, Asian companies led the way in fund raising, with IPO volumes climbing to $106.8 billion, the highest since 2010.
Europe, Middle East and Africa, or EMEA, and U.S. companies raised $83.8 billion and $60.9 billion, respectively. For the U.S., this was the highest total since 2000.
British-owned U.S. bank Citizens Financial Group's $3.5 billion IPO in September was the U.S.'slargest IPO since Facebook's listing in 2012.
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492654781d00b4fcb95d021f09278b49 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/18/inside-north-koreas-scrappy-masterful-cyber-strategy.html | Inside North Korea's scrappy, masterful cyberstrategy | Inside North Korea's scrappy, masterful cyberstrategy
Sony Pictures Entertainment has canceled the Christmas Day release of "The Interview" amid threats of a widespread attack from hackers, who U.S. intelligence officials say were working for North Korea. But how does a poverty-stricken country with unreliable electricity even accumulate cyber-capabilities to level an international corporation the size of Sony?
Read MoreUS officials: North Korea ordered the Sony hack
File photo of students at the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School, in Pyongyang, North Korea, work on computers.AP
North Korea is a totalitarian state with a per capita GDP of under $2,000, compared with $22,000 for South Korea. But while average citizens hustle for food and survival, North Korea's all-powerful upper class—with access to cash—has ramped up its digital infrastructure in recent years. The regime's elite cyberarmy has shrewdly learned to execute and recycle quick-and-dirty—yet effective—cyberattacks and malware to prey on high-level targets. They previously have included a bank, university and media websites, according to prosecutors.
"While the regime does not appear to have an advanced cyber-capability, we should never underestimate the potential impact of North Korea utilizing less advanced, quick-and-dirty tactics," said Ted Ross, security research director for enterprise security products at U.S. tech giant Hewlett-Packard.
The full details of North Korea's involvement in the November data breach, according to U.S. officials, aren't yet available. But an audit of Sony Pictures' computer network conducted months before the attack revealed gaps in the way the company monitored its system, as Re/code has reported. It was a window of opportunity, it seems, that North Korean hackers noticed and seized to stunning effect.
The data breach has outed business transactions including the James Bond script "Spectre" as well as personal details about employee health records, bank transactions, Social Security numbers and emails that go back years. Security experts say the Sony breach is an omen about the dangers of modern cyberterrorism in a post 9/11 world—whether the perpetrators are from North Korea or some other rogue state.
As the ripple effect widens, the Sony attack is proving to be about much more than leaked, juicy emails among movie stars and Hollywood studio executives. The breach is a warning for all employees and businesses, large and small, to reflect on the storage of sensitive business information, and the treasure trove of employee details housed in human resource departments.
There will be re-evaluations about how companies conduct business including the use of cloud storage computing and "BYOD," or the practice of bringing your personal devices to work, which businesses allow amid cost-cutting.
The hackers obtained some 100 terabytes of data stolen from Sony servers. That's roughly 10 times the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress.
"This incident covers the broad spectrum of your worst nightmare for cybersecurity," said Jason Glassberg, co-founder of Casaba Security, based in Seattle.
Movie posters for the premiere of the film 'The Interview' at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles.AFP | Getty Images
The movie "The Interview" depicts two American journalists, played by Seth Rogen and James Franco, who secure a rare interview with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and are tasked with executing him. The film's planned U.S. release on Christmas Day was canceled Wednesday after several large cinema chains said they would not show the film. There are no further release plans including video-on-demand or other platforms.
The North Korean government, meanwhile, has denied responsibility for the data breach. But a spokesman quoted by the North's Korean Central News Agency described the attack as a "righteous deed."
New revelations about North Korea's involvement in the attack, according to U.S. officials, mark a sharp turn for the federal investigation into the hack. But how might North Korea have executed such a spectacular data breach?
