title: "Common eider" content: The common eider is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Eiders are colonial breeders. They nest on coastal islands in colonies ranging in size of less than 100 to upwards of 10,000-15,000 individuals. Female eiders frequently exhibit a high degree of natal philopatry, where they return to breed on the same island where they were hatched. This can lead to a high degree of relatedness between individuals nesting on the same island, as well as the development of kin-based female social structures. This relatedness has likely played a role


title: "Common eider" content: in the evolution of co-operative breeding behaviours amongst eiders. Examples of these behaviours include laying eggs in the nests of related individuals and crèching, where female eiders team up and share the work of rearing ducklings. Common eider The common eider (pronounced ) ("Somateria mollissima") is a large ( in body length) sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on coastal waters. It can fly at speeds up to


title: "Electronic Arts" content: rather than 3. On September 22, 2008, a global class action lawsuit was filed against EA regarding the DRM in "Spore", complaining about EA not disclosing the existence of SecuROM in the game manual, and addressing how SecuROM runs with the nature of a rootkit, including how it remains on the hard drive even after "Spore" is uninstalled. On October 14, 2008, a similar class action lawsuit was filed against EA for the inclusion of DRM software in the free demo version of the Creature Creator. On March 31, 2009, EA released a "De-Authorization Management Tool" that allows customers who


title: "History of Sesame Street" content: developed to assist writers and producers in translating the research and production goals into televised material; this connected the show's curriculum goals and its script development. The Muppet characters were created to fill specific curriculum needs: Oscar the Grouch, for example, was designed to teach children about their positive and negative emotions. Lesser called the collaboration between researchers and producers, as well as the idea of using television as an educational tool, the "CTW model". Cooney agreed, commenting, "From the beginning, we—the planners of the project—designed the show as an experimental research project with educational advisers, researchers, and television producers


title: Ouzo content: Ouzo Ouzo (, ) is a dry anise-flavoured aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel. Its taste is similar to other anise liquors like "rakı", pastis and sambuca. Ouzo has its roots in "tsipouro", which is said to have been the work of a group of 14th-century monks on Mount Athos. One version of it was flavoured with anise. This version eventually came to be called ouzo. Modern ouzo distillation largely took off in the beginning of the 19th century following Greek independence. The first ouzo distillery was founded in Tyrnavos in 1856 by Nikolaos Katsaros,


title: Ouzo content: giving birth to the famous ouzo Tyrnavou. When absinthe fell into disfavour in the early 20th century, ouzo was one of the products whose popularity rose to fill the gap; it was once called "a substitute for absinthe without the wormwood". In 1932, ouzo producers developed a method of distillation using copper stills that is now the standard method of production. One of the largest producers of ouzo today is "Varvayanis" (Βαρβαγιάννης), located in the town of Plomari in the southeast portion of the island of Lesbos, while in the same town "Pitsiladi" (Πιτσιλαδή), a variety of high-quality ouzo, is


title: Ouzo content: also distilled. Ouzo is usually mixed with water, becoming cloudy white, sometimes with a faint blue tinge, and served with ice cubes in a small glass. Ouzo can also be drunk straight from a shot glass. Ouzo is often served with a small plate of a variety of appetizers called mezes, usually small fresh fish, fries, olives and feta cheese. Ouzo can be described to have a similar taste to absinthe which is liquorice-like, but smoother. On October 25, 2006, Greece won the right to label ouzo as an exclusively Greek product. The European Union now recognizes ouzo, as well


title: Ouzo content: as the Greek drinks "tsipouro" and "tsikoudia", as products with a Protected Designation of Origin, which prohibits European makers other than Greece and Cyprus from using the name. There is an ouzo museum in Plomari, Lesvos. The origin of the name "ouzo" is disputed. A popular derivation is from the Italian "uso Massalia"—"for use in Marseille"—stamped on selected silkworm cocoons exported from Tyrnavos in the 19th century. According to anecdote, this designation came to stand for "superior quality", which the spirit distilled as ouzo was thought to possess. During a visit to Thessaly in 1896, the late professor Alexander Philadelpheus


title: Ouzo content: delivered to us valuable information on the origins of the word "ouzo", which has come to replace the word "tsipouro". According to the professor, tsipouro gradually became ouzo after the following event: Thessaly exported fine cocoons to Marseilles during the 19th century, and in order to distinguish the product, outgoing crates would be stamped with the words "uso Massalia"—Italian for "to be used in Marseille". One day, the Ottoman Greek consulate physician, named Anastas (Anastasios) Bey, happened to be visiting the town of Tyrnavos and was asked to sample the local "tsipouro". Upon tasting the drink, the physician immediately exclaimed:


title: Ouzo content: "This is "uso Massalia", my friends"—referring to its high quality. The term subsequently spread by word of mouth, until "tsipouro" gradually became known as ouzo. However, the major Greek dictionaries derive it from the Turkish word "üzüm" 'grape'. Ouzo production begins with distillation in copper stills of 96% alcohol by volume (ABV) rectified spirit. Anise is added, sometimes with other flavorings such as star anise, fennel, mastic, cardamom, coriander, cloves, and cinnamon. The flavoring ingredients are often closely guarded company "recipes", and distinguish one ouzo from another. The result is a flavored alcoholic solution known as "flavored ethyl alcohol", or


title: Ouzo content: more commonly as "ouzo yeast"—"μαγιά ούζου" in Greek—the term for "yeast" being used by Greeks metaphorically to denote that it serves as the starting point for ouzo production. The "ouzo yeast" is then distilled. After several hours of distillation, a flavored distillate of approximately 80 ABV (% Alcohol By Volume) is produced. The spirit at the beginning of the distillation (heads) and end (tails) is usually removed to avoid light and heavy alcohols and aromatics. The heads and tails are usually mixed and distilled again. The product of this second distillation can be used to produce a different quality ouzo.


title: Ouzo content: This technique of double-distillation is used by some distillers to differentiate their products. Makers of high-quality "100% from distillation" ouzo proceed at this stage with water dilution, bringing the ouzo to its final ABV. But most producers combine the "ouzo yeast" with less expensive ethyl alcohol flavored with 0.05 percent natural anethole, before water dilution. Greek law dictates that in this case the ouzo yeast cannot be less than 20 percent of the final product. Sugar may be added before water dilution, which is done mostly with ouzo from Southern Greece. The final ABV is usually between 37.5 and 50


title: Ouzo content: percent; the minimum allowed is 37.5 percent. Ouzo production itself does not include fermentation. In modern Greece, "ouzeries" (the suffix -erie is imported from French) can be found in nearly all cities, towns, and villages. These café-like establishments serve ouzo with "mezedes"—appetizers such as octopus, salad, sardines, calamari, fried zucchini, and clams, among others. It is traditionally slowly sipped (usually mixed with water or ice) together with "mezedes" shared with others over a period of several hours in the early evening. In other countries it is tradition to have ouzo in authentic Greek restaurants as an aperitif, served in a


title: Ouzo content: shot glass and deeply chilled before the meal is started. No water or ice is added but the drink is served very cold, enough to make some crystals form in the drink as it is served. Ouzo can colloquially be referred to as a particularly strong drink, the cause of this being its sugar content. Sugar delays ethanol absorption in the stomach, and may thus mislead the drinker into thinking that they can drink more as they do not feel tipsy early on. Then the cumulative effect of ethanol appears and the drinker becomes inebriated rather quickly. This is why


title: Ouzo content: it is generally considered poor form to drink ouzo "dry hammer" ("ξεροσφύρι", "xerosfýri", an idiomatic expression that means "drinking alcohol without eating anything") in Greece. The presence of food, especially fats or oils, in the upper digestive system prolongs the absorption of ethanol and ameliorates alcohol intoxication. Ouzo is not used in many mainstream cocktail drinks, although in Cyprus it does form the basis of a cocktail called an Ouzini. Ouzo is a clear liquid. However, when water or ice is added, ouzo turns a milky-white colour. This is because anethole, the essential oil of anise, is completely soluble in


title: Ouzo content: alcohol at approximately 38% ABV and above, but not in water. Diluting the spirit causes it to separate creating an emulsion, whose fine droplets scatter the light. This process is called louching, and is also found while preparing absinthe. Similar aperitifs include oghi (from Armenia), mastika from Bulgaria and Macedonia, rakı from Turkey, pastis (France), and arak (from the Levant). Its aniseed flavour is also similar to the anise-flavoured liqueurs of sambuca (Italy) and anís (Spain) and the stronger spirits of absinthe (France and Switzerland). Aguardiente (Colombia), made from sugar cane, is also similar. The Italian drink "Pallini Mistra," named


title: Ouzo content: after the Greek city of Mystras in the Peloponnese is a version of ouzo made in Rome that closely resembles Greek and Cypriot ouzo. Ouzo Ouzo (, ) is a dry anise-flavoured aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel. Its taste is similar to other anise liquors like "rakı", pastis and sambuca. Ouzo has its roots in "tsipouro", which is said to have been the work of a group of 14th-century monks on Mount Athos. One version of it was flavoured with anise. This version eventually came to be called ouzo. Modern ouzo distillation largely took


title: "Common moorhen" content: Common moorhen The common moorhen ("Gallinula chloropus") (also known as the waterhen and as the swamp chicken) is a bird species in the family Rallidae. It is distributed across many parts of the Old World. The common moorhen lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals and other wetlands. The species is not found in the polar regions or many tropical rainforests. Elsewhere it is likely the most common rail species, except for the Eurasian coot in some regions. The closely related common gallinule of the New World has been recognized as a separate species by most authorities, starting with the American


