title: "Iguazu Falls" content: between Argentina and Brazil. The name "Iguazú" comes from the Guarani or Tupi words ""y"" , meaning "water", and ""ûasú" ", meaning "big". Legend has it that a deity planned to marry a beautiful woman named Naipí, who fled with her mortal lover Tarobá in a canoe. In a rage, the deity sliced the river, creating the waterfalls and condemning the lovers to an eternal fall. The first European to record the existence of the falls was the Spanish Conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541. The staircase character of the falls consists of a two-step waterfall formed by


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: three layers of basalt. The steps are 35 and 40 m in height. The columnar basalt rock sequences are part of the 1000 m thick Serra Geral Formation within the Paleozoic-Mesozoic Paraná Basin. The tops of these sequences are characterized by 8-10 m of highly resistant vesicular basalt and the contact between these layers controls the shape of the falls. Headwater erosion rates are estimated at 1.4-2.1 cm/year. The Iguazu Falls are located where the Iguazu River tumbles over the edge of the Paraná Plateau, upriver from the Iguazu's confluence with the Paraná River. Numerous islands along the edge divide


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: the falls into many separate waterfalls and cataracts, varying between high. The number of these smaller waterfalls fluctuates from 150 to 300, depending on the water level. About half of the river's flow falls into a long and narrow chasm called the Devil's Throat ( in Spanish or in Portuguese). The Devil's Throat canyon is 80-90 m wide and 70-80 m deep. Left of this canyon, another part of the river forms 160-200 individual falls, which merge into a single front during flood stage. The largest falls are named San Martín, Adam and Eva, Penoni, and Bergano. About of the


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: length does not have water flowing over it. The water of the lower Iguazu collects in a canyon that drains into the Paraná River, a short distance downstream from the Itaipu Dam. The junction of the water flows marks the border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. Some points in the cities of Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, and Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, have access to the Iguazu River, where the borders of all three nations may be seen, a popular tourist attraction for visitors to the three cities. The Iguazu Falls are arranged in a way that resembles


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: a reversed letter "J". The Argentina–Brazil border runs through the Devil's Throat. On the right bank is the Brazilian territory, which is home to more than 95% of the Iguazu River basin but has just over 20% of the jumps of these falls, and the left side jumps are Argentine, which makes up almost 80% of the falls. Two international airports are close to Iguazú Falls: the Argentine Cataratas del Iguazú International Airport (IGR) and the Brazilian Foz do Iguaçu International Airport (IGU). Bus and taxi services are available from and to the Airport-Falls. Aerolíneas Argentinas and LATAM Argentina have


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: direct flights from Buenos Aires to Iguazu International Airport Krause. Azul, GOL, and LATAM Brasil offer services from main Brazilian cities to Foz do Iguaçu. The falls may be reached from two main towns, with one on either side of the falls: Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil and Puerto Iguazú in Argentina, as well as from Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, on the other side of the Paraná River from Foz do Iguaçu. The falls are shared by the Iguazú National Park (Argentina) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil). The two parks were designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984 and 1987,


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: respectively. The first proposal for a Brazilian national park aimed at providing a pristine environment to "future generations", just as "it had been created by God" and endowed with "all possible preservation, from the beautiful to the sublime, from the picturesque to the awesome" and "an unmatched flora" located in the "magnificent Iguaçu waterfalls". These were the words used by André Rebouças, an engineer, in his book "Provinces of Paraná, Railways to Mato Grosso and Bolivia", which started up the campaign aimed at preserving the Iguaçu Falls in 1876. At this time, Yellowstone National Park in the U.S., the first


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: national park in the world, was four years old. On the Brazilian side, a walkway along the canyon has an extension to the lower base of Devil's Throat. Helicopter rides offering aerial views of the falls have been available from Brazil, but Argentina has prohibited such helicopter tours because of the adverse environmental impact on the flora and fauna of the falls. From Foz do Iguaçu airport, the park may be reached by taking a taxi or bus to the entrance of the park. Their park has an entrance fee on both sides. Once inside, free and frequent buses are


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: provided to various points within the park. The town of Foz do Iguaçu is about away, and the airport is between the park and the town. The Argentine access, across the forest, is by a Rainforest Ecological Train very similar to the one in Disney's Animal Kingdom. The train brings visitors to the entrance of Devil's Throat, as well as the upper and lower trails. The "Paseo Garganta del Diablo" is a trail that brings visitors directly over the falls of Devil's Throat, the highest and deepest of the falls. Other walkways allow access to the elongated stretch of falls


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: across the forest on the Argentine side and to the boats that connect to San Martin Island. Also on the Argentine side, inflatable boat services take visitors very close to the falls. The Brazilian transportation system aims at allowing the increase in the number of visitors, while reducing the adverse environmental impact, through an increase in the average number of passengers per vehicle inside the park. The new transportation system has 72-passenger capacity and panoramic-view, double-deck buses. The upper deck is open, which enables visitors a broad view of the flora and fauna during the trip to the falls. The


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: bus combustion systems are in compliance with the CONAMA (phase VII) and EURO (phase V) emissions and noise requirements. The reduction in the number of vehicles, of noise levels, and speed, is enabling tourists to observe increasing numbers of wild animals along the route. Each bus has an exclusive paint scheme, representing some of the most common wild animals found in the Iguaçú National Park, including the spotted jaguars, butterflies, raccoons, prego monkeys, coral snakes, toucans, parrots, and yellow-breasted caimans. Upon seeing Iguazu, the United States First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed, "Poor Niagara!" (which, at 50 m or 165


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: feet, are a third shorter). Often, Iguazu also is compared with Victoria Falls in Southern Africa, which separates Zambia and Zimbabwe. Iguazu is wider, but because it is split into roughly 275 distinct falls and large islands, Victoria has the largest curtain of water in the world, at more than wide and over in height (in low flow, Victoria is split into five by islands; in high flow it may be uninterrupted). The only wider falls are extremely large rapid-like falls, such as the Boyoma Falls (Stanley Falls). With the flooding of the Guaíra Falls in 1982, Iguazu currently has


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: the sixth-greatest average annual flow of any waterfall in the world, following number five Niagara, with an average rate of . Its maximum recorded flow was in 9 June 2014. By comparison, the average flow of Niagara Falls is , with a maximum recorded flow of . The average flow at Victoria Falls is , with a maximum recorded flow of . The Iguazu Falls experience a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa", according to the Köppen climate classification) with abundant precipitation and high temperatures year-round. During the summer of 2006, a severe drought caused the Iguazu River to become diminished, reducing


title: "Iguazu Falls" content: the amount of water flowing over the falls to until early December. This was unusual, as dry periods normally last only a few weeks. Iguazu Falls have been featured in several TV shows and movies, including: Iguazu Falls Iguazú Falls or Iguaçu Falls ( ; ; ) are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. Together, they make up the largest waterfall system in the world. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. The Iguazu River rises near the heart of the city


title: "Alexander Pope" content: would remain lifelong friends. From the age of 12, he suffered numerous health problems including Pott's disease (a form of tuberculosis that affects the spine), which deformed his body and stunted his growth, leaving him with a severe hunchback. His tuberculosis infection caused other health problems including respiratory difficulties, high fevers, inflamed eyes, and abdominal pain. He grew to a height of only . Pope was already removed from society because he was Catholic; his poor health only alienated him further. Although he never married, he had many female friends to whom he wrote witty letters, including Lady Mary Wortley


title: "Louis VII of France" content: the pope intervened to bring the two kings to terms at Vitry-le-François. In 1165, Louis' third wife bore him a son and heir, Philip. Louis had him crowned at Reims in 1179, in the Capetian tradition (Philip would in fact be the last king so crowned). Already stricken with paralysis, Louis himself could not be present at the ceremony. He died on 18 September 1180 in Paris and was buried the next day at Barbeau Abbey, which he had founded. His remains were moved to the Basilica of Saint-Denis in 1817. Louis' children by his three marriages: with Eleanor of


title: "Sublette County, Wyoming" content: per square mile (0/km²). There were 3,552 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.48% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. 1.89% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 21.7% were of German, 17.5% English, 11.0% American and 10.1% Irish ancestry. There were 2,371 households out of which 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.30% were married couples living together, 5.30%


title: "Shimon Peres" content: Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; , ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the ninth President of Israel (2007–2014), the Prime Minister of Israel (twice), and the Interim Prime Minister, in the 1970s to the 1990s. He was a member of twelve cabinets and represented five political parties in a political career spanning 70 years. Peres was elected to the Knesset in November 1959 and except for a three-month-long hiatus in early 2006, was in office continuously until he was elected President in 2007. At the time of his


title: "Æthelwulf" content: won by levies led by ealdormen, unlike the 870s when royal command was emphasised, reflecting a more consensual style of leadership in the earlier period. In 850 a Danish army wintered on Thanet, and in 853 ealdormen Ealhhere of Kent and Huda of Surrey were killed in a battle against the Vikings, also on Thanet. In 855 Danish Vikings stayed over the winter on Sheppey, before carrying on their pillaging of eastern England. However, during Æthelwulf's reign Viking attacks were contained and did not present a major threat. The silver penny was almost the only coin used in middle and


title: "Address Resolution Protocol" content: because the ARP standard specifies that the opcode is only processed after the ARP table has been updated from the address fields. Many operating systems perform gratuitous ARP during startup. That helps to resolve problems which would otherwise occur if, for example, a network card was recently changed (changing the IP-address-to-MAC-address mapping) and other hosts still have the old mapping in their ARP caches. Gratuitous ARP is also used by some interface drivers to provide load balancing for incoming traffic. In a team of network cards, it is used to announce a different MAC address within the team that should


title: "History of Korea" content: itself as Goguryeo's successor state and inherited Goguryeo culture. It also adopted the culture of Tang dynasty, such as the government structure and geopolitical system. In a time of relative peace and stability in the region, Balhae flourished, especially during the reigns of King Mun and King Seon. Balhae was called the "Prosperous Country in the East". However, Balhae was severely weakened and eventually conquered by the Khitan Liao dynasty in 926. Large numbers of refugees, including Dae Gwang-hyeon, the last crown prince of Balhae, were welcomed by Goryeo. Dae Gwang-hyeon was included in the imperial family of Wang Geon,


