Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. Alaska is the 4th least populous and the least densely populated of the 50 United States. Approximately half of Alaska’s 722,718 residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area.

Alaska was purchased from Russia on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million ($113 million in today’s dollars) at approximately two cents per acre ($4.74/km²). The land went through several administrative changes before becoming an organized (or incorporated) territory on May 11, 1912, and the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959.

The name “Alaska” (Аляска) was already introduced in the Russian colonial period, when it was used only for the peninsula and is derived from the Aleut alaxsxaq, meaning “the mainland” or, more literally, “the object towards which the action of the sea is directed”. It is also known as Alyeska, the “great land”, an Aleut word derived from the same root.

Alaska Travel

JUNEAU

The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900. The municipality unified in 1970 when the city of Juneau merged with the city of Douglas and the surrounding Greater Juneau Borough to form the current home rule municipality.

The area of Juneau is larger than that of Rhode Island and Delaware individually and almost as large as the two states combined. Downtown Juneau 58°18′07″N 134°25′11″W is nestled at the base of Mount Juneau and across the channel from Douglas Island. As of the 2010 census, the City and Borough had a population of 31,275.

Juneau is named after gold prospector Joe Juneau, though the place was for a time called Rockwell and then Harrisburg (after Juneau’s co-prospector, Richard Harris). The Tlingit name of the town is Dzántik’i Héeni (“river where the flounders gather”), and Auke Bay just north of Juneau proper is called Aak’w (“little lake”) in Tlingit. The Taku River, just south of Juneau, was named after the cold t’aakh wind, which occasionally blows down from the mountains.

Downtown Juneau sits at sea level, with tides averaging 16 feet (5 m), below steep mountains about 3,500 feet (1,100 m) to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) high. Atop these mountains is the Juneau Icefield, a large ice mass from which about 30 glaciers flow; two of these, the Mendenhall Glacier and the Lemon Creek Glacier, are visible from the local road system; the Mendenhall glacier has been generally retreating; its front face is declining both in width and height.

The Alaska State Capitol in downtown Juneau was originally built as the Federal and Territorial Building in 1931. Prior to statehood, it housed federal government offices, the federal courthouse and a post office. It also housed the territorial legislature and many other territorial offices, including that of the governor. Today, it is still the home of the state legislature and the offices of the governor and lieutenant governor. Other executive branch offices have largely moved elsewhere, in Juneau or elsewhere in the state, in the ongoing battle between branches for space in the building, as well as the decades-long capital move issue. Recent discussion has been focused between relocating the seat of state government outside of Juneau and building a new capitol building in Juneau. Neither position has advanced very far. The Alaska Committee, a local community advocacy group, has led efforts to thus far keep the capital in Juneau.

TEMPERATURE

Southeast

The climate in Juneau and the southeast panhandle is best described as “a cooler version of Seattle.” It is a mid-latitude oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) in the southern sections and a sub Arctic oceanic climate (Köppen Cfc) in the northern parts. On an annual basis, this is both the wettest and warmest part of Alaska with milder temperatures in the winter and high precipitation throughout the year. This is also the only region in Alaska in which the average daytime high temperature is above freezing during the winter months.

South

The climate in south central Alaska, with Anchorage as a typical city, is mild by Alaskan standards. This is due in large part to its proximity to the coast. While it does not get nearly as much rain as the southeast of Alaska, it does get more snow, although days tend to be clearer here. It is a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) due to its short, cool summers. There are frequent , strong southeast winds known as the Knik wind in the vicinity of Palmer, especially in the winter months.

West

The climate of Western Alaska is determined largely by the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. It is a subarctic oceanic climate in the southwest and a continental subarctic climate farther north. The temperature is somewhat moderate considering how far north the area is. This area has a tremendous amount of variety, especially when considering precipitation. The northern side of the Seward Peninsula is technically a desert with less than 10 inches (254 mm) of precipitation annually, while some locations between Dillingham and Bethel average around 100 inches (2,540 mm) of precipitation.

Interior

The climate of the interior of Alaska is best described as extreme and is the best example of a true subarctic climate. Some of the hottest and coldest temperatures in Alaska occur around the area near Fairbanks. The summers can have temperatures reaching into the 90s °F (near 34 °C), while in the winter, the temperature can fall below −60 °F (−51.1 °C).