title: "Common moorhen" content: Ornithologists' Union and the International Ornithological Committee in 2011. The name "mor-hen" has been recorded in English since the 13th century. The word "moor" here is an old sense meaning "marsh"; the species is not usually found in moorland. An older name, common waterhen, is more descriptive of the bird's habitat. A "watercock" is not a male "waterhen" but the rail species "Gallicrex cinerea", not closely related to the common moorhen. "Water rail" usually refers to "Rallus aquaticus", again not closely related. The scientific name "Gallinula chloropus" comes from the Latin "Gallinula" (a small hen or chicken) and the Greek


title: "Common moorhen" content: "chloropus" ("khloros" χλωρός green or yellow, "pous" πούς foot). The moorhen is a distinctive species, with dark plumage apart from the white undertail, yellow legs and a red frontal shield. The young are browner and lack the red shield. The frontal shield of the adult has a rounded top and fairly parallel sides; the tailward margin of the red unfeathered area is a smooth waving line. In the related common gallinule of the Americas, the frontal shield has a fairly straight top and is less wide towards the bill, giving a marked indentation to the back margin of the red


title: "Common moorhen" content: area. The common moorhen gives a wide range of gargling calls and will emit loud hisses when threatened. A midsized to large rail, it can range from in length and span across the wings. The body mass of this species can range from . This is a common breeding bird in marsh environments, well-vegetated lakes and even in city parks. Populations in areas where the waters freeze, such as eastern Europe, will migrate to more temperate climes. This species will consume a wide variety of vegetable material and small aquatic creatures. They forage beside or in the water, sometimes walking


title: "Common moorhen" content: on lilypads or upending in the water to feed. They are often secretive, but can become tame in some areas. Despite loss of habitat in parts of its range, the common moorhen remains plentiful and widespread. The birds are territorial during breeding season. The nest is a basket built on the ground in dense vegetation. Laying starts in spring, between mid-March and mid-May in Northern hemisphere temperate regions. About 8 eggs are usually laid per female early in the season; a brood later in the year usually has only 5–8 or fewer eggs. Nests may be re-used by different females.


title: "Common moorhen" content: Incubation lasts about three weeks. Both parents incubate and feed the young. These fledge after 40–50 days, become independent usually a few weeks thereafter, and may raise their first brood the next spring. When threatened, the young may cling to the parents' body, after which the adult birds fly away to safety, carrying their offspring with them. On a global scale – all subspecies taken together – the common moorhen is as abundant as its vernacular name implies. It is therefore considered a species of Least Concern by the IUCN. However, small populations may be prone to extinction. The population


title: "Common moorhen" content: of Palau, belonging to the widespread subspecies "G. c. orientalis" and locally known as "debar" (a generic term also used for ducks and meaning roughly "waterfowl"), is very rare, and apparently the birds are hunted by locals. Most of the population on the archipelago occurs on Angaur and Peleliu, while the species is probably already gone from Koror. In the Lake Ngardok wetlands of Babeldaob, a few dozen still occur, but the total number of common moorhens on Palau is about in the same region as the Guam population: fewer than 100 adult birds (usually fewer than 50) have been


title: "Common moorhen" content: encountered in any survey. The common moorhen is one of the birds (the other is the Eurasian coot, "Fulica atra") from which the cyclocoelid flatworm parasite "Cyclocoelum mutabile" was first described. The bird is also parasitised by the moorhen flea, "Dasypsyllus gallinulae". Five subspecies are today considered valid; several more have been described that are now considered junior synonyms. Most are not very readily recognizable, as differences are rather subtle and often clinal. Usually, the location of a sighting is the most reliable indication as to subspecies identification, but the migratory tendencies of this species make identifications based on location


title: "Common moorhen" content: not completely reliable. In addition to the extant subspecies listed below, an undescribed form from the Early Pleistocene is recorded from Dursunlu in Turkey. Common moorhen The common moorhen ("Gallinula chloropus") (also known as the waterhen and as the swamp chicken) is a bird species in the family Rallidae. It is distributed across many parts of the Old World. The common moorhen lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals and other wetlands. The species is not found in the polar regions or many tropical rainforests. Elsewhere it is likely the most common rail species, except for the Eurasian coot in some


title: "Common gallinule" content: Common gallinule The common gallinule ("Gallinula galeata") is a bird in the family Rallidae. It was split from the common moorhen by the American Ornithologists' Union in July 2011. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals, and other wetlands in the Americas. The species is not found in the polar regions or many tropical rainforests. Elsewhere, the common gallinule is likely the most commonly seen rail species in much of North America, excepting the American coot in some regions. The gallinule has dark plumage apart from the white undertail, yellow legs and a red frontal shield. The young are browner


title: "Common gallinule" content: and lack the red shield. It has a wide range of gargling calls and will emit loud hisses when threatened. This is a common breeding bird in marsh environments and well-vegetated lakes. Populations in areas where the waters freeze, such as southern Canada and the northern USA, will migrate to more temperate climes. This species will consume a wide variety of vegetable material and small aquatic creatures. It forages beside or in the water, sometimes upending in the water to feed. Its wide feet allow it to hop about on lily pads. It is often secretive, but can become tame


title: "Common gallinule" content: in some areas. Despite loss of habitat in parts of its range, the common gallinule remains plentiful and widespread. The common gallinule will fight to defend its territory. The nest is a basket built on the ground in dense vegetation. Laying starts in spring, between mid-March and mid-May in northern hemisphere temperate regions. About 8 eggs are usually laid per female early in the season; a brood later in the year usually has only 5–8 or even fewer eggs. Nests may be re-used by different females. Incubation lasts about three weeks. Both parents incubate and feed the young. These fledge


title: "Common gallinule" content: after 40–50 days, become independent usually a few weeks thereafter, and may raise their first brood the next spring. When threatened, the young may cling to a parent's body, after which the adult birds fly away to safety, carrying their offspring with them. This species is parasitized by the moorhen flea, "Dasypsyllus gallinulae". Seven subspecies are today considered valid; others have been described that are now considered junior synonyms. Most are not very readily recognizable, as differences are rather subtle and often clinal. Usually, the location of a sighting is the most reliable indication as to subspecies identification, but the


title: "Common gallinule" content: migratory tendencies of this species make identifications based on location not completely reliable. In addition to the extant subspecies listed below, there is a Pleistocene population known from fossils: the larger, stout and long-winged paleosubspecies "G. g. brodkorbi" is known from the Ichetucknee River deposits in Florida. It was originally described as a distinct species, but is probably the direct ancestor of some of today's common gallinules. The presence in the same deposits of fossils typical of the shorter-winged and more delicate "G. g. cerceris" suggests that "G. g. brodkorbi" was not ancestral to the Antillean (Florida) gallinule of our


title: "Common gallinule" content: time but rather to the more northerly North American subspecies. Common gallinule The common gallinule ("Gallinula galeata") is a bird in the family Rallidae. It was split from the common moorhen by the American Ornithologists' Union in July 2011. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals, and other wetlands in the Americas. The species is not found in the polar regions or many tropical rainforests. Elsewhere, the common gallinule is likely the most commonly seen rail species in much of North America, excepting the American coot in some regions. The gallinule has dark plumage apart from the white undertail, yellow


title: Manakin content: Manakin The manakins are a family, Pipridae, of small suboscine passerine birds. The group contains some 60 species distributed through the American tropics. The name is from Middle Dutch "mannekijn" "little man" (also the source of the different bird name "mannikin"). They range in size from and in weight from . The genus "Tyranneutes" comprise the smallest manakins, the genus "Antilophia" are believed to be the largest (since the genus "Schiffornis" are no longer considered manakins). They are compact stubby birds with short tails, broad and rounded wings, and big heads. The bill is short and has a wide gap.


title: Manakin content: Females and first-year males have dull green plumage; most species are sexually dichromatic in their plumage, the males being mostly black with striking colours in patches, and in some species having long, decorative tail or crown feathers or erectile throat feathers. In some species, males from two to four years old have a distinctive subadult plumage. The syrinx or "voicebox" is distinctive in manakins, setting them apart from the related families Cotingidae and Tyrannidae. Furthermore, it is so acutely variable within the group that genera and even species may be identified by the syrinx alone, unlike birds of most oscine


title: Manakin content: families. The sounds made are whistles, trills, and buzzes. Manakins occur from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, Paraguay, and southern Brazil, and on Trinidad and Tobago as well. They are highly arboreal and are almost exclusively forest and woodland birds. Most species live in humid tropical lowlands, with a few in dry forests, river forests, and the subtropical Andes. Some highland species have altitudinal migrations. Manakins feed in the understorey on small fruit (but often remarkably large for the size of the bird) including berries, and to a lesser degree, insects. Since they take fruit in flight as other species


title: Manakin content: "hawk" for insects, they are believed to have evolved from insect-eating birds. Females have big territories from which they do not necessarily exclude other birds of their species, instead feeding somewhat socially. Males spend much of their time together at courtship sites. Manakins sometimes join mixed feeding flocks. Many manakin species have spectacular lekking courtship rituals, which are especially elaborate in the genera "Pipra" and "Chiroxiphia". The members of the genera "Machaeropterus" and "Manacus" have heavily modified wing feathers, which they use to make buzzing and snapping sounds. Building of the nest (an open cup, generally low in vegetation), incubation


title: Manakin content: for 18 to 21 days, and care of the young for 13 to 15 days are undertaken by the female alone, since most manakins do not form stable pairs. (The helmeted manakin does form pairs, but the male's contribution is limited to defending the territory.) The normal clutch is two eggs, which are buff or dull white, marked with brown. Lekking polygyny seems to have been a characteristic of the family's original ancestor, and the associated sexual selection led to an adaptive radiation in which relationships may be traced by similarities in displays. An evolutionary explanation connecting lekking to fruit-eating