Read MoreNorth Korea: More cyberwarrior than you think
For starters, the isolated, communist nation has been pursuing cyberstrategies as far back as the 1980s. It's cheaper than sending men to gather intelligence on perceived enemies. There are at least 3,000 North Korean cyberwarriors, though some reports place that number higher.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a session of the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's parliament, in Pyongyang on April 9, 2014.Kyodo | AP
North Korea's computer network operations and their capabilities pale compared with wealthier, industrialized nations including South Korea, one of the most wired countries in the world. But the North's "regime has made significant progress in developing its infrastructure and in establishing cyber-operations in the past few years," said HP's Ross in an email to CNBC.com.
And while the regime's network capabilities are far from modern, the North's cyberarmy has smartly focused on more bare-bones cyberattacks and replicated those tactics effectively. "Attacks and malware attributed to North Korean origin are not particularly sophisticated and recycle similar tactics, techniques and procedures," Ross explains. Malware can include everything from viruses to infected software.
One simple yet efficient cyber tool for the regime has been a distributed denial-of-service, often known as "DDoS" attacks. In a typical DDoS attack, the perpetrator exploits many computers and multiple server connections to create a wide, exponential effect. Such attacks are generally more difficult to thwart than narrower cybertactics.
Tactics used in the Sony hack also seem to mirror what's known about the North including the use of wiper malware. This technique eliminates both the master boot record and all host data, Ross explains. The technology and code behind wiper malware is not particularly complex. But with enough industrious perpetrators cobbling together the code, the end product can be effective malware with multiple trigger points that set off a wave of data contamination.
"This is very similar to the behavior of the malware used in previous attacks attributed to North Korea," said Ross. The North also has been known to use malware that targets South Korean military interests.
Luckily for poor North Korea, low-level cyber-procedures can bring results. James A. Lewis, a cyberpolicy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, speaking at an event Wednesday, said 80 percent of attacks only require basic techniques.
Pedestrians walk past Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, Dec. 4, 2014.Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
Beyond specific cyberstrategies, the North's elite unit of cyberwarriors are culled from a young age and nurtured in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital city, according to Heung Kwang Kim, a North Korean defector and former computer science professor. Kim spent nearly 20 years in the regime educating promising students.
Read MoreHow millennials are shaking North Korea's regime
Armed with skilled cyberwarriors and attack strategies, North Korea noted the upcoming release of "The Interview." Sony Pictures' network, meantime, was sitting there with gaps, as Re/code has reported. Then North Korea pounced.
The security audit, from mid-July to Aug. 1, was performed by PricewaterhouseCoopers and found one firewall and more than 100 other devices that were not being monitored by the corporate security team charged with oversight of infrastructure.
When it comes to data security, companies generally focus intently on external data entering and infecting the system. Less attention is paid to how sensitive company information including emails and other documents leave a company network, an area often referred to as "exfiltration."
Sony Pictures "didn't seem to have a coordinated strategy in terms of intrusion detection or exfiltration or data moving out," said Glassberg of Casaba Security.
According to Re/code, a spokesperson for the studio declined to comment on the audit report. A PwC auditor who received the report did not respond to Re/code's interview requests.
Beyond the audit, the sheer breadth and depth of the breach suggest the data, from scripts to employee health information, may have been housed on a small group of servers and not distributed widely. "People are going to be talking about data segregation going forward," Glassberg said.
VIDEO2:1602:16Sony fallout: What's next?Squawk Alley
Investigators, Sony executives and lawyers are now combing over the wreckage. There are larger diplomatic questions about how the U.S. might respond to the attack.
Read MoreHow the US could retaliate against North Korea
In a cluster of events, the American-produced raucous comedy is the tip of North Korea's growing list of problems and perceived enemies. The regime is facing international scrutiny about human rights violations, which some leaders are now trying to refer to the International Criminal Court.
Read MoreWill Kim Jong Un ever face a war crimes court?
The North Korean regime and Kim, believed to be in his 30s, are watching all of its enemies, including filmmakers. And the regime has responded deftly with its cyberarmy.
"This is a huge wake-up call," says Jason Habinsky, a New York City-based labor and employment partner at Haynes and Boone. "Every company big and small is at risk now. This is like watching a thriller. Or a horror film."
Disclosure: NBC News group is a minority stakeholder in Re/code and has a content sharing partnership with it.