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park (, ) is an American national park located in the western Sierra Nevada of Central California, bounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park, which is managed by the National Park Service, covers an area of and sits in four counties: centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending north and east to Mono and south to Madera County. Designated a World Heritage site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, lakes, mountains, meadows, glaciers, and biological


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: diversity. Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness. On average, about 4 million people visit Yosemite each year, and most spend the majority of their time in the 5.9 square miles (15 km) of Yosemite Valley. The park set a visitation record in 2016, surpassing 5 million visitors for the first time in its history. Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea. Galen Clark and others lobbied to protect Yosemite Valley from development, ultimately leading to President Abraham Lincoln's signing the Yosemite Grant in 1864. John Muir led a successful movement to have Congress establish


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: a larger national park by 1890, one which encompassed the valley and its surrounding mountains and forests, paving the way for the National Park System. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals. The park has an elevation range from and contains five major vegetation zones: chaparral and oak woodland, lower montane forest, upper montane forest, subalpine zone, and alpine. Of California's 7,000 plant species, about 50% occur in the Sierra Nevada and more than 20% are within Yosemite. The park contains suitable


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: habitat for more than 160 rare plants, with rare local geologic formations and unique soils characterizing the restricted ranges many of these plants occupy. The geology of the Yosemite area is characterized by granitic rocks and remnants of older rock. About 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and then tilted to form its relatively gentle western slopes and the more dramatic eastern slopes. The uplift increased the steepness of stream and river beds, resulting in the formation of deep, narrow canyons. About one million years ago, snow and ice accumulated, forming glaciers at the higher alpine meadows


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: that moved down the river valleys. Ice thickness in Yosemite Valley may have reached during the early glacial episode. The downslope movement of the ice masses cut and sculpted the U-shaped valley that attracts so many visitors to its scenic vistas today. The name "Yosemite" (meaning "killer" in Miwok) originally referred to the name of a renegade tribe which was driven out of the area (and possibly annihilated) by the Mariposa Battalion. Previously, the area had been called "Ahwahnee" ("big mouth") by indigenous people. Yosemite Valley has been inhabited for nearly 3,000 years, though humans may have first visited the


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: area as long as 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. The indigenous natives called themselves the Ahwahnechee, meaning "dwellers in Ahwahnee." They are related to the Northern Paiute and Mono tribes. Many tribes visited the area to trade, including nearby Central Sierra Miwoks, who lived along the drainage area of the Tuolumne and Stanislaus Rivers. A major trading route went over Mono Pass and through Bloody Canyon to Mono Lake, just to the east of the Yosemite area. Vegetation and game in the region were similar to that present today; acorns were a staple to their diet, as well as other


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: seeds and plants, salmon and deer. The California Gold Rush in the mid-19th century dramatically increased travel by European-Americans in the area, causing competition for resources between the regional Paiute and Miwok and the miners and hangers on. In 1851 as part of the Mariposa Wars intended to suppress Native American resistance, United States Army Major Jim Savage led the Mariposa Battalion into the west end of Yosemite Valley. He was pursuing forces of around 200 Ahwahneechee led by Chief Tenaya. Accounts from this battalion were the first well-documented reports of ethnic Europeans entering Yosemite Valley. Attached to Savage's unit


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: was Dr. Lafayette Bunnell, the company physician, who later wrote about his awestruck impressions of the valley in "The Discovery of the Yosemite". Bunnell is credited with naming Yosemite Valley, based on his interviews with Chief Tenaya. Bunnell wrote that Chief Tenaya was the founder of the Ah-wah-nee colony. The Miwok, a neighboring tribe, and most white settlers considered the Ahwahneechee to be especially violent because of their frequent territorial disputes. The Miwok term for the Pai-Ute band was "yohhe'meti," meaning "they are killers". Correspondence and articles written by members of the battalion helped to popularize the natural wonders of


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: the Yosemite Valley and the surrounding area. Chief Tenaya and his Ahwahneechee were eventually captured and their village burned; they were removed to a reservation near Fresno, California. The chief and some others were later allowed to return to Yosemite Valley. In the spring of 1852 they attacked a group of eight gold miners, and then moved east to flee law enforcement. Near Mono Lake, they took refuge with the nearby Mono tribe of Paiute. They stole horses from their hosts and moved away, but the Mono Paiutes tracked down and killed many of the Ahwahneechee, including Chief Tenaya. The


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: Mono Paiute took the survivors as captives back to Mono Lake and absorbed them into the Mono Lake Paiute tribe. After these wars, a number of Native Americans continued to live within the boundaries of Yosemite. A number of Indians supported the growing tourism industry by working as laborers or maids. Later, Indians became part of the tourism industry itself by selling baskets or performing for tourists. A reconstructed "Indian Village of Ahwahnee" has been erected behind the Yosemite Museum, located next to the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. In 1855, entrepreneur James Mason Hutchings, artist Thomas Ayres and two others


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: were the first to tour the area. Hutchings and Ayres were responsible for much of the earliest publicity about Yosemite, writing articles and special magazine issues about the Valley. Ayres' style in art was highly detailed with exaggerated angularity. His works and written accounts were distributed nationally, and an art exhibition of his drawings was held in New York City. Hutchings' publicity efforts between 1855 and 1860 led to an increase in tourism to Yosemite. Wawona was an Indian encampment in what is now the southwestern part of the park. Settler Galen Clark discovered the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoia


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: in Wawona in 1857. He had simple lodgings built, and roads to the area. In 1879, the Wawona Hotel was built to serve tourists visiting Mariposa Grove. As tourism increased, so did the number of trails and hotels developed by people intending to build on the trade. The Wawona Tree, also known as the Tunnel Tree, was a famous giant sequoia that stood in the Mariposa Grove. It was tall, and was in circumference. When a carriage-wide tunnel was cut through the tree in 1881, it became even more popular as a tourist photo attraction. Everything from horse-drawn carriages in


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: the late 19th century, to automobiles in the first part of the 20th century, traveled the road which passed through that tree. The Wawona Tree fell in 1969 under a heavy load of snow. It was estimated to have been 2,300 years old. Yosemite's first concession was established in 1884 when John Degnan and his wife established a bakery and store. In 1916, the National Park Service granted a 20-year concession to the Desmond Park Service Company. It bought out or built hotels, stores, camps, a dairy, a garage, and other park services. Desmond changed its name to the Yosemite


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: National Park Company in December 1917 and was reorganized in 1920. The Curry Company had been started in 1899 by David and Jennie Curry to provide concessions in the park. They also founded Camp Curry, formerly known as Curry Village, now known as Half Dome Village. The Currys lobbied reluctant park supervisors to allow expansion of concession operations and development in the area. Administrators in the National Park Service felt that limiting the number of concessionaires in each national park would be more financially sound. The Curry Company and its rival, the Yosemite National Park Company, were forced to merge


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: in 1925 to form the Yosemite Park & Curry Company (YP&CC). The company built the Ahwahnee Hotel in 1927. Concerned by the effects of commercial interests, prominent citizens including Galen Clark and Senator John Conness advocated for protection of the area. A park bill was prepared with the assistance of the General Land Office in the Interior Department. The bill passed both houses of the 38th United States Congress, and was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on June 30, 1864, creating the Yosemite Grant. This is the first instance of park land being set aside specifically for preservation and public


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: use by action of the U.S. federal government, and set a precedent for the 1872 creation of Yellowstone as the first national park. Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove were ceded to California as a state park, and a board of commissioners was proclaimed two years later. Galen Clark was appointed by the commission as the Grant's first guardian, but neither Clark nor the commissioners had the authority to evict homesteaders (which included Hutchings). The issue was not settled until 1872 when the homesteader land holdings were invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Clark and the reigning commissioners were ousted


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: in 1880, this dispute also reaching the Supreme Court in 1880. The two Supreme Court decisions affecting management of the Yosemite Grant are considered important precedents in land management law. Hutchings became the new park guardian. Access to the park by tourists improved in the early years of the park, and conditions in the Valley were made more hospitable. Tourism significantly increased after the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869, but the long horseback ride to reach the area was a deterrent. Three stagecoach roads were built in the mid-1870s to provide better access for the growing number of


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: visitors to Yosemite Valley. John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist and explorer. It was because of Muir that many National Parks were left untouched, such as Yosemite Valley National Park. One of the most significant camping trips Muir took was in 1903 with then president Theodore Roosevelt. This trip persuaded Roosevelt to return "Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove to federal protection as part of Yosemite National Park". John Muir wrote articles popularizing the area and increasing scientific interest in it. Muir was one of the first to theorize that the major landforms in Yosemite Valley were created by large


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: alpine glaciers, bucking established scientists such as Josiah Whitney, who regarded Muir as an amateur. Muir wrote scientific papers on the area's biology. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted emphasized the importance of conservation of Yosemite Valley. Overgrazing of meadows (especially by sheep), logging of giant sequoia, and other damage caused Muir to become an advocate for further protection. Muir convinced prominent guests of the importance of putting the area under federal protection; one such guest was Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of "Century Magazine". Muir and Johnson lobbied Congress for the Act that created Yosemite National Park on October 1, 1890.