title: Manakin content: has been proposed. The family Pipridae was introduced (as Pipraria) by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. The members of the genus "Schiffornis" were previously placed in this family, but are now placed in Tityridae. Family Pipridae Manakin The manakins are a family, Pipridae, of small suboscine passerine birds. The group contains some 60 species distributed through the American tropics. The name is from Middle Dutch "mannekijn" "little man" (also the source of the different bird name "mannikin"). They range in size from and in weight from . The genus "Tyranneutes" comprise the smallest manakins, the genus "Antilophia"


title: "Krahn people" content: manioc, maize, and bananas." Like the Krahn in Liberia, the Wee traditions of hunting and farming have faced some difficulties, and in more recent years many have instead begun laboring in diamond camps and on rubber plantations. Early Krahn political organization was traditionally decentralized in both Liberia and Ivory Coast. The tribes often lacked a central governing power, instead turning to a village "headman" who rose to a position of social esteem through skill, hard work, and luck in hunting and farming. These individuals often formed councils consisting of young warriors for protection and village elders to serve as consultants


title: "Yield (album)" content: "Yield" became Pearl Jam's first album not to peak at number one on the "Billboard" charts since "Ten" in 1991. However, "Yield" has been certified platinum by the RIAA, and eventually outsold its predecessor "No Code" with 1.9 million<nowiki> </nowiki>copies in the United States as of 2013 according to Nielsen SoundScan. "Yield" received mixed to positive reviews from music critics but being proclaimed as a return to the band's early, straightforward rock sound. "Rolling Stone" staff writer Rob Sheffield gave "Yield" four out of five stars, saying that "before, the band's best songs were the change-of-pace ballads..."Yield" marks the first


title: "Nixon in China" content: a more critical vein, "The New York Times" chief music critic Donal Henahan alluded to the publicity buildup for the opera by opening his column, headed "That was it?", by calling the work "fluff" and "a Peter Sellars variety show, worth a few giggles but hardly a strong candidate for the standard repertory". "New York" magazine Peter G. Davis admired Maddalena's portrayal of the president, calling him "positively eerie. The tilt of his head, the jerky walk, the nervous hand movements, even the way he sits and crosses his legs are Nixon to the life". However, Davis felt the opera


title: Chair content: long periods of sitting are generally at least slightly reclined. However, reclining may not be suitable for chairs intended for work or eating at table. The back of the chair will support some of the weight of the occupant, reducing the weight on other parts of the body. In general, backrests come in three heights: Lower back backrests support only the lumbar region. Shoulder height backrests support the entire back and shoulders. Headrests support the head as well and are important in vehicles for preventing "whiplash" neck injuries in rear-end collisions where the head is jerked back suddenly. Reclining chairs


title: Tadpole content: Tadpole A tadpole (also called a pollywog) is the larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, particularly that of a frog or toad. They are usually wholly aquatic, though some species have tadpoles that are terrestrial. When first hatched from the egg they have a more or less globular body, a laterally compressed tail and internal or external gills. As they grow they undergo metamorphosis, during which process they grow limbs, develop lungs and reabsorb the tail. Most tadpoles are herbivorous and during metamorphosis the mouth and internal organs are rearranged to prepare for an adult carnivorous lifestyle.


title: Tadpole content: Having no hard parts, it might be expected that fossil tadpoles would not exist. However, traces of biofilms have been preserved and fossil tadpoles have been found dating back to the Miocene. Tadpoles are eaten in some parts of the world and are mentioned in folk tales and used as a symbol in ancient Egyptian numerals. The name "tadpole" is from Middle English "taddepol", made up of the elements "tadde", "toad", and "pol", "head" (modern English "poll"). Similarly, "pollywog" / "polliwog" is from Middle English "polwygle", made up of the same "pol", "head", and "wiglen", "to wiggle". Tadpoles are young


title: Tadpole content: amphibians that usually live in the water, though a few tadpoles are semi-terrestrial ("Indirana beddomii" and "Thoropa miliaris") and terrestrial ("Indirana semipalmata" and "Adenomera andreae"). During the tadpole stage of the amphibian life cycle, most respire by means of autonomous external or internal gills. They do not usually have arms or legs until the transition to adulthood, and typically have a large, flattened tail with which they swim by lateral undulation, similar to most fish. As a tadpole matures, it most commonly metamorphosizes by gradually growing limbs (usually the back legs first, followed by the front legs) and then (most


title: Tadpole content: commonly in the case of frogs) outwardly absorbing its tail by apoptosis. Lungs develop around the time of leg development, and tadpoles late in development will often be found near the surface of the water, where they breathe air. During the final stages of external metamorphosis, the tadpole's mouth changes from a small, enclosed mouth at the front of the head to a large mouth the same width as the head. The intestines shorten to accommodate the new diet. Most tadpoles are herbivorous, subsisting on algae and plants. Some species are omnivorous, eating detritus and, when available, smaller tadpoles. Tadpoles


title: Tadpole content: vary greatly in size, both during their development and between species. For example, in a single family, Megophryidae, length of late-stage tadpoles varies between and . The tadpoles of "Pseudis paradoxa" grow to , the largest of any frog. Despite their soft-bodied nature and lack of mineralised hard parts, fossil tadpoles (around 10 cm in length) have been recovered from Upper Miocene strata. They are preserved by virtue of biofilms, with more robust structures (the jaw and bones) preserved as a carbon film. In Miocene fossils from Libros, Spain, the brain case is preserved in calcium carbonate, and the nerve


title: Tadpole content: cord in calcium phosphate. Other parts of the tadpoles' bodies exist as organic remains and bacterial biofilms, with sedimentary detritus present in the gut. Tadpole remains with telltale external gills are also known from several labyrinthodont groups. Some tadpoles are used as food. Tadpoles of megophryid frog "Oreolalax rhodostigmatus" are particularly large, more than in length, and are collected for human consumption in China. In India, "Clinotarsus curtipes" are collected for food, and in Peru at least "Telmatobius mayoloi" tadpoles are collected for food and medicine. According to Sir George Scott, in the origin myths of the Wa people in


title: Tadpole content: China and Myanmar, the first Wa originated from two female ancestors "Ya Htawm" and "Ya Htai", who spent their early phase as tadpoles "(rairoh)" in a lake in the Wa country known as "Nawng Hkaeo". In the Ancient Egyptian numerals, a hieroglyphic representing a tadpole was used to denote the value of 100,000. Tadpole A tadpole (also called a pollywog) is the larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, particularly that of a frog or toad. They are usually wholly aquatic, though some species have tadpoles that are terrestrial. When first hatched from the egg they have a


title: Verona content: by the aid of popular risings. From 1508 to 1517, the city was in the power of the Emperor Maximilian I. There were numerous outbreaks of the plague, and in 1629–33 Italy was struck by its worst outbreak in modern times. Around 33,000 people died in Verona (over 60 per cent of the population at the time) in 1630–1631. In 1776 was developed a method of bellringing called Veronese bellringing art. Verona was occupied by Napoleon in 1797, but on Easter Monday the populace rose and drove out the French. It was then that Napoleon made an end of the


title: Pitta content: Pitta Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds found in Asia, Australasia and Africa. Pittas are all similar in general structure and habits, and have often been placed in a single genus, although as of 2009 they are now split into three genera, "Pitta", "Erythropitta" and "Hydrornis". Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards, at in length, and stocky, with strong, longish legs and long feet. They have very short tails and stout, slightly decurved bills. Many, but not all, have brightly coloured plumage. Most pitta species are tropical, although a few species can be found in temperate climates. They


title: Pitta content: are mostly forest species but are also found in scrub and mangroves. They are highly terrestrial, and usually forage on wet forest floors in areas with good ground cover. They eat snails, insects and similar invertebrate prey, as well as small vertebrates. Pittas are mostly solitary and lay up to six eggs in a large spherical nest in a tree or shrub, or sometimes on the ground. Both parents care for the young. Four species of pittas are fully migratory, and several more are partially so, though their migrations are poorly understood. Four species of pitta are listed as endangered


title: Pitta content: by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; a further nine species are listed as vulnerable and several more are near-threatened. The main threat to pittas is habitat loss in the form of rapid deforestation, but they are also targeted by the cage-bird trade. Due to their shyness and bright colouration they are popular with birdwatchers. Pittas were first described scientifically by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in his revised 12th edition of the "Systema Naturae". He placed the Indian pitta in the crow family and genus "Corvus". Ten years later it was placed in the thrush family, due to similarities


title: Pitta content: of morphology and behaviour, before being placed in its own genus, "Pitta" in 1816 by Louis Vieillot. Vieillot was also the first to consider the pittas a family in their own right. The name is derived from the word "pitta" in the Telugu language of South India meaning pretty bauble or pet. The family's closest relatives have for a long time assumed to be the other suboscine birds, and particularly the Old World suboscines; the broadbills, asities and the New World sapayoa (formerly treated as two families, now either lumped into one or split into four). A 2006 study confirmed


title: Pitta content: that these were the closest relatives of the pittas. This clade, the Eurylaimides, forms one of the two infraorders of Tyranni or suboscines, which is one of three suborders of the passerine birds. Within the Eurylaimides another 2006 study placed the pittas as a sister clade to two clades of broadbills and asities. The same study postulated an Asian origin for the Eurylaimides and therefore the pittas. In 2016 however a study by Alexandre Selvatti and his team from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro came to a different conclusion, finding that the most likely ancestral home of the