North

The climate in the extreme north of Alaska is what would be expected for an area north of the Arctic Circle. It is an Arctic climate (Köppen ET) with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. Even in July, the average low temperature is barely above freezing in Barrow, at 34 °F (1.1 °C).

Extremes

The highest and lowest recorded temperatures in Alaska are both in the Interior. The highest is 100 °F (37.8 °C) in Fort Yukon on June 27, 1915. The lowest Alaska temperature is −80 °F (−62.2 °C) in Prospect Creek on January 23, 1971, one °F (1 °C) above the lowest temperature recorded in continental North America (in Snag, Yukon, Canada). Alaska also holds the extreme US record low temperatures for every month except July and August.

Family Vacation Guide Family travel guide.

Tanzania is probably one of the oldest known inhabited areas on Earth; fossil remains of humans and pre-human hominids have been found dating back over two million years. More recently, Tanzania is believed to have been populated by hunter-gatherer communities, probably Cushitic and Khoisan speaking people. About 2,000 years ago, Bantu-speaking people began to arrive from western Africa in a series of migrations. Later, Nilotic pastoralists arrived, and continued to immigrate into the area through to the 18th century.^[9]

Travellers and merchants from the Persian Gulf and western India have visited the East African coast since early in the first millennium AD. Islam was practised on the Swahili Coast as early as the eighth or ninth century AD.^[10]

Claiming the coastal strip, Omani Sultan Seyyid Said moved his capital to Zanzibar City in 1840. During this time, Zanzibar became the centre for the Arab slave trade.^[11] Between 65% to 90% of the population of Arab-Swahili Zanzibar was enslaved.^[12] One of the most famous slave traders on the East African coast was Tippu Tip, who was himself the grandson of an enslaved African. The Nyamwezi slave traders operated under the leadership of Msiri and Mirambo.^[13] According to Timothy Insoll, “Figures record the exporting of 718,000 slaves from the Swahili coast during the 19th century, and the retention of 769,000 on the coast.”^[14]

In the late 19th century, Imperial Germany conquered the regions that are now Tanzania (minus Zanzibar), Rwanda, and Burundi, and incorporated them into German East Africa. During World War I, an invasion attempt by the British was thwarted by German General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, who then mounted a drawn out guerrilla campaign against the British. The post–World War I accords and the League of Nations charter designated the area a British Mandate, except for a small area in the northwest, which was ceded to Belgium and later became Rwanda and Burundi, as well as a small area in the southeast (Kionga Triangle), incorporated to Portuguese East Africa (later Mozambique).

British rule came to an end in 1961 after a relatively peaceful (compared with neighbouring Kenya, for instance) transition to independence. In 1954, Julius Nyerere transformed an organization into the politically oriented Tanganyika African National Union (TANU). TANU’s main objective was to achieve national sovereignty for Tanganyika. A campaign to register new members was launched, and within a year TANU had become the leading political organization in the country.

Economy

The economy is mostly based on agriculture, which accounts for more than half of the GDP, provides 75 percent (approximately) of exports, and employs approximately 75 percent of the workforce. Topography and climate, though, limit cultivated crops to only 4 percent of the land area.

The nation has many natural resources including minerals, natural gas, and tourism. Extraction of natural gas began in the 2000s. Gas is drawn into the commercial capital, Dar Es Salaam and exported to various markets overseas. The mineral sector started to pick-up slowly in the late 90s, major discoveries are announced regularly. However, the mineral sector has yet to start contributing significantly to the overall Tanzanian economy. On the other hand, the contribution of the tourism sector to the Tanzanian economy is steadily rising year after year.

Industry is mainly limited to processing agricultural products and light consumer goods. Tanzania has vast amounts of minerals including gold, diamonds, coal, iron, uranium, nickel, chrome, tin, platinum, coltan, niobium, and other minerals. It is the third-largest producer of gold in Africa after South Africa and Ghana. Tanzania is also known for Tanzanite, a type of precious gemstone that is found only in Tanzania.

Geography

At 947,300 km²,^[21] Tanzania is the world’s 31st-largest country. Compared to other African countries, it is slightly smaller than Egypt and comparable in size to Nigeria. It lies mostly between latitudes 1° and 12°S, and longitudes 29° and 41°E.