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: The State of California, however, retained control of Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove. Muir also helped persuade local officials to virtually eliminate grazing from the Yosemite high country. The newly created national park came under the jurisdiction of the United States Army's Troop I of the 4th Cavalry on May 19, 1891, which set up camp in Wawona with Captain Abram Epperson Wood as acting superintendent. By the late 1890s, sheep grazing was no longer a problem, and the Army made many other improvements. The cavalry could not intervene to ease the worsening condition of Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove.


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: The cavalry left another legacy in the park, the ranger hat. From 1899 to 1913, cavalry regiments of the Western Department, including the all Black 9th Cavalry (known as the "Buffalo Soldiers") and the 1st Cavalry, stationed two troops at Yosemite and brought with them the trooper's campaign hat with its distinctive Montana Peak we recognize today as the "ranger hat." This peak had been formed into the trooper's stetson by veterans of the 1898 Spanish–American War to better shed tropical rain. Muir and his Sierra Club continued to lobby the government and influential people for the creation of a


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: unified Yosemite National Park. In May 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt camped with Muir near Glacier Point for three days. On that trip, Muir convinced Roosevelt to take control of Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove away from California and return it to the federal government. In 1906, Roosevelt signed a bill that did precisely that. The National Park Service was formed in 1916, and Yosemite was transferred to that agency's jurisdiction. Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, Tioga Pass Road, and campgrounds at Tenaya and Merced lakes were also completed in 1916. Automobiles started to enter the park in ever-increasing numbers following the construction


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: of all-weather highways to the park. The Yosemite Museum was founded in 1926 through the efforts of Ansel Franklin Hall.In the 1920s, the museum featured Native Americans practicing traditional crafts, and many of the Sierra Miwok continued to live in Yosemite Valley until they were evicted from Yosemite in the 1960s. In 1903, a dam in the northern portion of the park was proposed. Located in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, its purpose was to provide water and hydroelectric power to San Francisco. Muir and the Sierra Club opposed the project, while others, including Gifford Pinchot, supported it. In 1913, the


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: U.S. Congress authorized the O'Shaughnessy Dam through passage of the Raker Act. In the late 1920s a bid for Yosemite for the 1932 Winter Olympics was put forward. Ultimately, the 1932 Winter Olympics were awarded to Lake Placid, New York. In 1937, conservationist Rosalie Edge, head of the Emergency Conservation Committee (ECC), successfully lobbied Congress to purchase about 8,000 acres of old-growth sugar pines on the perimeter of Yosemite National Park that were to be logged. More recently, preservationists persuaded Congress to designate , or about 89% of the park, as the Yosemite Wilderness—a highly protected wilderness area. The Park


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: Service has reduced artificial inducements to visit the park, such as the "Firefall", in which red-hot embers were pushed off a cliff near Glacier Point at night. Traffic congestion in Yosemite Valley during the summer months has become a concern. Two electric buses commenced service in September 1995. The buses are quiet and do not emit pollutants. Eventually, all the buses in Yosemite will be electric. In 2016, The Trust for Public Land purchased Ackerson Meadow, a 400-acre tract on the western edge of Yosemite National Park, for $2.3 million in order to preserve habitat and protect the area from


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: development. Ackerson Meadow was originally included in the proposed 1890 park boundary but never acquired by the federal government. On September 7, 2016, the National Park Service accepted the donation of the land, making the meadow the largest addition to Yosemite since 1949. Yosemite National Park is located in the central Sierra Nevada of California. Three wilderness areas are adjacent to Yosemite: the Ansel Adams Wilderness to the southeast, the Hoover Wilderness to the northeast, and the Emigrant Wilderness to the north. The park is roughly the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and contains thousands of lakes


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: and ponds, of streams, of hiking trails, and of roads. Two federally designated Wild and Scenic Rivers, the Merced and the Tuolumne, begin within Yosemite's borders and flow westward through the Sierra foothills, into the Central Valley of California. On average, about 4 million people visit the park each year, with most visitor use concentrated in the seven-square-mile (18 km) area of Yosemite Valley. Almost all of the landforms in the Yosemite area are cut from the granitic rock of the Sierra Nevada Batholith (a batholith is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock that formed deep below the surface).


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: About 5% of the park's landforms (mostly in its eastern margin near Mount Dana) are metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rocks. These rocks are called "roof pendants" because they were once the roof of the underlying granitic rock. Erosion acting upon different types of uplift-created joint and fracture systems is responsible for creating the valleys, canyons, domes, and other features we see today. These joints and fracture systems do not move, and are therefore not faults. Spacing between joints is controlled by the amount of silica in the granite and granodiorite rocks; more silica tends to create a more resistant rock,


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: resulting in larger spaces between joints and fractures. Pillars and columns, such as Washington Column and Lost Arrow, are created by cross joints. Erosion acting on master joints is responsible for creating valleys and later canyons. The single most erosive force over the last few million years has been large alpine glaciers, which have turned the previously V-shaped river-cut valleys into U-shaped glacial-cut canyons (such as Yosemite Valley and Hetch Hetchy Valley). Exfoliation (caused by the tendency of crystals in plutonic rocks to expand at the surface) acting on granitic rock with widely spaced joints is responsible for creating domes


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: such as Half Dome and North Dome and inset arches like Royal Arches. Yosemite Valley represents only one percent of the park area, but this is where most visitors arrive and stay. The Tunnel View is the first view of the Valley for many visitors and is extensively photographed. El Capitan, a prominent granite cliff that looms over Yosemite Valley, is one of the most popular rock climbing destinations in the world because of its diverse range of climbing routes in addition to its year-round accessibility. Granite domes such as Sentinel Dome and Half Dome rise , respectively, above the


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: valley floor. The high country of Yosemite contains beautiful areas such as Tuolumne Meadows, Dana Meadows, the Clark Range, the Cathedral Range, and the Kuna Crest. The Sierra crest and the Pacific Crest Trail run through Yosemite, with peaks of red metamorphic rock, such as Mount Dana and Mount Gibbs, and granite peaks, such as Mount Conness. Mount Lyell is the highest point in the park, standing at . The Lyell Glacier is the largest glacier in Yosemite National Park and is one of the few remaining in the Sierra Nevada today. The park has three groves of ancient giant


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: sequoia ("Sequoiadendron giganteum") trees; the Mariposa Grove (200 trees), the Tuolumne Grove (25 trees), and the Merced Grove (20 trees). This species grows larger in volume than any other and is one of the tallest and longest-lived. The Tuolumne and Merced River systems originate along the crest of the Sierra Nevada in the park and have carved river canyons deep. The Tuolumne River drains the entire northern portion of the park, an area of approximately . The Merced River begins in the park's southern peaks, primarily the Cathedral and Clark Ranges, and drains an area of approximately . Hydrologic processes,


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: including glaciation, flooding, and fluvial geomorphic response, have been fundamental in creating landforms in the park. The park also contains approximately 3,200 lakes (greater than 100 m), two reservoirs, and of streams, all of which help form these two large watersheds. Wetlands in Yosemite occur in valley bottoms throughout the park, and are often hydrologically linked to nearby lakes and rivers through seasonal flooding and groundwater movement. Meadow habitats, distributed at elevations from in the park, are generally wetlands, as are the riparian habitats found on the banks of Yosemite's numerous streams and rivers. Yosemite is famous for its high


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: concentration of waterfalls in a small area. Numerous sheer drops, glacial steps and hanging valleys in the park provide many places for waterfalls to exist, especially during April, May, and June (the snowmelt season). Located in Yosemite Valley, the Yosemite Falls is the highest in North America at . Also in Yosemite Valley is the much lower volume Ribbon Falls, which has the highest single vertical drop, . Perhaps the most prominent of the Yosemite Valley waterfalls is Bridalveil Fall, which is the waterfall seen from the Tunnel View viewpoint at the east end of the Wawona Tunnel. Wapama Falls


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: in Hetch Hetchy Valley is another notable waterfall. Hundreds of ephemeral waterfalls also exist in the park. All glaciers in the park are relatively small glaciers that occupy areas that are in almost permanent shade, such as north- and northeast-facing cirques. Lyell Glacier is the largest glacier in Yosemite (the Palisades Glaciers are the largest in the Sierra Nevada) and covers . None of the Yosemite glaciers are a remnant of the much, much larger Ice Age alpine glaciers responsible for sculpting the Yosemite landscape. Instead, they were formed during one of the neoglacial episodes that have occurred since the


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: thawing of the Ice Age (such as the Little Ice Age). Climate change has reduced the number and size of glaciers around the world. Many Yosemite glaciers, including Merced Glacier, which was discovered by John Muir in 1871 and bolstered his glacial origins theory of the Yosemite area, have disappeared and most of the others have lost up to 75% of their surface area. Yosemite has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification "Csa"), meaning most precipitation falls during the mild winter, and the other seasons are nearly dry (less than 3% of precipitation falls during the long, hot summers). Because


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: of orographic lift, precipitation increases with elevation up to where it slowly decreases to the crest. Precipitation amounts vary from at elevation to at . Snow does not typically persist on the ground until November in the high country. It accumulates all winter and into March or early April. Mean daily temperatures range from to at Tuolumne Meadows at . At the Wawona Entrance (elevation ), mean daily temperature ranges from . At the lower elevations below , temperatures are hotter; the mean daily high temperature at Yosemite Valley (elevation ) varies from . At elevations above , the hot,


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: dry summer temperatures are moderated by frequent summer thunderstorms, along with snow that can persist into July. The combination of dry vegetation, low relative humidity, and thunderstorms results in frequent lightning-caused fires as well. At the park headquarters, with an elevation of , January averages , while July averages , though in summer the nights are much cooler than the hot days. There are an average of 39.5 days with highs of or higher and an average of 97.9 nights with freezing temperatures. Freezing temperatures have been recorded in every month of the year. The record high temperature was on