title: Pitta content: pittas and the Eurylaimides was Africa. That same study also found that the Eurylaimides were divided into two clades and that the pittas formed a clade with the green broadbills in the genera "Smithornis " and "Calyptomena", with the remaining broadbills and asities in the other clade (the sapayoa having diverged before the core clades had reached Africa). The study found that the pittas diverged from the green broadbills 24 to 30 million years ago, during the Oligocene. The pittas diverged and spread through into Asia before the Passeri songbirds reached the Old World from Australia. The number of pitta


title: Pitta content: genera has varied considerably, ranging from one to as many as nine. In his 1863 work "A Monograph of the Pittidae" Daniel Elliot split the pittas into two genera, "Pitta" for the species with comparatively long tails and "Brachyurus" for the shorter tailed species. Barely two decades later, in 1880/81, John Gould split the family into nine genera, to which he also included the lesser melampitta ("Melampitta"), where it was kept until 1931 when Ernst Mayr demonstrated it had the syrinx of an oscine bird. Soon afterwards Philip Sclater's "Catalogue of the Birds of the British Museum" brought the number


title: Pitta content: back down to three. Modern treatments vary as well. A 1975 checklist included six genera, whereas the 2003 volume of the "Handbook of the Birds of the World", which covered the family, placed all the pittas in a single genus. The family was not well studied using modern anatomical or phylogenetic techniques; two studies, in 1987 and 1990, each used only four species, and comparisons amongst the family as a whole have relied mostly on external features and appearances. A 2006 study of the nuclear DNA of the pittas, using study skins from museums, was the first to examine most


title: Pitta content: representatives of the family, and found evidence of three major clades of pitta. Based on the study the pittas were split into three genera. The first clade, using the genus name "Erythropitta", originally included six species (but see below) that had previously been considered closely related on external features. They are all generally small species with small tails, extensive amounts of crimson or red on the underparts, and greenish or blueish backs. The second genus, "Hydrornis", includes a number of variable Asian species. These species are unified morphologically in exhibiting sexual dimorphism in their plumage, as well as in possessing


title: Pitta content: cryptic juvenile plumage (in all the species thus far studied). Into this second clade is included the eared pitta, which had often been placed into its own genus, "Anthocincla", on account of its apparently primitive characteristics. The third genus, "Pitta", is the most widespread clade. Most species in this genus have green upperparts with a blue wing-patch, dark upperparts and cinnamon-buff underparts. This clade contains all the migratory species of pitta, and it is thought that many of the pitta species from islands are derived from migratory species. This division of the pittas into three genera has been adopted by


title: Pitta content: the International Ornithological Congress' (IOC) "", and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). As with genera, there has been considerable variation in the number of accepted pitta species. The checklists of Sclater and Elliot at the end of the 19th century contained 48 and 47 species each. More recent checklists have had fewer than this, one listing just 24 species. Since the 1990s the figure has been between 30 and 32 species; the 2003 "Handbook of the Birds of the World" recognised 30. One species not recognised by the Handbook is the black-crowned pitta, which it treated as


title: Pitta content: a subspecies of either the garnet pitta or the graceful pitta. Since the publication of the handbook, further splits have occurred; in 2010 the banded pitta was split into three species, one endemic to Java and Bali, one endemic to Borneo and one found in Sumatra and the Thai-Malay Peninsula. A 2013 study found that the red-bellied pitta, a widespread species found from Sulawesi to Australia, was actually a species complex. The study divided it into 17 new species, although authorities like the IOC have recognised only 10. The pittas are small to medium-sized passerines, ranging in size from the


title: Pitta content: blue-banded pitta at to the giant pitta, which can be up to in length. In weight they range from . Pittas are stout bodied birds with long, strong tarsi (lower leg bones) and long feet. The colour of the legs and feet can vary dramatically even within a species, this may be a characteristic used by females in judging the quality of a prospective mate. The wings have ten primaries are generally rounded and short; those of the four migratory species, however, are more pointed. Although pittas are behaviourally reluctant to fly, they are capable and even strong fliers. The


title: Pitta content: tails range from being short to very short, and is composed of twelve feathers. Atypically for forest floor species, the plumage of pittas is often bright and colourful. Only one species, the eared pitta, has entirely cryptic colours in the adults of both sexes. In the same genus, "Hydrornis", are three further species with quite drabber than average plumage, the blue-naped pitta, blue-rumped pitta and rusty-naped pitta. Like the other "Hydrornis" pittas they are sexually dimorphic in their plumage, with the females tending towards being drabber and more cryptic than the males. In general however the sexes in the family


title: Pitta content: tend to be very similar if not identical. Across most of the family the brighter colours tend to be on the undersides, with the bright colours on the rump, wings and uppertail coverts being concealable. Being able to conceal bright colours from above is important as most predators approach from above, although there are four species that have brighter upperparts. The pittas are generally birds of tropical forests, semi-forests and scrub. Most species need forests with lots of cover, a rich understory, and leaf litter for feeding, and they are often found near waterways as well. Some species inhabit swamps


title: Pitta content: and bamboos forests, and the mangrove pitta, as its name suggests, is a mangrove specialist. A number of species are lowland forest specialists, for example the rainbow pitta is not found above , whereas other species may occur at much higher elevations, for example rusty-naped pittas have been found up to . This varies in the fairy pitta across its range, reaching up to in Taiwan but at much lower levels in Japan. In addition to natural habitats pittas may use human altered habitats, for example migrating blue-winged pittas and hooded pittas use parks and urban gardens in Singapore. The


title: Pitta content: greatest diversity of pittas are found in South-east Asia. Of the three genera, the large genus "Pitta" is the most widespread. The two species found in Africa are from this clade, as are the most northerly species (the fairy pitta) and the most southerly (the noisy pitta). The most remote insular endemics are in this group as well, including the black-faced pitta, which is endemic to the Solomon Islands. The pittas of the clade "Erythropitta" are mostly found in Asia with one species, the Papuan pitta, reaching the north of Australia. The "Hydrornis" pittas are exclusively Asian. Some pittas have


title: Pitta content: large distributions, like the hooded pitta, which ranges from Nepal to New Guinea, others have much smaller ones, like the superb pitta, which is endemic to the tiny island of Manus in the Admiralty Islands. The movements of pittas are poorly known and notoriously difficult to study. Bird ringing studies have not shed much light on this, one study in the Philippines ringed 2000 red-bellied pittas but only recaptured ten birds, and only one of these recaptures was more than two months after the initial capture. Only four species of pitta are fully or mostly migratory, all in the genus


title: Pitta content: "Pitta", the Indian pitta, African pitta, fairy pitta and blue-winged pitta. In addition to these four the northern subspecies of the hooded pitta ("cucullata") is a full migrant. Other species make smaller or more local, and poorly understood, movements across small parts of their range, for example the noisy pitta of Australia. The migration of pittas is apparently nocturnal, and pittas migrate in small loose flocks which use the same resting and foraging sites each year. Pittas are diurnal, requiring light in order to find their often cryptic prey. They are nevertheless often found in darker areas and are highly


title: Pitta content: secretive, though they will respond to imitations of their calls. They are generally found as single birds, with even young birds not associating with their parents unless they are being fed. The only exception to their solitary lifestyle is small groups that have been observed forming during migration. The pittas are strongly territorial, with territories varying in size from 3000 m² in the African pitta to 10,000 m² in the rainbow pitta. They have also been found to be highly aggressive in captivity, attacking other species and even their own, although such behaviour hasn't been observed in the wild. Pittas


title: Pitta content: will perform territory defence displays on the edges of their territories, although fights between rivals have only been recorded once. One such territorial display is given by the rainbow pitta, which holds its legs straight and bows to a rival on the edge of territory, while making a purring call. Displays like this are paired with calls made out of sight of potential rivals; these territorial calls are frequent and can account for up to 12% of a bird's daylight activity. Migratory species will defend non-breeding feeding territories in addition to their breeding ones. Earthworms form the major part of


title: Pitta content: the diet of pittas, followed by snails in order of importance. Earthworms may however become seasonally unavailable in dry conditions when the worms move deeper into the soil. Pittas also take a wide range of other invertebrate prey, including many insects groups such as termites, ants, beetles, true bugs, and lepidopterans; as well as freshwater crabs, centipedes, millipedes, and spiders. Some species, such as the fairy pitta and rainbow pitta, have been recorded feeding on small vertebrate prey; including skinks, frogs, snakes and, in the case of the fairy pitta, shrews. There are also records of some pittas taking plant


title: Pitta content: food, such as the "Carpentaria" palm fruits or maize seeds. Pittas feed in a thrush-like fashion, moving aside leaves with a sweeping motion of the bill. They have also been observed to probe the moist soil with their bills in order to locate earthworms. They have a keen sense of smell, and it has been suggested that they are able to locate earthworms this way; a suggestion supported by a study which found that they have the largest olfactory bulb of 25 passerines examined. Eight species have been recorded using stones as anvils on which to smash open snails in


title: Pitta content: order to eat, and the some such as the rainbow pitta use the root of a tree to do so. Like most birds the pittas are monogamous breeders, and defend breeding territories. Most species are seasonal breeders, timing their breeding to occur at the onset of the rainy season. An exception to this is the superb pitta, which breeds almost year-round, as the island of Manus which it breeds on remains wet all year. The courtship behaviours of the family are poorly known, but the elaborate dance of the African pitta includes jumping into the air with a puffed out


title: Pitta content: breast and parachuting down back down to the perch. The pittas build a rudimentary nest that is a dome with a side entrance. The structure of the nest is consistent across the whole family. The nest is as large as a rugby ball, and is usually well camouflaged amongst vines or vegetation of some kind. The nest's appearance is also difficult to distinguish from a heap of leaves pushed together by the wind, although a few species created a "doormat" of sticks (sometimes decorated with mammal dung) by the entrance. The nests can either be placed on the ground or