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bb4eb000c4acd533cb2425d34c583c46 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/18/the-perfect-ingredients-for-a-santa-claus-rally.html | VIDEO11:5311:53Cramer bakes a bull cakeMad Money with Jim Cramer
Jim Cramer has been in the stock market long enough to recognize the good signals for a rally when he sees one. What are those ingredients? Just look around, they're all in the stock market right now!
The most important ingredient is growth without inflation. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen confirmed at the most recent Fed meeting that the U.S. has that exact combination currently.
"That's always been the holy grail of every single rally I have ever seen since I started investing in 1979," the "Mad Money" host said.
The next ingredient is a reduction in Fed resistance. Fighting the Fed is not a good idea for stocks. In order to avoid competing with the stock market, the Fed likes to keep rates low. Investors can make a ton of money owning stocks this way. Cramer sees that the Fed is on the side of the bulls these days. Though Yellen is sitting on a $4 trillion balance sheet of bonds, she will not sell them. Cramer thinks investors shouldn't moralize. Just know this is a positive condition for stocks.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Third is to keep the government off the front page of the business section of the paper. Right now the only thing President Obama is on the front page for is for opening U.S. and Cuba relations. Politicians are toxic for higher stock prices.
Fourth is a reduction of geopolitical worries. Putin extended the olive branch a bit when his commentary in a recent press conference indicated he was willing to talk peace. He is the biggest menace in the world right now, so if he's out of the news then that can let Europe breathe a sigh of relief.
Next is a commodity or currency that goes up or down with great velocity. Right now it's oil.
"Sure, oil's breaking down again and I don't expect it to be able to stay in the fifties. There is too much supply and not enough demand and OPEC has lost control of pricing because of our still growing output."
The sixth ingredient is takeovers and potential takeovers. Pantry, a small convenience store chain, received a bid from Couche-Tard on Thursday. Additionally, Tony Vernon the CEO of Kraft is suddenly retiring. Does this mean Kraft is up for sale?
"Why not? It could fetch big numbers and is a natural for Nestle to merge with," Cramer said.
Profits are the next essential for a rally. They seem very strong right now, partially because oil is so low but also because businesses are doing better. Darden and Jabil just announced fabulous numbers, as did Oracle. Cramer finds the fact that cloud based companies like Oracle and Salesforce.com, are roaring pretty darn interesting.
Next up is big cap buybacks. When big cap companies are doing huge buybacks, like Boeing and 3M, investors love the high dividends and the market will be eating out of the palm of the company's hand.
Ninth is the biotech bounce. Cramer's four horsemen of the big pharma apocalypse are on fire right now. That is Celgene, Biogen, Regeneron and Gilead.
---------------------------------------------------------- Read more from Mad Money with Jim CramerCramer Remix: Here's what the Fed did Cramer: Breaking the link between oil and stocks Cramer: Time to tame the oil beast----------------------------------------------------------
"This is a very big deal because people are recognizing that even in downturns these companies' prospects are terrific," he said.
The last perfect ingredient, are quiet foreign markets. Europe is up, China has been okay lately. Emerging markets are quiet. Let's breathe.
So it looks like for the moment, the perfect recipe is working. The market has become seasonably strong, and Cramer is seeing the perfect recipe for a Santa Claus rally. Ho ho ho!
Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Vine
Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com
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4f03061232463478acf7fb1e26f576f9 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/19/fbi-concludes-that-the-north-korean-govt-is-responsible-for-sony-cyber-attack.html | FBI: North Korean gov't responsible for Sony hack | FBI: North Korean gov't responsible for Sony hack
VIDEO2:4702:47Nobody wanted to believe it was North Korea: SwisherSquawk Alley
There is enough information to conclude that the North Korean government is responsible for the Sony cyberattack, the FBI said Friday, based on an investigation conducted in collaboration with other government agencies and departments.
"Though the FBI has seen a wide variety and increasing number of cyber intrusions, the destructive nature of this attack, coupled with its coercive nature, sets it apart," the agency said in a statement. "North Korea's actions were intended to inflict significant harm on a U.S. business and suppress the right of American citizens to express themselves. Such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behavior."