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: July 20, 1915, while the record low temperature was on January 2, 1924 and on January 21, 1937. Average annual precipitation is nearly , falling on 65 days. The wettest year was 1983 with and the driest year was 1976 with . The most precipitation in one month was in December 1955 and the most in one day was on December 23, 1955. Average annual snowfall is . The snowiest year was 1967 with . The most snow in one month was in January 1993. The area of the park was astride a passive continental margin during the Precambrian and


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: early Paleozoic. Sediment was derived from continental sources and was deposited in shallow water. These rocks have since been metamorphosed. Heat generated from the Farallon Plate subducting below the North American Plate led to the creation of an island arc of volcanoes on the west coast of proto-North America between the late Devonian and Permian periods. Later volcanism in the Jurassic intruded and covered these rocks in what may have been magmatic activity associated with the early stages of the creation of the Sierra Nevada Batholith. 95% of these rocks were eventually removed by uplifted-accelerated erosion. The first phase of


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: regional plutonism started 210 million years ago in the late Triassic and continued throughout the Jurassic to about 150 million years before present (BP). Around the same time, the Nevadan orogeny built the Nevadan mountain range (also called the Ancestral Sierra Nevada) to a height of . This was directly part of the creation of the Sierra Nevada Batholith, and the resulting rocks were mostly granitic in composition and emplaced about below the surface. The second major pluton emplacement phase lasted from about 120 million to 80 million years ago during the Cretaceous. This was part of the Sevier orogeny.


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: Starting 20 million years ago (in the Cenozoic) and lasting until 5 million years ago, a now-extinct extension of Cascade Range volcanoes erupted, bringing large amounts of igneous material in the area. These igneous deposits blanketed the region north of the Yosemite region. Volcanic activity persisted past 5 million years BP east of the current park borders in the Mono Lake and Long Valley areas. Starting 10 million years ago, vertical movement along the Sierra fault started to uplift the Sierra Nevada. Subsequent tilting of the Sierra block and the resulting accelerated uplift of the Sierra Nevada increased the gradient


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: of western-flowing streams. The streams consequently ran faster and thus cut their valleys more quickly. Additional uplift occurred when major faults developed to the east, especially the creation of Owens Valley from Basin and Range-associated extensional forces. Uplift of the Sierra accelerated again about two million years ago during the Pleistocene. The uplifting and increased erosion exposed granitic rocks in the area to surface pressures, resulting in exfoliation (responsible for the rounded shape of the many domes in the park) and mass wasting following the numerous fracture joint planes (cracks; especially vertical ones) in the now solidified plutons. Pleistocene glaciers


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: further accelerated this process and the larger ones transported the resulting talus and till from valley floors. Numerous vertical joint planes controlled where and how fast erosion took place. Most of these long, linear and very deep cracks trend northeast or northwest and form parallel, often regularly spaced sets. They were created by uplift-associated pressure release and by the unloading of overlying rock via erosion. A series of glaciations further modified the region starting about 2 to 3 million years ago and ending sometime around 10,000 BP. At least four major glaciations have occurred in the Sierra Nevada, locally called


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: the Sherwin (also called the pre-Tahoe), Tahoe, Tenaya, and Tioga. The Sherwin glaciers were the largest, filling Yosemite and other valleys, while later stages produced much smaller glaciers. A Sherwin-age glacier was almost surely responsible for the major excavation and shaping of Yosemite Valley and other canyons in the area. Glacial systems reached depths of up to and left their marks in the Yosemite area. The longest glacier in the Yosemite area ran down the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River for , passing well beyond Hetch Hetchy Valley. Merced Glacier flowed out of Yosemite Valley and into the Merced


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: River Gorge. Lee Vining Glacier carved Lee Vining Canyon and emptied into Lake Russel (the much-enlarged ice age version of Mono Lake). Only the highest peaks, such as Mount Dana and Mount Conness, were not covered by glaciers. Retreating glaciers often left recessional moraines that impounded lakes such as the long Lake Yosemite (a shallow lake that periodically covered much of the floor of Yosemite Valley). With its scrubby sun-baked chaparral, stately groves of pine, fir, and sequoia, and expanses of alpine woodlands and meadows, Yosemite National Park preserves a Sierra Nevada landscape as it prevailed before Euro-American settlement. In


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: contrast to surrounding lands, which have been significantly altered by logging, the park still contains some of old-growth forest. Taken together, the park's varied habitats support over 250 species of vertebrates, which include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Along much of Yosemite's western boundary, habitats are dominated by mixed coniferous forests of ponderosa pine, sugar pine, incense cedar, white fir, Douglas fir, and a few stands of giant sequoia, interspersed by areas of black oak and canyon live oak. A relatively high diversity of wildlife species is supported by these habitats, because of relatively mild, lower-elevation climate and the


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: mixture of habitat types and plant species. Wildlife species typically found in these habitats include black bear, coyote, raccoon, mountain kingsnake, Gilbert's skink, white-headed woodpecker, bobcat, river otter, gray fox, red fox, brown creeper, two species of skunk, cougar, spotted owl, and a wide variety of bat species. Going higher in elevation, the coniferous forests become purer stands of red fir, western white pine, Jeffrey pine, lodgepole pine, and the occasional foxtail pine. Fewer wildlife species tend to be found in these habitats, because of their higher elevation and lower complexity. Species likely to be found include golden-mantled ground squirrel,


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: chickaree, fisher, Steller's jay, hermit thrush, and northern goshawk. Reptiles are not common, but include rubber boa, western fence lizard, and northern alligator lizard. As the landscape rises, trees become smaller and more sparse, with stands broken by areas of exposed granite. These include lodgepole pine, whitebark pine, and mountain hemlock that, at highest elevations, give way to vast expanses of granite as treeline is reached. The climate in these habitats is harsh and the growing season is short, but species such as pika, yellow-bellied marmot, white-tailed jackrabbit, Clark's nutcracker, and black rosy finch are adapted to these conditions. Also,


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: the treeless alpine habitats are the areas favored by Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep. This species, however, is now found in the Yosemite area only around Tioga Pass, where a small, reintroduced population exists. At a variety of elevations, meadows provide important, productive habitat for wildlife. Animals come to feed on the green grasses and use the flowing and standing water found in many meadows. Predators, in turn, are attracted to these areas. The interface between meadow and forest is also favored by many animal species because of the proximity of open areas for foraging and cover for protection. Species that


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: are highly dependent upon meadow habitat include great grey owl, willow flycatcher, Yosemite toad, and mountain beaver. The black bears of Yosemite were once famous for breaking into parked cars to steal food. They were also an encouraged tourist sight for many years at the park's garbage dumps, where bears congregated to eat park visitors' garbage and tourists gathered to photograph the bears. Increasing encounters between bears and humans and increasing damage to property led to an aggressive campaign to discourage bears from relying on human food or interacting with people and their property. The open-air dumps were closed; all


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: trash receptacles were replaced with bear-proof receptacles; all campgrounds were equipped with bear-proof food lockers so that people would not leave food in their vehicles, which were easy targets for the powerful and resourceful bears. Because bears who show aggression towards people usually are eventually destroyed, park personnel have continued to come up with innovative ways to have bears associate humans and their property with unpleasant experiences, such as being hit with rubber bullets. Today, about 30 bears a year are captured and ear-tagged and their DNA is sampled so that, when bear damage occurs, rangers can ascertain which bear


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: is causing the problem. Despite the richness of high-quality habitats in Yosemite, the brown bear, California condor, and least Bell's vireo have become extinct in the park within historical time, and another 37 species currently have special status under either California or federal endangered species legislation. The most serious current threats to Yosemite's wildlife and the ecosystems they occupy include loss of a natural fire regime, exotic species, air pollution, habitat fragmentation, and climate change. On a more local basis, factors such as road kills and the availability of human food have affected some wildlife species. Yosemite National Park has


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: documented more than 130 non-native plant species within park boundaries. These non-native plants were introduced into Yosemite following the migration of early Euro-American settlers in the late 1850s. Natural and human-caused disturbances, such as wildland fires and construction activities, have contributed to a rapid increase in the spread of non-native plants. A number of these species aggressively invade and displace the native plant communities, resulting in impacts on the park's resources. Non-native plants can bring about significant changes in park ecosystems by altering the native plant communities and the processes that support them. Some non-native species may cause an increase


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: in the fire frequency of an area or increase the available nitrogen in the soil that may allow more non-native plants to become established. Many non-native species, such as yellow star thistle ("Centaurea solstitialis"), are able to produce a long tap root that allows them to out-compete the native plants for available water. Bull thistle ("Cirsium vulgare"), common mullein ("Verbascum thapsus"), and Klamath weed ("Hypericum perforatum") have been identified as noxious pests in Yosemite since the 1940s. Additional species that have been recognized more recently as aggressive and requiring control are yellow star thistle ("Centaurea solstitialis"), sweet clover ("Melilot" spp.),


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: Himalayan blackberry ("Rubus armeniacus"), cut-leaved blackberry ("Rubus laciniatus") and large periwinkle ("Vinca major"). Increasing ozone pollution is causing tissue damage to the massive giant sequoia trees in the park, making them more vulnerable to insect infestation and disease. Since the cones of these trees require fire-touched soil to germinate, historic fire suppression has reduced these trees' ability to reproduce. The current policy of setting prescribed fires is expected to help the germination issue. Forest fires seasonally clear the park of dead vegetation, making way for new growth. These fires damage the income generated by tourism. The Rim Fire in 2013