Tanzania is mountainous in the northeast, where Mount Kilimanjaro,^[22] Africa’s highest peak, is situated. To the north and west are the Great Lakes of Lake Victoria (Africa’s largest lake) and Lake Tanganyika (Africa’s deepest lake, known for its unique species of fish). Central Tanzania comprises a large plateau, with plains and arable land. The eastern shore is hot and humid, with the island of Zanzibar lying just offshore.

Tanzania contains many large and ecologically significant wildlife parks,^[23] including the famous Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti National Park^[24] in the north, and Selous Game Reserve and Mikumi National Park in the south. Gombe National Park in the west is known as the site of Dr. Jane Goodall’s studies of chimpanzee behaviour.

The government of Tanzania through its department of tourism has embarked on a campaign to promote the Kalambo water falls in the southwestern region of Rukwa as one of Tanzania’s main tourist destinations.^[25][26] The Kalambo Falls are the second highest in Africa and are located near the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika. The Menai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibar’s largest marine protected area.

Climate

Tanzania has a tropical climate. In the highlands, temperatures range between (10 and 20 °C (50 and 68 °F)) during cold and hot seasons respectively. The rest of the country has temperatures rarely falling lower than 20 °C (68 °F). The hottest period extends between November and February (25–31 °C / 77–87.8 °F while the coldest period occurs between May and August (15–20 °C / 59–68 °F). Annual temperature is 32 °C (89.6 °F). The climate is cool in high mountainous regions.

Tanzania has two major rainfall regions. One is uni-modal (December–April) and the other is bi-modal (October–December and March–May). The former is experienced in southern, south-west, central and western parts of the country, and the latter is found to the north and northern coast.

In the bi-modal regime the March–May rains are referred to as the long rains or Masika, whereas the October–December rains are generally known as short rains or Vuli. As this country lies in equator here the climate is hot and humid. The easterlies winds cause rainfall in the eastern coastal region.

Tanzania Travel

Tanzania is such an ideal travel destination for every tourist. It is an amazing land full of both natural and cultural wonders that amazes every tourist and makes Travel to Tanzania is an incredible experience. Several travel agencies offer packaged tours to the visitors. Tanzania exactly where you could possibly select the specified package deal together with your discretion. Tanzania has a lot of destinations to indicate you and you could possibly have unforgettable style and memory of every place. The reality that it is the most renowned tourist destination is proved perfect by the increasing number of tourists that visit the country every year.

hostel madrid – Welcome to Equity Point – your top site for high quality and economic hotels in Barcelona, Girona, Madrid, Marrakech, London, Lisboa and now our new hotel in New York.

Sedona is a magnificent and sedona tours we are proud to call home.

apartments buenos aires Furnished apartments in Buenos Aires for temporary rental and rent in Buenos Aires Apartments. Short and Long Terms stay.

car hire murcia airport – Rent a car in Mallorca with RentSpain and explore this ancient Mediterranean island in your own time. We have great offers and promotions all year round.

heli skiing | Dream Car Rental Los Angeles | Plan Your Tirp to China – Top China tour operator providing high quality China tours and travel service. Specialized in Tailor-Made and Customized your own tirp to China for personal, family and group!

Budapest Airport is the main airport in Hungary, serving the capital city and the surrounding region. There are about five more international airports located in the country, but Budapest Airport is by far the largest. Connections between Hungary and other European cities are the main flights from the airport, but there are also routes to intercontinental destinations, such as Africa, North America and Asia.

The airport is often referred to as Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, being named after the famous composer to honour his 200th birthday. It is found just 16kms from the middle of Budapest. The latest statistics showed a total passenger number of more than eight million tourists.

The facility is operated by the Budapest Ferihegy International Airport Operating Plc, and has been running since 1944. It is a public airport that is the base airport hub for Malev Airlines, Travel Service and Wizz Air. Malev Hungarian Airlines is the national carrier for Hungary.

Whether visitors are first time patrons of the airport, or travellers that regularly pass through the halls of Budapest Ferihegy, the following information will certainly help take the worry out of being in the facility.

There are three terminals located at the airport.

Terminal 1
The Terminal 1 building is quite unique, as it is designed in the shape of an aircraft. It is mainly used for low-cost flights and budget carriers, but both Schengen and non-Schengen flights are offered. This terminal is actually not located on-site with Terminal 2. It is found closer to Budapest but can be reached from the other terminals by bus. It is much older than the other airport site, but still accommodates quite a large number of people.