title: Pitta content: in trees. Some species always nest in trees, like both African species, others nest only on the ground, and others show considerable variation. Both sexes help to build the nest, but the male does most of the work. It takes around two to eight days to build a new nest; this probably varies depending on the experience of the birds involved. A new nest is constructed for each nesting attempt, and work on building a nest for s second brood may start while the chicks from the first brood are still being fed. The clutch size varies by species. Typically


title: Pitta content: three to five eggs are laid, but two is typical for the garnet pitta, whereas six is more common for the blue-winged pitta and the Indian pitta. It is thought that species with higher levels of predation tend to have smaller clutches, as smaller clutches involve fewer provisioning trips that might alert a predator to the presence of a nest, and the loss of a smaller clutch is less costly to replace. Clutch size may vary within a species depending on latitude. A study of noisy pitta found that birds in the tropics had smaller clutch sizes than those in


title: Pitta content: more temperate environments. The eggs of pittas are ovoid, with one end slightly pointed, and generally smooth (the deeply pitted eggs of the superb pitta being the exception to this). The size of eggs varies by species, with smaller species laying smaller eggs. There is also some variation in egg size within a species in species with large ranges. For example, the eggs of noisy pittas are smaller closer to the tropics. Eggs are typically white or creamy, and usually slightly glossy. Both parents incubate the clutch, the period between laying and hatching being between 14 and 18 days (14


title: Pitta content: to 16 being more typical). The chicks usually hatch asynchronously, over a number of days, but in some species the hatching is synchronous. On hatching the parents of at least two species are reported to consume the eggshells. This behaviour ensures that the calcium used to create the eggs is not lost. It is unknown if other species do this, but it is a common behaviour among birds. As with the incubation, both parents are involved in rearing the chicks. The chicks of pittas are entirely altricial, hatching both naked and blind, and dependent upon their parents for warmth, food


title: Pitta content: and nest sanitation. Young chicks are brooded continuously, with the female brooding alone in some species and sharing responsibilities with the male in others. The males and females make regular feeding trips to the chicks; one study of Gurney's pittas found a pair made 2300 feeding visits to the nest, traveling an estimated over the nestling stage. Earthworms are important food items for many species, the dominant item in the nestling diet of some. 73% of the parental visits of fairy pittas, 63% in rainbow pittas, up to 79% in Gurney's pittas involved bringing earthworms. Parents can and do carry


title: Pitta content: more than one item in their bills during visits; in a study of breeding fairy pittas as many as six items could be brought in a single visit, although less than four was typical. When the chicks are small prey may be broken up prior to being fed to the chicks, and larger prey items like skinks and snakes are only fed to the older chicks able to manage them. The brilliant plumage of many pittas has resulted in considerable interest in pittas from people living within their range, scientists, aviculturists and birdwatchers, and has led to their alternative name


title: Pitta content: "jewel-thrushes". Such is their attractiveness that in Borneo even the body of a dead pitta can be a favoured toy for local children. They have proven difficult to maintain and breed in captivity, requiring large amounts of space, humidity and sufficient vegetation of the right kind. Pittas are a very popular group of birds with birdwatchers, due to the dazzling plumage of many species and the relative difficulty of seeing these retiring birds in dark forests. Their desirability as birdwatching targets was the subject of the book "The Jewel Hunter", where writer Chris Goodie recounted his attempt to see every


title: Pitta content: species of pitta. Pittas are generally forest birds and as such are vulnerable to habitat loss caused by rapid deforestation. They can also be difficult birds to survey and are easily overlooked. Four species are assessed to be endangered, and a further nine are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Additionally eight species are listed as near-threatened and one, the Louisiade pitta, is too poorly known to be assessed and is listed as data deficient. The Gurney's pitta was not seen for 34 years between 1952 and 1986, before a small population was discovered in southern Thailand. This small population


title: Pitta content: continued to decline since its rediscovery, and by 2000 it had reached a low of 10 pairs, and was listed as critically endangered. In 2003 the species was found in Burma for the first time since 1914, and in large numbers, between nine and thirty five thousand pairs. Although the species was considerably less threatened than thought, it is still of considerable conservation concern as deforestation of the habitat in Burma continues. The rapid rate of deforestation in Borneo has pushed the blue-headed pitta, considered common and secure as recently as 1996, into the list of species considered vulnerable. Pittas


title: Pitta content: have also been targeted by poachers for the illegal wild bird trade. They are not targeted because of their song, as many songbirds are, and may simply be captured as bycatch from collecting other species, and because of their attractive plumage. According to some trappers they also may end up being eaten for food. On Manus, locals report that predation by snakes, including the brown tree snake, is responsible for the rarity of the endangered superb pitta, but the snake, which is responsible for a number of extinctions across the Pacific, is native to the island, and is therefore likely


title: Pitta content: a natural threat. Pitta Pittas are a family, Pittidae, of passerine birds found in Asia, Australasia and Africa. Pittas are all similar in general structure and habits, and have often been placed in a single genus, although as of 2009 they are now split into three genera, "Pitta", "Erythropitta" and "Hydrornis". Pittas are medium-sized by passerine standards, at in length, and stocky, with strong, longish legs and long feet. They have very short tails and stout, slightly decurved bills. Many, but not all, have brightly coloured plumage. Most pitta species are tropical, although a few species can be found in


title: "Washington and Lee University" content: college buildings. Robert E. Lee's beloved horse Traveller is buried outside, near the wall of the chapel. After Lee's death, the university continued his program of educational innovation, modernization, and expansion. In 1905, the Board of Trustees formally organized a School of Commerce in order to train students in business and finance alongside the college and the School of Law. In 1995, Ernest Williams II of the Class of 1938 endowed the School of Commerce which was renamed the Ernest Williams II School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics. The Williams School is one of the few accredited schools of business


title: "Common goldeneye" content: Common goldeneye The common goldeneye ("Bucephala clangula") is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus "Bucephala", the goldeneyes. Its closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek "boukephalos" ("bullheaded", from "bous", "bull " and "kephale", "head"), a reference to the bulbous head shape of the bufflehead. The species name is derived from the Latin "clangere" ("to resound"). Common goldeneyes are aggressive and territorial ducks, and have elaborate courtship displays. Adult males ranges from and weigh approximately , while females range from and weigh approximately . The species is named for its golden-yellow


title: "Common goldeneye" content: eye. Adult males have a dark head with a greenish gloss and a circular white patch below the eye, a dark back and a white neck and belly. Adult females have a brown head and a mostly grey body. Their legs and feet are orange-yellow. Their breeding habitat is the taiga. They are found in the lakes and rivers of boreal forests across Canada and the northern United States, Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and northern Russia. They are migratory and most winter in protected coastal waters or open inland waters at more temperate latitudes. Naturally, they nest in cavities in


title: "Common goldeneye" content: large trees, where they return year after year, though they will readily use nest boxes as well. Natural tree cavities chosen for nest sites include those made by broken limbs and those made by large woodpeckers, specifically pileated woodpeckers or black woodpeckers. Average egg size is a breadth of , a length of and a weight of . The incubation period ranges from 28 to 32 days. The female does all the incubating and is abandoned by the male about 1 to 2 weeks into incubation. The young remain in the nest for about 24–36 hours. Brood parasitism is quite


title: "Common goldeneye" content: common with other common goldeneyes, and occurs less frequently with other duck species. The broods commonly start to mix with other females' broods as they become more independent or are abandoned by their mothers. Goldeneye young have been known to be competitively killed by other goldeneye mothers, common loons and red-necked grebes. The young are capable of flight at 55–65 days of age. Common goldeneyes are diving birds that forage underwater. Year-round, about 32% of their prey is crustaceans, 28% is aquatic insects and 10% is molluscs. Insects are the predominant prey while nesting and crustaceans are the predominant prey


title: "Common goldeneye" content: during migration and winter. Locally, fish eggs and aquatic plants can be important foods. They themselves may fall prey to various hawks, owls and eagles, while females and their broods have been preyed upon by bears ("Ursus" spp.), various weasels ("Mustela" spp.), mink ("Mustela vison"), raccoons ("Procyon lotor") and even northern flickers ("Colaptes auratus") and red squirrels ("Tamiasciurus husonicus"). The common goldeneye is one of the species to which the "Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds" (AEWA) applies. Approximately 188,300 common goldeneyes were killed annually by duck hunters in North America during the 1970s, representing slightly less than


title: "Common goldeneye" content: 4% of the total waterfowl killed in Canada during that period, and less than 1% of the total waterfowl killed in the US. Both the breeding and winter habitat of these birds has been degraded by clearance and pollution. However, the common goldeneye in North America is known to derive short-term benefits from lake acidification. Common goldeneye The common goldeneye ("Bucephala clangula") is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus "Bucephala", the goldeneyes. Its closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek "boukephalos" ("bullheaded", from "bous", "bull " and "kephale", "head"), a


title: "Rogers Hornsby" content: in the Cardinals' 2–1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates that day. On May 14, he hit his first major league home run against Jeff Pfeffer of Brooklyn. He rotated among infield positions before finally settling in at third base for much of the second half of the year. Late in the season, he missed 11 games with a sprained ankle. He finished 1916 with a .313 average, fourth in the NL, and he was one short of the league lead in triples with 15. Hornsby returned to the shortstop position in 1917 after Corhan returned to San Francisco and Butler


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the Ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the (Anglican) Church of Ireland. It is situated in Dublin, Ireland, and is the elder of the capital city's two medieval cathedrals, the other being St Patrick's Cathedral. Christ Church is officially claimed as the seat ("cathedra") of both the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic archbishops of Dublin. In law, and in fact it has been the