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: destroyed nearly $2 billion in assets and revenue, though natural woodland assets are renewable, and closed off much of the park to tourists. This fire was the third largest on record, and burned nearly 500 acres of wild habitat. During late July and early August, 2018, sections of the park, including the Valley, were temporarily closed due to the Ferguson Fire at its western boundary. The closing was the largest in almost thirty years at the park. Yosemite Valley is open year-round and numerous activities are available through the National Park Service, Yosemite Conservancy, and Aramark at Yosemite, including nature


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: walks, photography and art classes, stargazing programs, tours, bike rentals, rafting, mule and horseback rides, and rock climbing classes. Many people enjoy short walks and longer hikes to waterfalls in Yosemite Valley, or walks among giant sequoias in the Mariposa, Tuolumne, or Merced Groves. Others like to drive or take a tour bus to Glacier Point (summer–fall) to see views of Yosemite Valley and the high country, or drive along the scenic Tioga Road to Tuolumne Meadows (May–October) and go for a walk or hike. Most park visitors stay just for the day, and visit only those locations within Yosemite


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: Valley that are easily accessible by automobile. There is a US$25-30 per automobile user fee to enter the park, depending on the season. Traffic congestion in the valley is a serious problem during peak season, in summer. A free shuttle bus system operates year-round in the valley, and park rangers encourage people to use this system since parking within the valley during the summer is often nearly impossible to find. In addition to exploring the natural features of the park, visitors can also learn about the natural and cultural history of Yosemite Valley at a number of facilities in the


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: valley: the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center, the adjoining Yosemite Museum, and the Nature Center at Happy Isles. There are also two National Historic Landmarks: the Sierra Club's LeConte Memorial Lodge (Yosemite's first public visitor center), and the Ahwahnee Hotel. Camp 4 was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. Over of trails are available to hikers—everything from an easy stroll to a challenging mountain hike, or an overnight backpack trip. One of the most popular trails leads to the summit of Half Dome and requires an advance permit from Memorial Day weekend in late May, to Columbus


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: Day in early October. A maximum of 300 hikers, selected by lottery, are permitted to advance beyond the base of the subdome each day, including 225 day hikers and 75 backpackers. The park can be divided into five sections for the day-user—Yosemite Valley, Wawona/Mariposa Grove/Glacier Point, Tuolumne Meadows, Hetch Hetchy, and Crane Flat/White Wolf. Numerous books describe park trails, and free information is available from the National Park Service in Yosemite. Park rangers encourage visitors to experience portions of the park in addition to Yosemite Valley. Between late spring and early fall, much of the park can be accessed for


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: multiple-day backpacking trips. All overnight trips into the back country require a wilderness permit and most require approved bear-resistant food storage. While some locations in Yosemite require hiking, other locations can be reached via automobile transportation. Driving locations also allow guests to observe the night sky in locations other than their campsite or lodge. All of the roads in Yosemite are scenic, but the most famous is the Tioga Road, typically open from late May or early June through November. As an alternative to driving, bicycles are allowed on the roads. However, bicycles are allowed off-road on only of paved


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: trails in Yosemite Valley itself; mountain biking is not allowed. Rock climbing is an important part of Yosemite. Camp 4, a walk-in campground in Yosemite Valley, was instrumental in the development of rock climbing as a sport, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Climbers can generally be spotted in the snow-free months on anything from ten-foot-high (3 m) boulders to the face of El Capitan. Classes on rock climbing are offered by numerous groups. Yosemite Valley is open all year, although some roads within the park close in winter. Downhill skiing is available at the Badger


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: Pass Ski Area—the oldest downhill skiing area in California, offering downhill skiing from mid-December through early April. Much of the park is open to cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, with several backcountry ski huts open for use. Wilderness permits are required for backcountry overnight ski trips. The Bracebridge dinner is an annual holiday event, held since 1927 at the Ahwahnee Hotel, inspired by Washington Irving's descriptions of Squire Bracebridge and English Christmas traditions of the 18th century in his "Sketch Book". Between 1929 and 1973, the show was organized by Ansel Adams. Bicycle rentals are available in Yosemite Valley spring through


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: fall. Over of paved bike paths are available in Yosemite Valley. In addition, bicyclists can ride on regular roads. Helmets are required by law for children under 18 years of age. Off-trail riding and mountain biking are not permitted in Yosemite National Park. Water activities are plentiful during warmer months. Rafting can be done through the Yosemite Valley on the Merced River. There are also swimming pools available at Yosemite Lodge and Curry Village. In 2010, Yosemite National Park was honored with its own quarter under the America the Beautiful Quarters program. The opening scenes of "" (1989) were filmed


title: "Yosemite National Park" content: in Yosemite National Park. Films such as "The Last of the Mohicans" (1920) and "Maverick" (1994) have also been shot here. Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park (, ) is an American national park located in the western Sierra Nevada of Central California, bounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park, which is managed by the National Park Service, covers an area of and sits in four counties: centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending north and east to Mono and south to Madera County. Designated a World Heritage site in


title: "Kirkstall Abbey" content: Kirkstall Abbey Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Kirkstall, north-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded "c."1152. It was disestablished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. The picturesque ruins have been drawn and painted by artists such as J.M.W. Turner, Thomas Girtin and John Sell Cotman. Kirkstall Abbey was acquired by Leeds Corporation as a gift from Colonel North and opened to the public in the late 19th century. The gatehouse became a museum. Henry


title: "Kirkstall Abbey" content: de Lacy (1070, Halton, – 1123), Lord of the manor of Pontefract, 2nd Lord of Bowland, promised to dedicate an abbey to the Virgin Mary should he survive a serious illness. He recovered and agreed to give the Abbot of Fountains Abbey land at Barnoldswick in the West Riding of Yorkshire (now in Lancashire) on which to found a daughter abbey. Abbot Alexander with twelve Cistercian monks from Fountains went to Barnoldswick and after demolishing the existing church attempted to build the abbey on Henry de Lacy's land. They stayed for six years but found the place inhospitable. Abbot Alexander


title: "Kirkstall Abbey" content: set about finding a more suitable place for the abbey and came across a site in the heavily wooded Aire Valley occupied by hermits. Alexander sought help from de Lacy who was sympathetic and helped acquire the land from William de Poitou. The monks moved from Barnoldswick to Kirkstall displacing the hermits, some of whom joined the abbey, the rest being paid to move. The buildings were mostly completed between 1152 when the monks arrived in Kirkstall and the end of Alexander's abbacy in 1182. Millstone Grit for building came from Bramley Fall on the opposite side of the river.


title: "Kirkstall Abbey" content: The English Cistercian houses, of which there are remains at Fountains, Rievaulx, Kirkstall, Tintern and Netley were mainly arranged after the same plan, with slight local variations. As an example, below is the groundplan of Kirkstall Abbey, one of the best preserved. The church is of the Cistercian type, with a short chancel (3), and transepts (4) with three eastward chapels to each, divided by solid walls. The building is plain, the windows are unornamented, and the nave (1) has no triforium. The cloister to the south (5) occupies the whole length of the nave. On the east side stands


title: "Kirkstall Abbey" content: the two-aisled chapter-house (7), between which and the south transept is a small sacristy, and on the other side two small apartments, one of which was probably the parlour (8). Beyond this is the calefactory or day-room of the monks. Above this whole range of building runs the monks' dormitory, opening by stairs into the south transept of the church. On the south side of the cloister (5) there are the remains of the old refectory, running, as in Benedictine houses, from east to west, and the new refectory (12), which, with the increase of the inmates of the house,


title: "Kirkstall Abbey" content: superseded it, stretching, as is usual in Cistercian houses, from north to south. Adjacent to this apartment are the remains of the kitchen, pantry and buttery. The arches of the lavatory are to be seen near the refectory entrance. The western side of the cloister is occupied by vaulted cellars, supporting on the upper story the dormitory of the lay brothers (9). Extending from the south-east angle of the main group of buildings are the walls and foundations of a secondary group of buildings (17, 18). These have been identified as the hospitium or the abbot's house, but they occupy


title: "Kirkstall Abbey" content: the position in which the infirmary is more usually found. The hall was a very spacious apartment, measuring 83 ft. in length by 48 ft. 9 inches in breadth, which was divided by two rows of columns. The fish-ponds lay between the monastery and the river to the south. The abbey mill was situated about 80 yards to the north-west. The millpool may be distinctly traced, together with the goit or mill stream. On 22 November 1539 the abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII's commissioners in the Dissolution of the monasteries. It was awarded to Thomas Cranmer in 1542, but


title: "Kirkstall Abbey" content: reverted to the crown when Cranmer was executed in 1556. Sir Robert Savile purchased the estate in 1584, and it remained in his family's hands for almost a hundred years. In 1671 it passed into the hands of the Brudenell family, the Earls of Cardigan. Much of the stone was removed for re-use in other buildings in the area, including the steps leading to Leeds Bridge. During the 18th century the picturesque ruins attracted artists of the Romantic movement and were painted by artists including J. M. W. Turner, John Sell Cotman and Thomas Girtin. In 1889 the abbey was


title: "Kirkstall Abbey" content: sold to Colonel John North, who presented it to Leeds City Council. The Council undertook a major restoration project and the abbey was opened to the public in 1895. The abbey is a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument. After a £5.5 million renovation programme there is a new visitor centre with interactive exhibits which illustrates the history of the abbey and the lives of the monks. Entry to the Abbey itself is via the visitor centre – free of charge, but with a donation box. Occasionally, guided tours are available (free of charge). The "Leeds Shakespeare Festival",