Upon arrival at the terminal, visitors will enter the ground floor. Patrons will find the check-in area as they pass through the entrance of the terminal. The rest of the airport is split into two areas by a large glass wall. These two areas are the Schengen and non-Schengen zones. There are shopping stores and restaurants located in both zones, before and after the security check. In addition to food and shopping services, others include automatic teller machines, restrooms, water fountains and wireless internet.

Terminal 2A
Built in 1985 but refurbished in the late 1990′s, Terminal 2A is found on the main site of the airport. It was originally designed to accommodate flights only from Malev Hungarian Airlines, but in 2008, when the Schengen Agreement came into affect, the terminal served all international flights by non-budget carriers that came from Schengen member countries.

The terminal contains many basic services and amenities for passenger satisfaction. Restrooms, water fountains, restaurants, shops, and car rental are all available from the terminal. In addition, Budapest Airport hotels are found just a short bus ride from he terminal.

Terminal 2B
Like Terminal 2A, this terminal is designed for specific flights. All non-Schengen flights that are operated by large national carriers fly into Terminal 2B, which was built in the year 2008. It is actually connected to Terminal 2A through the Sky Terminal, which contains most of the shops and restaurants located at the collaborated Terminal 2. Despite the fact that the two terminals are connected, they are considered to be separate terminals.

The Sky Terminal is found on the mezzanine level, between terminals 2A and 2B. Some of the restaurants found in the terminal include Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, Yumcha and Upper Crust.

On the ground floor of the terminals, visitors will find the transportation options available for patrons, including buses, taxis, and car rental. Some of the car rental companies located in the terminal include Hertz, Sixt, Budge and Avis – all reliable and world renowned services.

Din fest bliver mere vellykket, når du holder den på Sølyst. Skal du holde et brag af en fest – så er Sølyst det helt rigtige sted. Historiske lokaler, dejlig mad og skøn natur.

Great car services from airport: Autovermietung Düsseldorf Flughafen.

Villas in Florida – Welcome to Floridavilladreams, the internets premium resource for holiday makers looking to book a villa holiday in Florida.

sell house fast | whole life insurance | Life Insurance Quotes | posicionamiento en Google Posicionamiento en Google al precio mejor del mercado.
Relevant Life Insurance

About 10,000 years ago, migrating Native Americans settled in fertile valleys and coastal areas of what is present-day Chile. Example settlement sites from the very early human habitation are Monte Verde, Cueva del Milodon and the Pali Aike Crater’s lava tube. The Incas briefly extended their empire into what is now northern Chile, but the Mapuche (or Araucanians as they were known by the Spaniards) successfully resisted many attempts by the Inca Empire to subjugate them, despite their lack of state organization.^[20] They fought against the Sapa Inca Tupac Yupanqui and his army. The result of the bloody three-day confrontation known as the Battle of the Maule was that the Inca conquest of the territories of Chile ended at the Maule river.^[21]

In 1520, while attempting to circumnavigate the earth, Ferdinand Magellan discovered the southern passage now named after him, the Strait of Magellan. The next Europeans to reach Chile were Diego de Almagro and his band of Spanish conquistadors, who came from Peru in 1535 seeking gold. The Spanish encountered various cultures that supported themselves principally through slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting. The conquest of Chile began in earnest in 1540 and was carried out by Pedro de Valdivia, one of Francisco Pizarro’s lieutenants, who founded the city of Santiago on February 12, 1541. Although the Spanish did not find the extensive gold and silver they sought, they recognized the agricultural potential of Chile’s central valley, and Chile became part of the Spanish Empire.^[21]

Pedro de Valdivia

Bernardo O’Higgins, Supreme Director of Chile

Conquest of the land took place gradually, and the Europeans suffered repeated setbacks at the hands of the local population. A massive Mapuche insurrection that began in 1553 resulted in Valdivia’s death and the destruction of many of the colony’s principal settlements. Subsequent major insurrections took place in 1598 and in 1655. Each time the Mapuche and other native groups revolted, the southern border of the colony was driven northward. The abolition of slavery by the Spanish crown in 1683 was done in recognition that enslaving the Mapuche intensified resistance rather than cowing them into submission. Despite the royal prohibitions relations remained strained from continual colonialist interference.^[22]