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: cathedral of only the Church of Ireland's Archbishop of Dublin, since the English Reformation. Though nominally claimed as his cathedral, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin uses St Mary's in Marlborough Street in Dublin as his pro-cathedral (acting cathedral). Christ Church Cathedral is located in the former heart of medieval Dublin, next to Wood Quay at the end of Lord Edward Street. However a major dual carriage-way building scheme around it separated it from the original medieval street pattern which once surrounded it, with its original architectural context (at the centre of a maze of small buildings and streets) lost


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: due to road-building and the demolition of the older residential quarter at Wood Quay. As a result, the cathedral now appears dominant in isolation behind new civil offices along the quays, out of its original medieval context. The cathedral is used as the setting for filming from time to time. Christ Church is the only one of the three cathedrals or acting cathedrals which can be seen clearly from the River Liffey. The cathedral was founded probably sometime after 1028 when King Sitric Silkenbeard, the Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin made a pilgrimage to Rome. The first bishop of this new


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: Dublin diocese was Dúnán or Donat, and the diocese was at that time a small island of land surrounded by the much larger Diocese of Glendalough, and was for a time answerable to Canterbury rather than to the Irish Church hierarchy. The church was built on the high ground overlooking the Viking settlement at Wood Quay and Sitric gave the "lands of Baldoyle, Raheny and Portrane for its maintenance." Of the four old Celtic Christian churches reputed to have existed around Dublin, only one, dedicated to St. Martin of Tours, lay within the walls of the Viking city, and so


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: Christ Church was one of just two churches for the whole city. The cathedral was originally staffed by secular clergy. The second Bishop of Dublin introduced the Benedictines. In 1163, Christ Church was converted to a priory of the Regular Order of Arrosian Canons (Reformed Augustinian Rule) by the second Archbishop of Dublin, later saint, Laurence O'Toole, who adhered to the rule himself; it was subsequently headed by an Augustinian prior, who ranked as the second ecclesiastical figure of the diocese, and not a dean, until re-establishment in 1541. This priory, the Priory of the Holy Trinity, became the wealthiest


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: religious house in Ireland, holding over of property in County Dublin alone, most notable of which were the three home farms held at Grangegorman, Glasnevin and Clonken or Clonkene, now known as Deansgrange. Henry II attended the Christmas service at the cathedral in 1171. According to the cathedral guidebook this was the first time Henry received Holy Communion following the murder of Thomas Becket by Henry's knights in Canterbury. In the 1180s, Strongbow and other Norman magnates helped to fund a complete rebuilding of Christ Church, initially a wooden building, in stone, comprising the construction of a choir, choir aisles


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: and transepts, the crypt and chapels to St. Edmund and St. Mary and St. Lô. A chapel to St Laurence O'Toole was added in the 13th century and much of the extant nave was built in the 1230s. Its design was inspired by the architecture of the English western school of Gothic, and its wrought stones- of a Somersetshire oolite- were sculpted and laid by craftsmen from the same area. In 1300 Richard de Ferings, Archbishop of Dublin arranged an agreement between the two cathedrals, the "Pacis Compostio", which acknowledged both as cathedrals and made some provision to accommodate their


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: shared status (see below for more on this). In the 1350s a major extension was undertaken by John de St Paul, Archbishop of Dublin 1349-62. By 1358, the nave of the cathedral was partly in use for secular purposes and a "long quire" was added, extending the old choir area by around 10 metres. St Paul also installed an organ. His works were destroyed by the major rebuilding project in the 1870s. In 1480 the wealthy judge William Sutton bequeathed all his lands and silver to the Cathedral. The cathedral was the location of the purported coronation, in 1487, of


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: Lambert Simnel, a boy pretender who sought unsuccessfully to depose Henry VII of England, as "King Edward VI". The choir school was founded in 1493. In 1539, King Henry VIII converted the priory to a cathedral with a dean and chapter and worked to ensure Christ Church adhered to his new church structure. His immediate successor, Edward VI of England, in 1547, provided funds for an increase in cathedral staffing and annual royal funding for the choir school. King Edward VI formally suppressed St Patrick's Cathedral and, on 25 April 1547, its silver, jewels and ornaments were transferred to the


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: dean and chapter of Christ Church. This episode ended with a late document of Queen Mary's reign, a deed dated 27 April 1558, comprising a release or receipt by Thomas Leverous, dean, and the chapter of St Patrick's, of the "goods, chattels, musical instruments, etc." belonging to that cathedral and which had been in the possession of the dean and chapter of Christ Church. Queen Mary I of England, and later James I of England, also increased Christ Church's endowment. Meanwhile, in 1551, divine service was sung for the first time in Ireland in English instead of Latin. In 1560,


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: the Bible was first read in English. The foundations of the nave, resting in peat, slipped in 1562, bringing down the south wall and the arched stone roof (the north wall, which visibly leans, survived, and largely dates back to 1230). Partial repairs were carried out but much of the debris was simply levelled and new flooring built over it until 1871. In 1620 the English-born judge Luke Gernon observed that Christchurch was in a better state of repair than St. Patrick's. In the 17th century, both parliament and the law courts met in buildings erected alongside Christ Church. King


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: James II himself presided over a state opening of parliament in that location. However, parliament and the law courts both moved elsewhere: the law courts to the newly built Four Courts on the river front, and Parliament to Chichester House in Hoggen Green, into the building which is now The Bank of Ireland, College Green. Like nearby St Patrick's, the building was in poor condition for much of the 19th century. After the building was declared unsafe and no longer fit for use, some limited works were carried out by Matthew Price (architect) between 1829 and 1831. The cathedral was


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: extensively renovated and rebuilt from 1871 to 1878 by George Edmund Street, with the sponsorship of distiller Henry Roe of Mount Anville. The great 14th-century choir was demolished and a new eastern end was built over the original crypt. He built a new chapter house. The tower was rebuilt. The south nave arcade was rebuilt. The flying buttresses were added as a decorative feature. The north porch was removed. The baptistry was built in its place. Street built the adjacent Synod Hall, taking in the last remnant of St Michael and All Angels's Church, including the bell tower. The synod


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: house is linked to the cathedral by Street's iconic covered footbridge. Roe spent over £230,000 at the time (over €26 million in 2006 terms). Further renovations were carried out, notably between 1980 and 1982. Christ Church is the centre of worship for the united dioceses and holds notable annual events such as the Citizenship Service. As the cathedral of the southern province of the Church of Ireland it also hosts ordinations of priests and consecrations of bishops. Following the extensive renovation in Victorian times, while the seriously decayed structure was preserved from collapse, it remains difficult to tell which parts


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: of the interior are medieval and which parts are Victorian pastiche. Photographs taken from the exterior show the dramatic nature of the rebuilding done by the Victorians: Archbishop de St Paul's 14th-century cathedral, in particular the "long choir", was almost entirely destroyed. Nonetheless, Christ Church remains a fascinating sampling of surviving medieval and later church building. The cathedral contains the reputed tomb of Strongbow, a medieval Norman-Welsh peer and warlord who came to Ireland at the request of King Diarmuid MacMorrough and whose arrival marked the beginning of Anglo-Norman involvement in Ireland. According to the Christ Church Cathedral website, in


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: 1562 the nave roof vaulting collapsed and Strongbow's tomb was smashed; the current tomb is a contemporary replacement from Drogheda. As is well documented from a number of sources, the tomb of Strongbow was used as the venue for legal agreements from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Alongside the main tomb is a smaller figure with sloping shoulders, suggesting a female figure, but wearing chain mail, which may indicate that it was a child. Christ Church also contains the largest cathedral crypt (63.4m long) in Britain or Ireland, constructed in 1172-1173. Having been renovated in the early 2000s, it


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: is now open for visitors. The crypt contains various monuments and historical features, including: Behind the altar area, there is the chapter house, which contains cathedral offices, meeting rooms and other facilities. At the west end of the cathedral is a fully integrated stone bridge, leading to the former synod hall, which was built on the site of St Michael's, a [[prebendary|prebendal church of Christ Church's which was demolished by Street during his restoration of the cathedral. This hall, which incorporates the old St Michael's tower, was formerly used for hosting general synods and diocesan synods for Dublin, Glendalough and


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: Kildare. It is now home to the "[[Dublinia]]" exhibition about medieval Dublin. For most of their common history, both Christ Church and St Patrick's held the status of cathedral for the Dublin diocese, a rare arrangement which only ended following the move to disestablish the Church of Ireland. In early times, there was considerable conflict over status but under the six-point agreement of 1300, "Pacis Compositio", still extant, and in force until 1870: The 1868 Church Commissioners' report proposed making St Patrick's the sole cathedral and reducing Christ Church to a parish church. To this day, the acting seat of


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, [[St Mary's Pro-Cathedral|St Mary's]], is known as a "pro-cathedral" in acknowledgement of the fact that the [[Holy See]] claims Christ Church as the rightful seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop. The dean and chapter, with the consent of the Archbishop of Dublin, preside over the cathedral, with the dean as "first among equals" in chapter but holding a day-to-day authority, subject to the special roles of some other figures (the dean and chapter together are in a similar position to a rector of a parish). The chapter comprises the dean, precentor (who must be


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: skilled in music), chancellor, treasurer, Archdeacons of Dublin and Glendalough and 12 canons, eight being clergy of the Diocese of Dublin and four clergy of the Diocese of Glendalough (the three most senior in order of appointment are known as the Prebendary of St Michael's, Prebendary of St Michan's and the Prebendary of St John's). The dean is appointed by the Archbishop of Dublin and, in an arrangement commenced in 1971, is also incumbent of the Christ Church Cathedral Group of Parishes, the day-to-day care of which is in the hands of a vicar appointed by a special board of