title: "Kirkstall Abbey" content: performed by the British Shakespeare Company, took place annually in the cloisters from 1995 until 2009. The abbey grounds are a public park, and are used for occasional events such as the annual Kirkstall Festival and the Kirkstall Fantasia open-air concerts. On the other side of the main road, the grade II* listed former abbey gatehouse now forms the Abbey House Museum. The Abbey was also used on 19 March 2011 for the live BBC Three event Frankenstein's Wedding... Live in Leeds. A live music drama starring Andrew Gower and Lacey Turner as fiancees Victor Frankenstein and Elizabeth Lavenza. On


title: "Kirkstall Abbey" content: 10 and 11 September 2011 the Kaiser Chiefs played two concerts at Kirkstall Abbey to a maximum audience of 10,000 on each day. The BBC Television series 'Gunpowder' (2017) used Kirkstall Abbey as a location. Kirkstall Abbey Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Kirkstall, north-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded "c."1152. It was disestablished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. The picturesque ruins have been drawn and painted by artists such as J.M.W. Turner,


title: Lyrebird content: Lyrebird A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus Menura, and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment, and the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in courtship display. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral-coloured tailfeathers and are among Australia's best-known native birds. The classification of lyrebirds was the subject of much debate after the first specimens reached European scientists after 1798. The superb lyrebird was first illustrated and described scientifically as "Menura


title: Lyrebird content: superba" by Major-General Thomas Davies in 1800 to the Linnean Society of London. He based his work on specimens sent from New South Wales to England. Lyrebirds were thought to be Galliformes like the broadly similar looking partridge, junglefowl, and pheasants familiar to Europeans, reflected in the early names given to the superb lyrebird, including native pheasant. They were also called peacock-wrens and Australian birds-of-paradise. The idea that they were related to the pheasants was abandoned when the first chicks, which are altricial, were described. They were not classed with the passerines until a paper was published in 1840, 12


title: Lyrebird content: years after they were assigned a discrete family, Menuridae. Within that family they compose a single genus, "Menura". It is generally accepted that the lyrebird family is most closely related to the scrub-birds (Atrichornithidae) and some authorities combine both in a single family, but evidence that they are also related to the bowerbirds remains controversial. Lyrebirds are ancient Australian animals: the Australian Museum has fossils of lyrebirds dating back to about 15 million years ago. The prehistoric "Menura tyawanoides" has been described from Early Miocene fossils found at the famous Riversleigh site. Two species of lyrebird are extant: The lyrebirds


title: Lyrebird content: are large passerine birds, amongst the largest in the order. They are ground living birds with strong legs and feet and short rounded wings. They are generally poor fliers and rarely take to the air except for periods of downhill gliding. The superb lyrebird is the larger of the two species. Females are 74–84 cm long, and the males are a larger 80–98 cm long—making them the third-largest passerine bird after the thick-billed raven and the common raven. Albert's lyrebird is slightly smaller at a maximum of 90 cm (male) and 84 cm (female) (around 30–35 inches) They have smaller,


title: Lyrebird content: less spectacular lyrate feathers than the superb lyrebird, but are otherwise similar. The superb lyrebird is found in areas of rainforest in Victoria, New South Wales, and south-east Queensland. It is also found in Tasmania where it was introduced in the 19th century. Many superb lyrebirds live in the Dandenong Ranges National Park and Kinglake National Park around Melbourne, the Royal National Park and Illawarra region south of Sydney, in many other parks along the east coast of Australia, and non protected bushland. Albert's lyrebird is found only in a small area of Southern Queensland rainforest. Lyrebirds are shy and


title: Lyrebird content: difficult to approach, particularly the Albert's lyrebird, with the result that little information about its behaviour has been documented. When lyrebirds detect potential danger, they pause and scan the surroundings, sound an alarm, and either flee the area on foot, or seek cover and freeze. Firefighters sheltering in mine shafts during bushfires have been joined by lyrebirds. Lyrebirds feed on the ground and as individuals. A range of invertebrate prey is taken, including insects such as cockroaches, beetles (both adults and larvae), earwigs, fly larvae, and the adults and larvae of moths. Other prey taken includes centipedes, spiders, earthworms. Less


title: Lyrebird content: commonly taken prey includes stick insects, bugs, amphipods, lizards, frogs and occasionally, seeds. They find food by scratching with their feet through the leaf-litter. The breeding cycle of the lyrebirds is long, and lyrebirds are long-lived birds, capable of living as long as thirty years. They also start breeding later in life than other passerine birds. Female superb lyrebirds start breeding at the age of five or six, and males at the age of six to eight. Males defend territories from other males, and those territories may contain the breeding territories of up to eight females. Within the male territories,


title: Lyrebird content: the males create or use display platforms; for the superb lyrebird, this is a mound of bare soil; for the Albert's lyrebird, it is a pile of twigs on the forest floor. Male lyrebirds call mostly during winter, when they construct and maintain an open arena-mound in dense bush, on which they sing and dance in courtship, to display to potential mates, of which the male lyrebird has several. The female builds an untidy nest, usually low to the ground in a moist gully, where she lays a single egg. The egg is incubated over 50 days solely by the


title: Lyrebird content: female, and the female also fosters the chick alone. A lyrebird's song is one of the more distinctive aspects of its behavioural biology. Lyrebirds sing throughout the year, but the peak of the breeding season, from June to August, is when they sing with the most intensity. During this peak they may sing for four hours of the day, almost half the hours of daylight. The song of the superb lyrebird is a mixture of elements of its own song and any number of other mimicked songs and noises. The lyrebird's syrinx is the most complexly-muscled of the passerines (songbirds),


title: Lyrebird content: giving the lyrebird extraordinary ability, unmatched in vocal repertoire and mimicry. Lyrebirds render with great fidelity the individual songs of other birds and the chatter of flocks of birds, and also mimic other animals such as koalas and dingoes. The lyrebird is capable of imitating almost any sound and they have been recorded mimicking human sounds such as a mill whistle, a cross-cut saw, chainsaws, car engines and car alarms, fire alarms, rifle-shots, camera shutters, dogs barking, crying babies, music, mobile phone ring tones, and even the human voice. However, while the mimicry of human noises is widely reported, the


title: Lyrebird content: extent to which it happens is exaggerated and the phenomenon is unusual. The superb lyrebird's mimicked calls are learned from the local environment, including from other superb lyrebirds. An instructive example is the population of superb lyrebirds in Tasmania, which have retained the calls of species not native to Tasmania in their repertoire, with some local Tasmanian endemic bird songs added. Young birds take about a year to perfect their mimicked repertoire. The female lyrebirds of both species are also mimics capable of complex vocalisations. Superb lyrebird females are often silent during courtship; however, they regularly produce sophisticated vocal displays


title: Lyrebird content: during foraging and nest defense. A recording of a superb lyrebird mimicking sounds of an electronic shooting game, workmen and chainsaws was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2013. One researcher, Sydney Curtis, has recorded flute-like lyrebird calls in the vicinity of the New England National Park. Similarly, in 1969, a park ranger, Neville Fenton, recorded a lyrebird song which resembled flute sounds in the New England National Park, near Dorrigo in northern coastal New South Wales. After much detective work by Fenton, it was discovered that in the 1930s, a flute player


title: Lyrebird content: living on a farm adjoining the park used to play tunes near his pet lyrebird. The lyrebird adopted the tunes into his repertoire, and retained them after release into the park. Neville Fenton forwarded a tape of his recording to Norman Robinson. Because a lyrebird is able to carry two tunes at the same time, Robinson filtered out one of the tunes and put it on the phonograph for the purposes of analysis. One witness suggested that the song represents a modified version of two popular tunes in the 1930s: "The Keel Row" and "Mosquito's Dance". Musicologist David Rothenberg has


title: Lyrebird content: endorsed this information. However, a “flute lyrebird” research group (including Curtis and Fenton) formed to investigate the veracity of this story found no evidence of “Mosquito Dance” and only remnants of “Keel Row” in contemporary and historical lyrebird recordings from this area. Neither were they able to prove that a lyrebird chick had been a pet, although they acknowledged compelling evidence on both sides of the argument. Lyrebirds are not endangered in the short to medium term. Albert's lyrebird has a very restricted habitat and had been listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, but because the species and its habitat


title: Lyrebird content: were carefully managed, the species was re-assessed to near threatened in 2009. The superb lyrebird, once seriously threatened by habitat destruction, is now classified as common. Even so, lyrebirds are vulnerable to cats and foxes, and it remains to be seen if habitat protection schemes will stand up to increased human population pressure. The lyrebird has been featured as a symbol and emblem many times, especially in New South Wales and Victoria (where the superb lyrebird has its natural habitat), and in Queensland (where Albert's lyrebird has its natural habitat). The lyrebird is so called because the male bird has


title: Lyrebird content: a spectacular tail, consisting of 16 highly modified feathers (two long slender "lyrates" at the centre of the plume, two broader "medians" on the outside edges and twelve "filamentaries" arrayed between them), which was originally thought to resemble a lyre. This happened when a superb lyrebird specimen (which had been taken from Australia to England during the early 19th century) was prepared for display at the British Museum by a taxidermist who had never seen a live lyrebird. The taxidermist mistakenly thought that the tail would resemble a lyre, and that the tail would be held in a similar way


title: Lyrebird content: to that of a peacock during courtship display, and so he arranged the feathers in this way. Later, John Gould (who had also never seen a live lyrebird), painted the lyrebird from the British Museum specimen. The male lyrebird's tail is not held as in John Gould's painting. Instead, the male lyrebird's tail is fanned over the lyrebird during courtship display, with the tail completely covering his head and back—as can be seen in the image in the 'breeding' section of this page, and also the image of the 10-cent coin, where the superb lyrebird's tail (in courtship display) is


title: Lyrebird content: portrayed accurately. Attenborough, D. 1998. "The Life of Birds." p. 212 Lyrebird A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus Menura, and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment, and the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in courtship display. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral-coloured tailfeathers and are among Australia's best-known native birds. The classification of lyrebirds was the subject of much debate after the first specimens reached European scientists after 1798.