Cut off to the north by desert, to the south by the Mapuche, to the east by the Andes Mountains, and to the west by the ocean, Chile became one of the most centralized, homogeneous colonies in Spanish America. Serving as a sort of frontier garrison, the colony found itself with the mission of forestalling encroachment by both the Mapuche and Spain’s European enemies, especially the British and the Dutch. Buccaneers and English adventurers menaced the colony in addition to the Mapuche, as was shown by Sir Francis Drake’s 1578 raid on Valparaíso, the colony’s principal port. Chile hosted one of the largest standing armies in the Americas, making it one of the most militarized of the Spanish possessions, as well as a drain on the treasury of the Viceroyalty of Peru.^[16]

The first general census was performed by the government of Agustín de Jáuregui between 1777 and 1778; it indicated that the population consisted of 259,646 inhabitants: 73.5% of European descent, 7.9% mestizos, 8.6% Indians and 9.8% blacks. Francisco Hurtado, Governor of the province of Chiloé, conducted a census there in 1784 and found the population consisted of 26,703 inhabitants, 64.4% of which were whites and 33.5% of which were natives.

The Diocese of Concepción conducted a census of areas south of the Maule river in 1812, but did not include the indigenous population or the inhabitants of the province of Chiloé. The population is estimated at 210,567, 86.1% of which were Spanish or of European descent, 10% of which were Indians and 3.7% of which were mestizos, blacks and mulattos.^[23]

Independence

The usurpation of the Spanish throne by Napoleon’s brother Joseph in 1808 precipitated the drive by the colony for independence from Spain. A national junta in the name of Ferdinand – heir to the deposed king – was formed on September 18, 1810. The Government Junta of Chile proclaimed Chile an autonomous republic within the Spanish monarchy (in memory of this day Chile celebrates its National Day on September 18 each year). After these events, a movement for total independence, under the command of José Miguel Carrera (one of the most renowned patriots) and his two brothers Juan José and Luis Carrera, soon gained a wider following. Spanish attempts to re-impose arbitrary rule during what was called the Reconquista led to a prolonged struggle, including infighting from Bernardo O’Higgins, who challenged Carrera’s leadership.

Intermittent warfare continued until 1817. With Carrera in prison in Argentina, O’Higgins and anti-Carrera cohort José de San Martín, hero of the Argentine War of Independence, led an army that crossed the Andes into Chile and defeated the royalists. On February 12, 1818, Chile was proclaimed an independent republic. The political revolt brought little social change, however, and 19th century Chilean society preserved the essence of the stratified colonial social structure, which was greatly influenced by family politics and the Roman Catholic Church. A strong presidency eventually emerged, but wealthy landowners remained powerful.^[21]

War of the Pacific: The Battle of Iquique on May 21, 1879

Toward the end of the 19th century, the government in Santiago consolidated its position in the south by suppressing the Mapuche during the Occupation of Araucanía. A treaty with Argentina confirming Chilean sovereignty over the Strait of Magellan was signed in 1881. As a result of the War of the Pacific with Peru and Bolivia (1879–83), Chile expanded its territory northward by almost one-third, eliminating Bolivia’s access to the Pacific, and acquired valuable nitrate deposits, the exploitation of which led to an era of national affluence.

The Chilean Civil War in 1891 brought about a redistribution of power between the President and Congress, and Chile established a parliamentary style democracy. However, the Civil War had also been a contest between those who favored the development of local industries and powerful Chilean banking interests, particularly the House of Edwards who had strong ties to foreign investors.