The U.S. is considering options for a 'proportional' response to the cyberattack. One option is to place North Korea back on the terror list as a state sponsor of terror, Dow Jones reported Friday.
The U.S. is also consulting several countries on the cyberattack, including Japan, South Korea, China and Russia, according to a U.S. official, who added that the U.S. is "working through diplomatic channels to register our concerns and ask for assistance."
Read MoreHow the US could retaliate against North Korea
Due to sensitive sources and methods to obtain the information, the FBI said it is limited in what it can share. The bureau did say that the conclusion is based on technical analysis of data deletion malware, which revealed that there were links to other malware that North Koreans previously developed. The agency also noticed significant overlap between the infrastructure used in the Sony attack and other malicious digital activity from North Korea.
Shares of Sony were down nearly 3 percent.
Security guards at the entrance of United Artists theater during the premiere of the film "The Interview" in Los Angeles, December 11, 2014.Kevork Djansezian | Reuters
The Chinese government, responding to a U.S. official's allegation that there may be Chinese involvement in the hack, said it does not support illegal cyber action within its borders and urged the U.S. to share evidence, according to representatives of the Chinese embassy in Washington.
Former Sen. Chris Dodd, CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, called the North Korean attack a "despicable, criminal act."
"This situation is larger than a movie's release or the contents of someone's private emails. This is about the fact that criminals were able to hack in and steal what has now been identified as many times the volume of all of the printed material in the Library of Congress and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of Americans who work in the film and television industry, as well as the millions who simply choose to go to the movies," Dodd said. He added that this cannot be allowed to happen again to American corporations.
According to a source close to the studio, the hackers emailed a message to Sony executives approving the studio's decision to postpone the release of the movie "The Interview," a comedy about an attempted assassination of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un. The authenticity of the message has yet to be verified.
The hackers had new commands for Sony: "Now we want you never let the movie released, distributed or leaked in any form of, for instance, DVD or piracy," the email said. "And we want everything related to the movie, including its trailers, as well as its full version down from any website hosting them immediately."
Read MoreInside North Korea's scrappy, masterful cyberstrategy
The hackers reminded executives that they "still have your private and sensitive data," which they said will remain secure "unless you make additional trouble."
In late November, Sony confirmed that the cyberattack destroyed systems and stole large quantities of personal and commercial data. A group calling itself "Guardians of Peace" claimed responsibility and issued threats against Sony. The attacks rendered thousands of Sony computers inoperable and forced the company to take its computer network off line.
—With reporting by CNBC's Julia Boorstin. Reuters contributed to this report.
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3c18d6e4575422ca4fe6a46c60cf367d | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/19/inside-minecraft-founders-70-million-bachelor-pad.html | Inside Minecraft founder's $70 million bachelor pad | Inside Minecraft founder's $70 million bachelor pad
Minecraft founder Markus Persson bought this Beverly Hills, California, home for $70 million, according to sources.Source: Rodeo Realty
Markus Persson is the ultimate bachelor—35 years old, a billionaire, and newly single. And now he's got the ultimate bachelor pad to live out his dream.
Persson snatched up a 23,000-square-foot glass palace perched atop the posh Hillcrest Drive in Beverly Hills, California, for $70 million, according to sources. The price makes it the most expensive home ever sold in the Hills— and marks a big win for developer Bruce Makowsky, the former handbag tycoon who built the home and who's quickly reinventing the hyper-priced home market in California.
Read MoreThe year of the'most expensive...'
Those who viewed the house when it was on the market included high-profile names such as Jay-Z and Steve Wynn.
VIDEO2:1702:17Tour inside $85M spec homeSquawk Box
The house isn't huge by California standards, with eight bedrooms, 15 baths, and a small plot of land. Yet it is the ultimate turnkey mansion—filled with over-the-top artwork, furniture, wine and even table settings that are all included in the house. Makowsky, who sold his companies for hundreds of millions of dollars before moving to Los Angeles, designed every detail to match the quality seen on top yachts and private jets.
Read MoreCost of a house made of money? Try $441 million
"I understand that world, so I know what the clients want," he told me.