title: "Camille Saint-Saëns" content: in 1893. He wrote one opera, the comedy "Phryné" (1893), and together with Paul Dukas helped to complete "Frédégonde" (1895) an opera left unfinished by Ernest Guiraud, who died in 1892. "Phryné" was well received, and prompted calls for more comic operas at the Opéra-Comique, which had latterly been favouring grand opera. His few choral and orchestral works from the 1890s are mostly short; the major concert pieces from the decade were the single movement fantasia "Africa" (1891) and his Fifth ("Egyptian") Piano Concerto, which he premiered at a concert in 1896 marking the fiftieth anniversary of his début at


title: "Camille Saint-Saëns" content: phrase, "supple and pliable", more often than not they are constructed in three- or four-bar sections, and the "phrase pattern AABB is characteristic". An occasional tendency to neoclassicism, influenced by his study of French baroque music, is in contrast with the colourful orchestral music more widely identified with him. "Grove" observes that he makes his effects more by characterful harmony and rhythms than by extravagant scoring. In both of those areas of his craft he was normally content with the familiar. Rhythmically, he inclined to standard double, triple or compound metres (although "Grove" points to a 5/4 passage in the


title: "River Thames" content: the Thames in "The Fire Sermon, Section III" of "The Waste Land". and The "Sweet Thames" line is taken from Edmund Spenser's "Prothalamion" which presents a more idyllic image: Also writing of the upper reaches is Matthew Arnold in "The Scholar Gypsy": Wendy Cope's poem 'After the Lunch' is set on Waterloo Bridge, beginning: Dylan Thomas mentions the Thames in his poem "A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London". "London's Daughter", the subject of the poem, lays "Deep with the first dead...secret by the unmourning water of the riding Thames". Science-fiction novels make liberal


title: Hereford content: Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester. With a population of 58,896, it is the largest settlement in the county. The name "Hereford" is said to come from the Anglo-Saxon "here", an army or formation of soldiers, and the "ford", a place for crossing a river. If this is the origin it suggests that Hereford was a place where a body of armed men forded or crossed the Wye. The Welsh name


title: Hereford content: for Hereford is "Henffordd", meaning "old road", and probably refers to the Roman road and Roman settlement at nearby Stretton Sugwas. Much of the county of Herefordshire was Welsh-speaking, as reflected in the Welsh names of many places in the county (see History of Herefordshire). An early town charter from 1189 granted by Richard I of England describes it as "Hereford in Wales". Hereford has been recognised as a city since time immemorial, with the status being reconfirmed as recently as October 2000. It is now known chiefly as a trading centre for a wider agricultural and rural area. Products


title: Hereford content: from Hereford include: cider, beer, leather goods, nickel alloys, poultry, chemicals, and cattle, including the famous Hereford breed. Hereford became the seat of Putta, Bishop of Hereford, some time between AD 676 and 688, after which the settlement continued to grow due to its proximity to the border between Mercia and Wales, becoming the Saxon capital of West Mercia by the beginning of the 8th century. Hostilities between the Anglo-Saxons and the Welsh came to a head with the Battle of Hereford in 760, in which the Britons freed themselves from the influence of the English. Hereford was again targeted


title: Hereford content: by the Welsh during their conflict with the Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor in AD 1056 when, supported by Viking allies, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd and Powys, marched on the town and put it to the torch before returning home in triumph. Hereford had the only mint west of the Severn in the reign of Athelstan (924–39), and it was to Hereford, then a border town, that Athelstan summoned the leading Welsh princes. The present Hereford Cathedral dates from the early 12th century, as does the first bridge across the Wye. Former Bishops of Hereford include Saint Thomas


title: Hereford content: de Cantilupe and Lord High Treasurer of England Thomas Charlton. The city gave its name to two suburbs of Paris, France: Maisons-Alfort (population 54,600) and Alfortville (population 36,232), due to a manor built there by Peter of Aigueblanche, Bishop of Hereford, in the middle of the 13th century. Hereford, a base for successive holders of the title Earl of Hereford, was once the site of a castle, Hereford Castle, which rivalled that of Windsor in size and scale. This was a base for repelling Welsh attacks and a secure stronghold for English kings such as King Henry IV when on


title: Hereford content: campaign in the Welsh Marches against Owain Glyndŵr. The castle was dismantled in the 18th century and landscaped into Castle Green. After the Battle of Mortimer's Cross in 1461, during the Wars of the Roses, the defeated Lancastrian leader Owen Tudor (grandfather of the future Henry VII of England) was taken to Hereford by Sir Roger Vaughan and executed in High Town. A plaque now marks the spot of the execution. Vaughan was later himself executed, under a flag of truce, by Owen's son Jasper. During the civil war the city changed hands several times. On 30 September 1642 Parliamentarians


title: Hereford content: led by Sir Robert Harley and Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford occupied the city without opposition. In December they withdrew to Gloucester because of the presence in the area of a Royalist army under Lord Herbert. The city was again occupied briefly from 23 April to 18 May 1643 by Parliamentarians commanded by Sir William Waller but it was in 1645 that the city saw most action. On 31 July 1645 a Scottish army of 14,000 under Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven besieged the city but met stiff resistance from its garrison and inhabitants. They withdrew on 1


title: Hereford content: September when they received news that a force led by King Charles was approaching. The city was finally taken for Parliament on 18 December 1645 by Colonel Birch and Colonel Morgan. King Charles showed his gratitude to the city of Hereford on 16 September 1645 by augmenting the city's coat of arms with the three lions of Richard I of England, ten Scottish Saltires signifying the ten defeated Scottish regiments, a very rare lion crest on top of the coat of arms signifying "defender of the faith" and the even rarer gold-barred peer's helm, found only on the arms of


title: Hereford content: one other municipal authority: those of the City of London. Nell Gwynne, actress and mistress of King Charles II, is said to have been born in Hereford in 1650 (although other towns and cities, notably Oxford, also claim her as their own); Gwynn Street is named after her. Another famous actor born in Hereford is David Garrick (1717–1779). The Bishop's Palace next to the Cathedral was built in 1204 and continually used to the present day. Hereford Cathedral School is also one of the oldest schools in England. The Harold Street Barracks were completed in 1856. During World War I,


title: Hereford content: in 1916, a fire at the Garrick Theatre killed eight young girls who had been performing at a charity concert. The main local government body covering Hereford is Herefordshire Council. Hereford has a "City Council" but this is actually a parish council with city status, and has only limited powers. Historically Hereford has been the county town of Herefordshire. In 1974 Herefordshire was merged with Worcestershire to become part of the county of Hereford and Worcester, and Hereford became a district of the new county. Hereford had formed a historic borough and was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835.


title: Hereford content: On 1 April 1998 the County of Hereford and Worcester was abolished, and Herefordshire and Worcestershire were re-established as separate counties, although with slightly altered borders. However the new Herefordshire was a unitary authority without any districts, and so Hereford lost its district status (although, confusingly, the authority's full legal name is the County of Herefordshire District Council). Charter Trustees were appointed to preserve mayoral traditions until a civil parish council could be set up, which happened in 2000. Hereford is one of only eight civil parishes in England which have city status. Hereford was the name of a parliamentary


title: Hereford content: constituency centring on the city, from 1295 to 2010, when it was renamed as Hereford and South Herefordshire. The current member of the House of Commons for Hereford and South Herefordshire is Jesse Norman of the Conservative Party. As with all of the UK, Hereford experiences a maritime climate, with limited seasonal temperature ranges, and generally moderate rainfall throughout the year. The nearest Met Office weather station for which 30-year averages are available is Credenhill weather station, about north east of the city centre. Before 2001, the weather station at Preston Wynne (7 miles, 11 km to the north-east) provided


title: Hereford content: the data. Since 2001, extremes at Hereford Credenhill have ranged from during July 2006, to as low as during December 2010. There have been plans for many years for a north–south bypass and currently the plan is for a nine-mile (14 km) dual carriageway; however, HM Government as yet has refused to grant permission or supply funds. However, as of April 2017, Herefordshire Council are doing work on a new Hereford Link Road. Until then the A49 Trunk Road, A465, and A438 continue to run through the city centre. Hereford has been named as the UK's second slowest city with


title: Hereford content: vehicles averaging speeds of 14.09 mph. Hereford is served by a 4-platform railway station on the Welsh Marches Line which opened in 1854. Services regularly connect to Worcester, Birmingham, London, Manchester, Cardiff and other settlements in Wales. The station is currently operated by Transport for Wales. A second station, Hereford Barton, was closed and later redeveloped. A new station is proposed for construction in the government-designated Enterprise zone in Rotherwas, south of the River Wye. In 1999, the British Army Special Air Service (SAS) moved from their base at Stirling Lines in Hereford since 1960 to a former Royal Air


title: Hereford content: Force base RAF Credenhill in Credenhill that had been redeveloped and was designated as Stirling Lines in 2000. The clock tower on which the names of deceased SAS soldiers are inscribed was re-located. The main public service employers in Hereford include: In 2005 Hereford was granted Fairtrade City status. Major employers in the city include: Other major companies based in Herefordshire include: Herefordshire is a global centre for cider production as it supports many acres of orchards, so many breweries and associated organisations exist here, along with other heavy and light industries. Within the city, many are based at the