20th century

The Chilean economy partially degenerated into a system protecting the interests of a ruling oligarchy. By the 1920s, the emerging middle and working classes were powerful enough to elect a reformist president, Arturo Alessandri, whose program was frustrated by a conservative congress. In the 1920s, Marxist groups with strong popular support arose.^[21]

A military coup led by General Luis Altamirano in 1924 set off a period of great political instability that lasted until 1932. The longest lasting of the ten governments between those years was that of General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, who briefly held power in 1925 and then again between 1927 and 1931 in what was a de facto dictatorship, although not really comparable in harshness or corruption to the type of military dictatorship that has often bedeviled the rest of Latin America .^[24][25] By relinquishing power to a democratically elected successor, Ibáñez del Campo retained the respect of a large enough segment of the population to remain a viable politician for more than thirty years, in spite of the vague and shifting nature of his ideology. When constitutional rule was restored in 1932, a strong middle-class party, the Radicals, emerged. It became the key force in coalition governments for the next 20 years. During the period of Radical Party dominance (1932–52), the state increased its role in the economy. In 1952, voters returned Ibáñez del Campo to office for another six years. Jorge Alessandri succeeded Ibáñez del Campo in 1958, bringing Chilean conservatism back into power democratically for another term.

The 1964 presidential election of Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Montalva by an absolute majority initiated a period of major reform. Under the slogan “Revolution in Liberty”, the Frei administration embarked on far-reaching social and economic programs, particularly in education, housing, and agrarian reform, including rural unionization of agricultural workers. By 1967, however, Frei encountered increasing opposition from leftists, who charged that his reforms were inadequate, and from conservatives, who found them excessive. At the end of his term, Frei had not fully achieved his party’s ambitious goals.^[21]

President Salvador Allende

In the 1970 election, Senator Salvador Allende of the Socialist Party of Chile (part of the “Popular Unity” coalition which included the Communists, Radicals, Social-Democrats, dissident Christian Democrats, the Popular Unitary Action Movement, and the Independent Popular Action),^[21] achieved a partial majority in a plurality of votes in a three-way contest, followed by candidates Radomiro Tomic for the Christian Democrat Party and Jorge Alessandri for the Conservative Party. Allende was not elected with an absolute majority, receiving fewer than 35% of votes. It became a war of classes, motivated by the central government. Despite pressure from the United States government, the Chilean Congress conducted a runoff vote between the leading candidates, Allende and former president Jorge Alessandri and keeping with tradition, chose Allende by a vote of 153 to 35. Frei refused to form an alliance with Alessandri to oppose Allende, on the grounds that the Christian Democrats were a workers party and could not make common cause with the right-wing.^[26][27]

An economic depression that began in 1972 was exacerbated by capital flight, plummeting private investment, and withdrawal of bank deposits in response to Allende’s socialist program. Production fell and unemployment rose. Allende adopted measures including price freezes, wage increases, and tax reforms, to increase consumer spending and redistribute income downward.^[28] Joint public-private public works projects helped reduce unemployment.^{[29][page needed]} Much of the banking sector was nationalized. Many enterprises within the copper, coal, iron, nitrate, and steel industries were expropriated, nationalized, or subjected to state intervention. Industrial output increased sharply and unemployment fell during the Allende administration’s first year.^[29]

Augusto Pinochet

Allende’s program included advancement of workers’ interests,^[29][30] replacing the judicial system with “socialist legality”,^[31] nationalization of banks and forcing others to bankruptcy,^[32] and strengthening “popular militias” known as MIR.^[32] Started under former President Frei, the Popular Unity platform also called for nationalization of Chile’s major copper mines in the form of a constitutional amendment. The measure was passed unanimously by Congress. As a result,^[33] the Richard Nixon administration organized and inserted secret operatives in Chile, in order to quickly destabilize Allende’s government.^[34] In addition, American financial pressure restricted international economic credit to Chile.^[35] The economic problems were also exacerbated by Allende’s public spending which was financed mostly by printing money and poor credit ratings given by commercial banks.^[36] Simultaneously, opposition media, politicians, business guilds and other organizations helped to accelerate a campaign of domestic political and economical destabilization, some of which was helped by the United States.^[35][37] By early 1973, inflation was out of control. The crippled economy was further battered by prolonged and sometimes simultaneous strikes by physicians, teachers, students, truck owners, copper workers, and the small business class. On 26 May 1973, Chile’s Supreme Court, which was opposed to Allende’s government, unanimously denounced the Allende disruption of the legality of the nation. Although illegal under the Chilean constitution, the court supported and strengthened Pinochet’s seizure of power.^[32][38]