So what will Persson be getting for his $70 million? Here are some of the home's features:
A massive living room with a 54-foot, retractable wall of glass that opens to an infinity pool and one of the best views of LA and the ocean in all of Beverly Hills. The ultimate candy bar. The house has a massive wall of candy dispensers with more than $200,000 worth of candy. Conveniently, it's right next to the home gym.A gallery for your Bugatti. Every bachelor needs a place to keep their Lambo. But Persson's new garage is more of a high-tech viewing gallery, with hydraulic floors that lower cars into the home's downstairs lounge and giant rotating floors to turn the car to the perfect viewing angles. Living in the fast lane. The living room has a sofa and chair set built by Bentley Motors, with their signature leather and wood. Cost: $500,000.The wine cellar is stocked with hundreds of bottles of Dom Perignon and other fine champagne and wine, so Persson will never go dry.The 24-person dining table has place settings by Roberto Cavalli at $3,700 each.A lot of skin. There are rare animal hides everywhere in the house, with the drawers of the men's dressing room lined with alligator skin and the door to the cinema room (one of the most expensive in LA) lined with Italian lizard skin. Logos everywhere. From the Fendi logos on the rugs to the Bentley "B" on the couches and logos in the paintings, this house screams status. The walls of the master bedroom suite were covered in a highly crafted material found only in Louis Vuitton stores.Tons of art. From a giant Leica camera to a replica of James Dean's motorcycle and a massive $250,000 sculpture of a hand-grenade and antique machine gun, the art in this house plentiful but manly. A gold toothbrush. Persson can move right in, since everything in the house is included. He even gets a special gold toothbrush made specifically for the house.
Read MoreMost expensive house (we could get into): Orlando, Fla.
This Beverly Hills home features a 54-foot retractable wall of glass that opens out to the infinity pool.Source: Rodeo Realty
Perched atop the hills, the home has a stunning view of Los Angeles.Source: Rodeo Realty
This room is made with the car collector in mind. Giant rotating floors allow you to show off your collection and adjust for the best viewing angle.Source: Rodeo Realty
The $70 million price tag includes the contents of the home, including a replica of James Dean's motorcycle, pictured here.Source: Rodeo Realty
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05c09be0be3be5e1666c5fa38222e755 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/19/late-christmas-shoppers-spend-a-lot-but-dont-help-retail-stocks.html | Late Christmas shoppers can't save your portfolio | Late Christmas shoppers can't save your portfolio
A shopper loads a 48-inch television into a cart at a Target store in Mentor, Ohio.Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Christmas is just a few days away, and if you're reading this article to procrastinate buying your gifts, you aren't alone. On the contrary, millions of others late shoppers just like you have been waiting until the final days of the season to get their gifts.
According to data from Cardlytics, a credit card-linked marketing firm, late holiday shoppers make up 42 percent of all consumers in the final seven weeks of the year. They are defined by how frequently and often they make non-grocery retail purchases. These late shoppers are big spenders, shelling out an average of $770 in the final three weeks of the holidays. Their spending makes up the majority, 57 percent, of total dollars in that time frame. Here's a breakdown of the late shoppers:
42% of all shoppers are late Spend an average of $770 in the final three weeks of season That's nearly double the $377 spent by early shoppers 67% of their total spending is in the final three weeks of season Overall, they spend an average of $1,148 on the holidays
This is a valuable group to advertisers, because the holiday shopping season is getting stretched longer from both sides: starting earlier and seeing more procrastination at the very end. This is why individual shopping days matter less now: while Black Friday sales are dropping, total holiday spending is seeing a positive forecast. These new dynamics—and the procrastinators—change how advertisers need to think about reaching consumers.
As far as your stock portfolio goes—these last-minute shoppers can't save you, however. Retail stocks are practically the worst trade you can make late in the year.
According to an analysis using Kensho, a quantitative tool used by hedge funds, the retail sector ETF (XRT in the chart below) is one of the worst performers over the last eight years in the days between Dec. 19 and Dec. 31. It loses out to the overall stock market and comes nowhere close to the nearly 4-percent gain seen by gold stocks in the final few days of the year.
So while there are more late shoppers, and they are spending big bucks, they probably won't be able to save your portfolio.