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: patronage. The dean can appoint a deputy and also appoints the cathedral verger. The dean and chapter together appoint the precentor, while the other members of the chapter are appointed by the archbishop. Having been historically governed by its clerical chapter alone, since 1872 the cathedral has been operationally overseen by a board comprising nine clerical members (the dean, precentor, two clerical vicars and five other clerics) and nine lay members, elected every third annual Easter vestry. The board has the power to appoint and remove officers of the cathedral other than those whose appointment is vested in the archbishop,


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: or the dean and chapter, or dean, to regulate salaries and to manage financial matters. The board is in a similar position to a select vestry of a parish. The board has committees – mid-2007, these are: administration and finance, culture (including the treasury), deanery, fabric, fundraising, health and safety, information technology, music, safeguarding trust and tower. There is a dean's vicar (and clerk of the chapter), a vicar of the Cathedral Group of Parishes and posts for a curate assistant and a student reader. There are also usually honorary clerical vicars. Christ Church has a long musical history, with


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: a well-known cathedral choir and a girls' choir. Along with the precentor, the musical side of its work is led by the "Organist and Director of Music", working with any assistant organist and organ scholar, as well as the "Honorary Keeper of the Music and Music Librarian" and, as at 2007, a "Music Development Officer". Christ Church Cathedral probably had at least one ringing bell from its foundation. By 1440 there were known to be three great bells in the tower; however on 11 March 1597, [[Dublin gunpowder disaster|an accidental gunpowder explosion]] on one of the nearby quays damaged the


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: tower and caused the bells to crack. The effects of this blast also damaged the tower nearby of [[St. Audoen's Church]]. In 1670, six new bells were cast for the tower from cannon metal. These were augmented to eight in 1738 and then to twelve in 1878. The most recent augmentation was in 1999 when an additional seven bells were added to the ring, giving a grand total of 19 bells, a world record for bells rung this way. Although this does not produce a diatonic scale of 19 notes, it does uniquely provide a choice of combinations: three different


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: 12-bell peals (in the keys of B, C# and F#) as well as 14 and 16 bell peals. At the time of the augmentation, this was only the second 16 full circle bell peal in the world – [[St Martin in the Bull Ring|St Martin's Church]] in Birmingham being the first. The bell-ringing work is led by the "Ringing Master and Master of the Tower". The cathedral staff is led by a managing director. There is also a cathedral manager, finance manager, visitor services officer and education officer, tours officer, events officer and tourism and business development officer along with


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: floor staff and events staff. Christ Church has a range of historical archives and has arranged for a number of publications over the years, as well as maintaining a website since the 1990s. This work is overseen by the "Honorary Keeper of the Archives" and the "Web and e-mail Editor", along with the honorary secretary of Christ Church Publications, Ltd. The cathedral is supported by the voluntary Friends of Christ Church Cathedral, founded in 1929, and working with the cathedral authorities in a variety of ways. As Christ Church receives no regular state support, while it welcomes all guests and


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: has a chapel for those who simply wish to pray, there are fees for sightseeing, which can also be paid in combination with the purchase of a ticket for the neighbouring "[[Dublinia]]" exhibition. There is a gift shop with souvenirs, recordings of cathedral music groups and publications. In recent years the cathedral has been used as a set for medieval dramas such as the CW's drama "Reign" and "The Tudors", the cathedral's longest-running television show. Many dresses and outfits worn by Maria Doyle Kennedy (playing Catherine of Aragon) and Jonathon Rhys Myers (King Henry) can be viewed within the cathedral


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: crypt. In 1971, the general synod, following prior discussions, created the "Christ Church Cathedral Group of Parishes", uniting what were then four parishes with the cathedral, whose dean is their rector: St Andrew's, St Werburgh's, All Saints (Grangegorman) and St Michan's, St Paul and St Mary. The parishes are overseen day-to-day by a vicar appointed by a special board of patronage. On 3 March 2012, the heart of [[Lorcán Ua Tuathail]] (Saint Laurence O'Toole, Archbishop of Dublin) was stolen from the cathedral. In April 2018, the heart was recovered in [[Phoenix Park]], by Irish police following "an intelligence-led investigation". [[Category:Christ


title: "Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin" content: Church Cathedral, Dublin|*]] [[Category:Anglican cathedrals in the Republic of Ireland|Dublin]] [[Category:Cathedrals in Dublin (city)|Dublin]] [[Category:Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough]] [[Category:Burial sites of the FitzGerald dynasty]] [[Category:Bell towers in Ireland]] Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the Ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the (Anglican) Church of Ireland. It is situated in Dublin, Ireland, and is the elder of the capital city's two medieval cathedrals, the other being St Patrick's Cathedral. Christ


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a U.S. National Monument and national preserve in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho. It is along US 20 (concurrent with US 93 and US 26), between the small towns of Arco and Carey, at an average elevation of 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level. The protected area's features are volcanic and represent one of the best-preserved flood basalt areas in the continental United States. The Monument was established on May 2, 1924. In November 2000, a presidential proclamation by President


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: Clinton greatly expanded the Monument area. The National Park Service portions of the expanded Monument were designated as Craters of the Moon National Preserve in August 2002. It lies in parts of Blaine, Butte, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Power counties. The area is managed cooperatively by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Monument and Preserve encompass three major lava fields and about of sagebrush steppe grasslands to cover a total area of . The Monument alone covers . All three lava fields lie along the Great Rift of Idaho, with some of the best examples


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: of open rift cracks in the world, including the deepest known on Earth at . There are excellent examples of almost every variety of basaltic lava, as well as tree molds (cavities left by lava-incinerated trees), lava tubes (a type of cave), and many other volcanic features. Craters of the Moon is in south-central Idaho, midway between Boise and Yellowstone National Park. The lava field reaches southeastward from the Pioneer Mountains. Combined U.S. Highway 20–26–93 cuts through the northwestern part of the monument and provides access to it. However, the rugged landscape of the monument itself remains remote and undeveloped,


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: with only one paved road across the northern end. The Craters of the Moon Lava Field spreads across and is the largest mostly Holocene-aged basaltic lava field in the contiguous United States. The Monument and Preserve contain more than 25 volcanic cones, including outstanding examples of spatter cones. The 60 distinct solidified lava flows that form the Craters of the Moon Lava Field range in age from 15,000 to just 2,000 years. The Kings Bowl and Wapi lava fields, both about 2,200 years old, are part of the National Preserve. This lava field is the largest of several large beds


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: of lava that erupted from the south-east to north-west trending Great Rift volcanic zone, a line of weakness in the Earth's crust. Together with fields from other fissures they make up the Lava Beds of Idaho, which in turn are in the much larger Snake River Plain volcanic province. The Great Rift extends across almost the entire Snake River Plain. Elevation at the visitor center is above sea level. Total average precipitation in the Craters of the Moon area is between per year. Most of this is lost in cracks in the basalt, only to emerge later in springs and


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: seeps in the walls of the Snake River Canyon. Older lava fields on the plain have been invaded by drought-resistant plants such as sagebrush, while younger fields, such as Craters of the Moon, only have a seasonal and very sparse cover of vegetation. From a distance this cover disappears almost entirely, giving an impression of utter black desolation. Repeated lava flows over the last 15,000 years have raised the land surface enough to expose it to the prevailing southwesterly winds, which help to keep the area dry. Together these conditions make life on the lava field difficult. Paleo-Indians visited the


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: area about 12,000 years ago but did not leave much archaeological evidence. Northern Shoshone created trails through the Craters of the Moon Lava Field during their summer migrations from the Snake River to the camas prairie, west of the lava field. Stone windbreaks at Indian Tunnel were used to protect campsites from the dry summer wind. No evidence exists for permanent habitation by any Native American group. A hunting and gathering culture, the Northern Shoshone pursued elk, bears, American bison, cougars, and bighorn sheep — all large game who no longer range the area. The most recent volcanic eruptions ended


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: about 2,100 years ago and were likely witnessed by the Shoshone people. Shoshone legend speaks of a serpent on a mountain who, angered by lightning, coiled around and squeezed the mountain until liquid rock flowed, fire shot from cracks, and the mountain exploded. Pioneers traveling in wagon trains on the Oregon Trail in the 1850s and 1860s followed an alternative route in the area that used old Indian trails that skirted the lava flows. This alternative route was later named Goodale's Cutoff and part of it is in the northern part of the monument. The cutoff was created to reduce


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: the possibility of ambush by Shoshone warriors along the Snake River such as the one that occurred at Massacre Rocks, which today is memorialized in Idaho's Massacre Rocks State Park. After gold was discovered in the Salmon River area of Idaho, a group of immigrants persuaded an Illinois-born trapper and trader named Tim Goodale to lead them through the cutoff. A large wagon train left in July 1862 and met up with more wagons at Craters of the Moon Lava Field. Numbering 795 men and 300 women and children, the unusually large group was relatively unmolested during its journey and


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: named the cutoff for their guide. Improvements to the cutoff such as adding a ferry to cross the Snake River made it into a popular alternative route of the Oregon Trail. In 1879, two Arco cattlemen named Arthur Ferris and J.W. Powell became the first known people to explore the lava fields. They were investigating its possible use for grazing and watering cattle but found the area to be unsuitable and left. U.S. Army Captain and western explorer B.L.E. Bonneville visited the lava fields and other places in the West in the 19th century and wrote about his experiences in


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: his diaries. Washington Irving later used Bonneville's diaries to write the "Adventures of Captain Bonneville", saying this unnamed lava field is a place "where nothing meets the eye but a desolate and awful waste, where no grass grows nor water runs, and where nothing is to be seen but lava." In 1901 and 1903, Israel Russell became the first geologist to study this area while surveying it for the United States Geological Survey (USGS). In 1910, Samuel Paisley continued Russell's work and later became the monument's first custodian. Others followed and in time much of the mystery surrounding this and


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: the other Lava Beds of Idaho was lifted. The few whites who visited the area in the 19th century created local legends that it looked like the surface of the Moon. Geologist Harold T. Stearns coined the name "Craters of the Moon" in 1923 while trying to convince the National Park Service to recommend protection of the area in a national monument. Robert Limbert, a sometime taxidermist, tanner, and furrier from Boise, explored the area, which he described as "practically unknown and unexplored ..." in the 1920s after hearing stories from fur trappers about "strange things they had seen while


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: ranging the region". Limbert wrote: Limbert set out on his third and most ambitious foray to the area in May 1920, this time with Walter Cole and an Airedale Terrier to accompany him. Starting from Minidoka, Idaho, they explored what is now the monument area from south to north passing Two Point Butte, Echo Crater, Big Craters, North Crater Flow, and out of the lava field through the Yellowstone Park and Lincoln Highway (now known as the Old Arco-Carey Road). Taking the dog along was a mistake, Limbert wrote, "for after three days' travel his feet were worn and bleeding".