title: Hereford content: Rotherwas Industrial Estate. Many of the schools in Hereford have been rebuilt and improved. The Herefordshire and Ludlow College has also been rebuilt to a 21st-century standard. A new NMITE (New Model in Technology and Engineering) university is also planned, which will teach STEM subjects and was stated to open in 2016, but is now due to intake the first cohort of students in 2019. There has also been a number of improvements at Hereford Sixth Form College, where a new business block extension was completed in 2013 and a new reception area was completed in 2015. Hereford benefitted from


title: Hereford content: the PFI reconstruction schemes for NHS hospitals, with the former County Hospital site having £60 million spent on a brand new, one-site hospital to replace the former 3 hospitals: the General, the Eye Hospital, and the County Hospital. The new Hereford County Hospital was the single largest investment in Herefordshire at that point. In 2015, further funds for more improvements at the hospital were granted. A major regeneration project is taking place in Hereford city centre, formerly known as the Edgar Street Grid. This covers an area of around just north of the old city walls. Work started on 8


title: Hereford content: October 2012, and should take around 15 years to complete the whole project. The regeneration includes the rebuilding of the canal basin at the end of the currently disused Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal. The £80 million phase 1 includes a supermarket, department store, multiplex cinema, shops, restaurants, and other facilities and opened in late Spring 2014. The Butter Market is also due for refurbishment and proposals are being examined. A proposed bypass has been drawn up to circulate the city, which suffers from rush hour traffic, with potential routes either to the east or west of the city. Both routes


title: Hereford content: would connect with the Rotherwas Access Road which was recently completed, connecting the Rotherwas Industrial Estate to the A49. Rotherwas itself has recently been awarded an Enterprise Zone status by the government which is expected to boost the economy and bring in thousands of new jobs. A second railway station for Hereford has been discussed, which would be situated in Rotherwas as part of the Enterprise Zone. Hereford is due to receive half of the 20,600 new homes expected to be built in the county by 2026 as part of the Regional Spatial Strategy. Hereford is the home of the


title: Hereford content: football club, Hereford FC and they play at Edgar Street in the National League North. They are a phoenix club that was set up in the wake of the demise of Hereford United Football Club in 2014. United were best known for beating Newcastle 2-1 in an FA Cup replay in January 1972, when they were still a non-league side and Newcastle were in the top division of English football. Other notable city clubs include Westfields and Pegasus Juniors. Hereford Rugby Club announced plans in 2012 for a major £6 million move to a new home. Hereford Hockey Club is


title: Hereford content: based at the Hereford City Sports Club, with teams entered into leagues in the West Hockey Association. The city is also home to Hereford Racecourse, a traditional National Hunt course to the north of the city centre which hosted around twenty meetings a year. The company who leased the site decided in 2012 that the site was not viable. What many thought to be the last meeting was held on 16 December 2012, however the course reopened for racing in October 2016. Many golf courses surround the city at Wormsley (Herefordshire GC), Burghill and Brockington. The racecourse surrounds a golf


title: Hereford content: course in Holmer. Hereford's public leisure facilities are managed by a not-for-profit trust called HALO Leisure, which runs the Hereford Leisure Centre (that includes huge sports halls, gymnasium, squash courts, and an outdoor athletics facility), and the Hereford Leisure Pool (which includes a gymnasium, full size swimming pool, leisure pool, diving pool, and learners pool). The Hereford Rowing Club (along with the Kayak Club) uses the River Wye; it is a popular club with a junior group. The stretch of river is also used for other water sports. Hereford has a nine pin skittle league, formed on 24 October 1902,


title: Hereford content: and today consists of five divisions. Hereford has other clubs and societies including the Railway Club, Welsh Club, Military Club, Richmond Place Club and the Whitecross Squash & Lawn Tennis Club. Hereford has several music clubs/societies such as Herefordshire Youth Orchestra, a group for those up to the age of 21 which anyone in and around the Herefordshire area can audition for. The orchestra is conducted by both Sir Richard Mynors and Hazel Davis. Plans are now in progress to create a new university in Hereford. Hereford is home to five colleges, including: The National School of Blacksmithing is the


title: Hereford content: oldest established Blacksmithing college in the UK, also the largest facility for training smiths in Europe. This is also part of HLC. Hereford's many secondary schools include: Primary schools in the city include Hereford Cathedral Junior School, a co-educational independent school. Hereford Cathedral Junior School is, with Hereford Cathedral School, part of the ancient Hereford Cathedral Foundation dating back to 676. The Junior School was founded as an independent school in 1898. The City's other primary schools are: Lord Scudamore Academy, St James C of E, St Francis Xavier R.C, Trinity, Holmer C of E, Marlbrook, Riverside, St Martin's, Broadlands,


title: Hereford content: Riverside, Hampton Dene and St Paul's C of E. In early 2008, Herefordshire Council and NHS Herefordshire became the first local authority and Primary Care Trust to form a new kind of partnership. The major hospital in Hereford is the Hereford County Hospital. Ambulance services are provided by the West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The Midlands Air Ambulance charity provides air ambulance services across Herefordshire. A private national firm operates a hospital in Hereford, and the city is well populated with council-funded, private and charity based nursing, residential and other elderly care homes and facilities. Farming has played a


title: Hereford content: major part in the history of the county of Herefordshire, and for many years the City of Hereford was the epicentre, playing host to the Cattle Market; a major market site. With the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak the market suffered with trade reduced. Established by Act of Parliament, the market had to be provided, and so a Bill was introduced in 2003 to move the site to the outskirts of the city. The inner city site would then be available for redevelopment, a process that has now finished. The new Hereford Cattle Market opened its doors in August 2011 on the


title: Hereford content: site just outside the city and has already proved so successful that trading and business is up on the previous site's record. The annual Three Choirs Festival, originating in the 18th century and one of the oldest music festivals in the British Isles, is held in Hereford every third year, the other venues being Gloucester and Worcester. Composer Sir Edward Elgar lived at Plas Gwyn, Eign Hill, in Hereford between 1904 and 1911, writing some of his most famous works during that time. He is commemorated with a statue on the Cathedral Close. One of his Enigma Variations was inspired


title: Hereford content: by a bulldog named Dan falling into the River Wye at Hereford, and the dog is similarly honoured with a wooden statue beside the river. Not long after moving into the city he was (despite not being a city council member) offered but declined the office of mayor of the city. He also visited the city as a conductor at the Three Choirs Festival, the last occasion in 1933 prior to his death. Hereford is home to the Hereford Police Male Voice Choir who competed on the BBC TV show "Last Choir Standing", and the Railway Choir. A charity music


title: Hereford content: school is also based in Hereford. The hymn tune ‘Hereford’ was written by Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876). He was an organist at Hereford Cathedral (1832-1835). This tune is often sung to the words ‘O Thou who camest from above’. H.Art, or Herefordshire Art Week, is an annual county-wide exhibition held in September, displaying the work of local artists. Many places usually closed to the public are opened during this week, such as the Bishop's Palace at the Cathedral. Polish-born sculptor Walenty Pytel has had studios in Hereford since 1963 after training at Hereford College of Art. There is a statue


title: Hereford content: of a Bronze Hereford bull designed by Brian Alabaster ARBS in front of The Old House The troops of the fictional commando squad Rainbow were based at RAF Hereford, as detailed in the novel "Rainbow Six". The action of the fictional novels and The last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde take place in Hereford. Phil Rickman's "Merrily Watkins" series of supernatural and mystery novels is set in and around Hereford. Comedy writer Aaron Gillies began writing using Twitter while working as a sound technician at The Courtyard. The local radio stations are Free Radio (formerly known as Wyvern FM) which broadcasts


title: Hereford content: on 97.6-96.7-102.8 FM, Sunshine Radio on 106.2 FM, BBC Hereford and Worcester which broadcasts on 94.7FM, Like Radio Like Music, Like Radio. Digital Radio Station available on DAB, Online and On The Go. The station covers Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Birmingham. The Hereford Times is the city's only remaining weekly local newspaper as the 'Hereford Journal' ceased publication on 11 June 2014 and the 'Hereford admag' ceased publication in September 2018. Local TV content is currently provided by BBC Midlands Today and ITV Central News. The city's main theatre and cultural venue is the Courtyard Centre for the Arts


title: Hereford content: which was opened in 1998, replacing the New Hereford Theatre. There is also a multi screen Odeon cinema in the Old Market precinct. MFA Bowl (formerly known as TGS), home to a Ten Pin Bowling alley and Mini Golf course is located near the railway station. There is also a dedicated Skatepark on Holmer Road. John Kemble, Catholic priest and martyr, was born near Hereford. Nell Gwyn, David Garrick and Sarah Siddons, actors and actresses, are all historical figures popularly associated with Hereford. Major-General Stringer Lawrence, first commander-in-chief of British troops in India, under whose command Robert Clive served, was


title: Hereford content: born in Hereford. Broadcaster Gilbert Harding was born there when his father was master of the local workhouse, as was contemporary actress Beryl Reid. The original lineup of The Pretenders, with the exception of lead singer Chrissie Hynde, were from Hereford, as were the rock band Mott the Hoople. Frank Oz, puppeteer for "The Muppets" and Yoda of "Star Wars" was born in Hereford and lived there for the first five years of his life. Footballer Connor Wickham was born in the city. Ellie Goulding, pop singer and songwriter was born in Hereford. Hereford is the current home of television


title: Hereford content: personality, Wincey Willis. The highwayman William Spiggot declared before his execution to the Ordinary's Accounts of Newgate Prison in London that he was the son of an innkeeper from Hereford. The Old House, Hereford is an historic black and white house in the centre of High Town in Hereford City. It is now a museum about life in the Jacobean era of the 1600s when it was built. The Hereford Museum and Art Gallery, housed in a Victorian Gothic building and opened in 1874, presents artefacts, fine art, and decorative art associated with the local area. The Hereford Cider Museum