Read MoreXmas started in September, and it's YOUR fault
—CNBC's parent NBCUniversal is a minority investor in Kensho.
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0276082648b2aad0701d6abcd1f49cc8 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/19/made-in-the-usa-an-iconic-holiday-toy-comes-home.html | Made in the USA: An iconic holiday toy comes home | Made in the USA: An iconic holiday toy comes home
VIDEO1:5901:59Made in the USA: Lincoln Logs comes back home
Lincoln Logs, the popular building toy created nearly a century ago by a son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, is coming home to the U.S.
Toymaker K'Nex has brought manufacturing of the wooden pieces to Burnham, Maine, after decades of being made in China.
"With such an iconic brand like Lincoln Logs, which has been made in China for the last almost 60 years, we've been working on bringing it back for the last four years. We've had some fits and starts, but finally have a supply chain built," said K'Nex CEO Michael Araten.
That supply chain involves Pride Manufacturing, which won the three-year contract and has undergone 17 months of planning, building machinery and testing paints, strength and tensility of the Lincoln Logs to gear up for full production in January 2015. The move means that 80 percent of the iconic toys will be "Made in the U.S.A." in the same place where Pride manufactures golf tees for Wal-Mart Stores and wooden cigar tips for other clients.
Logs being cut at the Pride Manufacturing facility in Burnham, Maine.Source: Sabrina Korber
"We're seeing products come back into the U.S. Some of our retailers want 'Made in the U.S.A.' products, and we've been in a position where we can certainly provide that, and that has helped us secure some important business for our operation," said Randy Dicker, senior director of manufacturing at Pride.
The manufacturing is in operation 20 hours a day, four days a week, not including the sawmill work where logs are brought in five days a week, mainly from forests in Maine.
Logs being cut at Pride Manufacturing’s Burnham, Maine, plant. They will be turned into Lincoln Log toys.Source: Sabrina Korber
Consumer Reports said given the choice between a product made in the U.S. and an identical one made abroad, 78 percent of Americans would rather buy the domestic version and they're also willing to pay more.
Dicker attributed the demand for "Made in the U.S.A." products to consumers and businesses beginning to realize the positive economic impact that results from keeping manufacturing onshore.
"You can't completely give up manufacturing and let it go across the waters for pure price and expect your country to be as strong as it can be. So, I think the whole country is looking at how we get it back here, how to make it a little cheaper. We won't be the best price, but we'll probably be a lot better quality, and that's going to save the customer money in the long run," Dicker said.
With consumer awareness of where products are made on the rise, retailers and brands like Wal-Mart are looking to move manufacturing back onshore when the economics make sense.
Eighty-five percent of Wal-Mart customers tell the retailer that where products are made is second only to the price when evaluating a purchase, according to Cindi Marsiglio, vice president of U.S. manufacturing at Walmart.
The buzz surrounding the move of Lincoln Logs from China has also helped raise consumer awareness of the product, which Araten and Dicker hope will create even more demand.
"What we've learned when [the news] got out there, that iconic name 'Lincoln Logs' meant a lot to people and the fact that it was going to be made in the U.S.A. again sparked interest from the people and generated interest from other manufacturers that are looking to bring manufacturing of other products back to the U.S.," Dicker said.
Lincoln Logs on the Pride Manufacturing assembly line in Burnham, Maine.Source: Sabrina Korber
Pride Manufacturing, which experienced a downturn during the recession, has already increased capacity and added jobs to meet demand in the growing wooden cigar tip business and anticipates hiring eight more people to fulfill requirements for the Lincoln Logs' contract.
While eight may not sound like a lot, that's on top of the roughly 60 jobs K'Nex has added in the last five years to its facility in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.
And while it used to be much more expensive to produce goods in the U.S., that's not necessarily the case anymore.
"Our margin structure has actually slightly improved as we've brought things back over to the U.S. That wasn't true in the beginning, it was a little bit lower when we started, but we got smarter at it, we got more efficient, and as we've done that, the margins have come back and allowed us to be a nice profitable enterprise yet deliver the value that we need," Araten said.