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: A series of newspaper and magazine articles written by Limbert were later published about this and previous treks, which increased public awareness of the area. The most famous of these was an article that appeared in a 1924 issue of "National Geographic" where he called the area "Craters of the Moon," helping to solidify the use of that name. In the article he had this to say about the cobalt blue of the Blue Dragon Flows: In large part due to Limbert's work, Craters of the Moon National Monument was proclaimed on May 2, 1924 by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: to "preserve the unusual and weird volcanic formations". The Craters Inn and several cabins were built in 1927 for the convenience of visitors. The Mission 66 Program initiated construction of today's road system, visitor center, shop, campground and comfort station in 1956 and in 1959 the Craters of the Moon Natural History Association was formed to assist the monument in educational activities. The addition of an island of vegetation completely surrounded by lava known as Carey Kipuka () increased the size of the monument by in 1962. Since then the monument has been enlarged. On October 23, 1970, Congress set


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: aside a large part of it——as Craters of the Moon National Wilderness, protecting that part under the National Wilderness Preservation System. From 1969 to 1972, NASA visited the real Moon through the Apollo program and found that its surface does not closely resemble this part of Idaho. NASA astronauts discovered that real Moon craters were almost all created by meteorites while their namesakes on Earth were created by volcanic eruptions. Apollo astronauts performed part of their training at Craters of the Moon Lava Field by learning to look for and collect good rock specimens in an unfamiliar and harsh environment.


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: For many years, geologists, biologists and environmentalists have advocated for expansion of the monument and its transformation into a national park. Part of that goal was reached in 2000 when the monument was expanded 13-fold from to its current size to encompass the entire Great Rift zone and its three lava fields. The entire addition is called the Backcountry Area while the two older parts are called the Developed Area and Wilderness Area. Opposition by cattle interests and hunters to a simple expansion plan led to a compromise of having the addition become a national preserve in 2002 (which allows


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: hunting, not ordinarily permitted in national parks and monuments in the U.S.). Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is co-managed by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, both under the Department of the Interior. In March 2017, the Idaho Senate voted in favor of petitioning Congress to designate Craters of the Moon a national park. The Snake River Plain is a volcanic province that was created by a series of cataclysmic caldera-forming eruptions which started about 15 million years ago. A migrating hotspot thought to now exist under Yellowstone Caldera in Yellowstone National Park


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: has been implicated. This hot spot was under the Craters of the Moon area some 10 to 11 million years ago but 'moved' as the North American Plate migrated southwestward. Pressure from the hot spot heaves the land surface up, creating fault-block mountains. After the hot spot passes the pressure is released and the land subsides. Leftover heat from this hot spot was later liberated by Basin and Range-associated rifting and created the many overlapping lava flows that make up the Lava Beds of Idaho. The largest rift zone is the Great Rift; it is from this 'Great Rift fissure


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: system' that Craters of the Moon, Kings Bowl, and Wapi lava fields were created. The Great Rift is a National Natural Landmark. In spite of their fresh appearance, the oldest flows in the Craters of the Moon Lava Field are 15,000 years old and the youngest erupted about 2000 years ago, according to Mel Kuntz and other USGS geologists. Nevertheless, the volcanic fissures at Craters of the Moon are considered to be dormant, not extinct, and are expected to erupt in less than a thousand years. There are eight major eruptive periods recognized in the Craters of the Moon Lava


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: Field. Each period lasted about 1000 years or less and were separated by relatively quiet periods that lasted between 500 and as long as 3000 years. Individual lava flows were up to long with the Blue Dragon Flow being the longest. Kings Bowl Lava Field erupted during a single fissure eruption on the southern part of the Great Rift about 2,250 years ago. This eruption probably lasted only a few hours to a few days. The field preserves explosion pits, lava lakes, squeeze-ups, basalt mounds, and an ash blanket. The Wapi Lava Field probably formed from a fissure eruption at


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: the same time as the Kings Bowl eruption. More prolonged activity over a period of months to a few years led to the formation of low shield volcanos in the Wapi field. The Bear Trap lava tube, between the Craters of the Moon and the Wapi lava fields, is a cave system more than long. The lava tube is remarkable for its length and for the number of well-preserved lava cave features, such as lava stalactites and curbs, the latter marking high stands of the flowing lava frozen on the lava tube walls. The lava tubes and pit craters of


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: the monument are known for their unusual preservation of winter ice and snow into the hot summer months, due to shielding from the sun and the insulating properties of basalt. A typical eruption along the Great Rift and similar basaltic rift systems starts with a curtain of very fluid lava shooting up to high along a segment of the rift up to long. As the eruption continues, pressure and heat decrease and the chemistry of the lava becomes slightly more silica rich. The curtain of lava responds by breaking apart into separate vents. Various types of volcanoes may form at


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: these vents: gas-rich pulverized lava creates cinder cones (such as Inferno Cone – stop 4), and pasty lava blobs form spatter cones (such as Spatter Cones – stop 5). Later stages of an eruption push lava streams out through the side or base of cinder cones, which usually ends the life of the cinder cone (North Crater, Watchmen, and Sheep Trail Butte are notable exceptions). This will sometimes breach part of the cone and carry it away as large and craggy blocks of cinder (as seen at North Crater Flow – stop 2 – and Devils Orchard – stop 3).


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: Solid crust forms over lava streams, and lava tubes (a type of cave) are created when lava vacates its course (examples can be seen at the Cave Area – stop 7). Geologists feared that a large earthquake that shook Borah Peak, Idaho's tallest mountain, in 1983 would restart volcanic activity at Craters of the Moon, though this proved not to be the case. Geologists predict that the area will experience its next eruption some time in the next 900 years with the most likely period in the next 100 years. All plants and animals that live in and around Craters


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: of the Moon are under great environmental stress due to constant dry winds and heat-absorbing black lavas that tend to quickly sap water from living things. Summer soil temperatures often exceed and plant cover is generally less than 5% on cinder cones and about 15% over the entire monument. Adaptation is therefore necessary for survival in this semi-arid harsh climate. Water is usually only found deep inside holes at the bottom of blow-out craters. Animals therefore get the moisture they need directly from their food. The black soil on and around cinder cones does not hold moisture for long, making


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: it difficult for plants to establish themselves. Soil particles first develop from direct rock decomposition by lichens and typically collect in crevices in lava flows. Successively more complex plants then colonize the microhabitat created by the increasingly productive soil. The shaded north slopes of cinder cones provide more protection from direct sunlight and prevailing southwesterly winds and have a more persistent snow cover (an important water source in early spring). These parts of cinder cones are therefore colonized by plants first. Gaps between lava flows were sometimes cut off from surrounding vegetation. These literal islands of habitat are called kīpukas,


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: a Hawaiian name used for older land surrounded by younger lava. Carey Kīpuka is one such area in the southernmost part of the monument and is used as a benchmark to measure how plant cover has changed in less pristine parts of southern Idaho. There are 375 species of plant known to grow in the monument. When wildflowers are not in bloom, most of the vegetation is found in semi-hidden pockets and consists of pine trees, cedars, junipers, and sagebrush. Strategies used by plants to cope with the adverse conditions include: A plant commonly seen on the lava field is


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: the dwarf buckwheat ("Eriogonum ovalifolium" var. "depressum") (), a flowering plant tall with a root system wide. The root system monopolizes soil moisture in its immediate area, resulting in individual plants that are evenly spaced. Consequently, many visitors have asked park rangers if the buckwheat were systematically planted. Wildflowers bloom from early May to late September but most are gone by late August. Moisture from snow-melt along with some rainfall in late spring kick-starts the germination of annual plants, including wildflowers. Most of these plants complete their entire life cycle in the few months each year that moisture levels are


title: "Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve" content: good. The onset of summer decreases the number of wildflowers and by autumn only the tiny yellow flowers of sagebrush and rabbitbrush remain. Some wildflowers that grow in the area are the arrow-leaved balsamroot, bitterroot, blazingstar, desert parsley, dwarf monkeyflower, paintbrush, scorpionweed, scabland penstemon and the wild onion. Years of cataloging by biologists and park rangers have recorded 2000 species of insects, 8 reptiles, 169 birds, 48 mammals, and even one amphibian (the western toad). Birds and some rodents are seen most frequently in the Craters of the Moon area. Brown bears once roamed this area but have long ago