But with electronics, tablets and smartphones at the top of many youngsters' wish lists for the holidays, does a classic activity toy like Lincoln Logs have a chance to compete for a place under the tree? Araten said he's not worried.
"One of the great lessons out of the recession has been that families with discretionary income, who are buying things during the holiday season, like ours—especially for young children, love to buy things made in America. There is no more powerful brand in the world than 'Made in the U.S.A.,'" he said.
A worker at the Pride Manufacturing plant sorts through Lincoln Logs coming off an assembly line and inspects them for color quality.Source: Sabrina Korber
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1b26be683d63317ef005c1da1358a661 | https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/19/west-coast-port-congestion-one-importers-tale.html | Port problems: One importer's traffic jam woe | Port problems: One importer's traffic jam woe
Shipping containers at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif.Ken James | Bloomberg | Getty Images
There are 620 cycling trainers stuck in Long Beach, California.
They spent close to five days stuck on a boat outside of the port. When the container they were in was finally unloaded off the ship, it was parked in a rail transfer yard for two days. At this publication time, they are still there.
The cycles were supposed to be in Atlanta on Wednesday. Given the delay there was no way the equipment, already pre-sold to customers, would make it to their destinations by Christmas.
So the importer, Wahoo Fitness, loaded another 620 of its training cycles, called KICKRs and retailing for about $1,100 each, onto an airplane and flew them over from Asia. It cost $68,000. The ocean freight bill is typically between $3,000-$5,000.
"It will reduce our gross margin by a third to a half," said Mike Stashak, vice president of sales and marketing at Wahoo, in an interview. "We're still making money off it, but not a whole lot."
This is just one illustration of how ongoing problems at West Coast ports are hurting American businesses during the critical shopping season.
"For investors the 'watch out' is smaller retailers with less supply chain sophistication who won't have hedged the west coast with shipments through New York/New Jersey, Savannah, or New Orleans," emailed Kevin O'Marah, head of research for SCM World, a supply chain professional organization. "Merchandise on boats or in the yard, but not yet in truck chassis may well mean out of stocks and missed sales. The other big danger is big U.S. agricultural businesses like IBP or Cargill. Meat, produce and bulk agricultural commodities can't get out to Asian and Latin American markets and will, in some cases, spoil and be lost completely."
VIDEO1:1101:11One reason dockworkers are well paid
Indeed, some retailers have already blamed congestion at West Coast ports, which handle more than half of imports from Asia, for problems in their earnings performance.
Problems at the ports have been growing throughout the fall shipping season as talks between the dockworkers' labor union and port employers have dragged on. The union has been without a contract since July.
"We are still far apart on a number of issues and the disruptions continue to grow," said Wade Gates, a spokesman for the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents ship lines and terminal operators that employ the longshoremen. Among its 72 members are publicly-traded Matson Navigation Co. and Maersk Inc.
Management has accused the workers, represented by the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union, of staging slowdowns and purposely holding up cargo. The union has blamed traffic mismanagement and equipment shortages for the congestion.
Read MoreWhat's behind the West Coast traffic jam...
"Our members continue to be concerned about the ongoing congestion and slowdowns at the ports," said Jon Gold, who oversees transportation issues for the National Retail Federation. "They continue to encounter delays in getting their cargo from the different ports. This continues to impact last minute holiday merchandise which has been stuck as well as early Spring shipments."
Retailers and manufacturers have been urging the two sides to turn to federal mediation. But so far the negotiators seem unwilling to do so. And, since the holiday shipping season has passed, there's been growing speculation that management may resort to a lockout since the customer backlash would be relatively minimal. Management staged a lockout in 2002. Those 10 days cost the economy upwards of $1 billion a day by some estimates. The White House had to order the ports reopened.
If there is a West Coast port shutdown, it's likely that smaller businesses without the global logistics wherewithal will take it on the chin. Again.
"Okay we're a small fish in a big pond," said Wahoo's Stashak. "And I want everyone to get their fair due. But this just shows how these things trickle down and really hurt the smaller guys that really aren't involved in it."
By the way, Wahoo's next shipments? They are going through Savannah.
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