Finally, a military coup overthrew Allende on September 11, 1973. As the armed forces bombarded the presidential palace, Allende apparently committed suicide.^[39][40] A military junta, led by General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, took over control of the country. The first years of the regime were marked by human rights violations. On October 1973, at least 72 people were murdered by the Caravan of Death.^[41] According to the Rettig Report and Valech Commission, at least 2,115 were killed,^[42] and at least 27,265 ^[43] were tortured (including 88 children younger than 12 years old).^[43] A new Constitution was approved by a controversial plebiscite on September 11, 1980, and General Pinochet became president of the republic for an 8-year term. After Pinochet obtained rule of the country, several hundred committed Chilean revolutionaries joined the Sandinista army in Nicaragua, guerrilla forces in Argentina or training camps in Cuba, Eastern Europe and Northern Africa.^[44]

In the late 1980s, largely as a result of events such as the 1982 economic collapse^[45] and mass civil resistance in 1983–88, the government gradually permitted greater freedom of assembly, speech, and association, to include trade union and political activity.^[46] The government launched market-oriented reforms with Hernán Büchi as Minister of Finance, but poverty levels continued growing.^[47] Chile moved toward a free market economy that saw an increase in domestic and foreign private investment, although the copper industry and other important mineral resources were not opened for competition. In a plebiscite on October 5, 1988, General Pinochet was denied a second 8-year term as president (56% against 44%). Chileans elected a new president and the majority of members of a two-chamber congress on December 14, 1989. Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin, the candidate of a coalition of 17 political parties called the Concertación, received an absolute majority of votes (55%).^[48] President Aylwin served from 1990 to 1994, in what was considered a transition period.

In December 1993, Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, the son of previous president Eduardo Frei Montalva, led the Concertación coalition to victory with an absolute majority of votes (58%).^[49]

21st century

All five Chilean presidents since 1990.

Frei Ruiz-Tagle was succeeded in 2000 by Socialist Ricardo Lagos, who won the presidency in an unprecedented runoff election against Joaquín Lavín of the rightist Alliance for Chile.^[50] In January 2006, Chileans elected their first female president, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, of the Socialist Party, defeating Sebastián Piñera, of the National Renewal party, extending the Concertación government for another four years.^[51][52] In January 2010, Chileans elected Sebastián Piñera, of the National Renewal party, as the first rightist President in 20 years, defeating former President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle of the Concertación, for a four-year term succeeding Bachelet.

On February 27, 2010, Chile was struck by an 8.8 M_W earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded in the world. As many as 500 people died; hundreds of thousands of buildings were damaged. The earthquake was also followed by multiple aftershocks.^[53] Initial damage estimates were in the range of US$15–30 billion, around 10% to 15% of Chile real gross domestic product.^[54] On March 11, 2010, a 6.9-magnitude earthquake occurred southwest of Pichilemu, O’Higgins Region. The earthquake was felt across much of Chile.^[55]

On August 5, 2010 an access tunnel caved in at the San José copper and gold mine. 33 miners were trapped 700 meters underground. The miners were discovered alive on August 22; it took nearly two more months before an escape path could be created to rescue the miners. In a 24-hour period between October 12 and 13, more than 1 billion people watched the culmination of the two-month rescue live on television networks around the world. The survival of the San José miners surpasses a 25-day rescue of three coal miners from a flooded mine in Guizhou, China, in 2009.

Geography

Parinacota Volcano in northern Chile

A long and narrow coastal Southern Cone country on the west side of the Andes Mountains, Chile stretches over 4,630 kilometres (2,880 mi) north to south, but only 430 kilometres (265 mi) at its widest point east to west. This encompasses a remarkable variety of landscapes. It contains 756,950 square kilometres (292,260 sq mi) of land area. It is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire. Including its offshore islands, but excluding its Antarctic claim, Chile lies between latitudes 17° and 56°S, and longitudes 66° and 81°W.

The northern Atacama Desert contains great mineral wealth, primarily copper and nitrates. The relatively small Central Valley, which includes Santiago, dominates the country in terms of population and agricultural resources. This area also is the historical center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century, when it integrated the northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests, grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. The Andes Mountains are located on the eastern border. Chile is the longest north-south country in the world, and also claims 1,250,000 km² (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica as part of its territory. However, this latter claim is suspended under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty, of which Chile is a signatory.^[66]

Chile controls Easter Island and Sala y Gómez Island, the easternmost islands of Polynesia, which it incorporated to its territory in 1888, and Robinson Crusoe Island, more than 600 kilometres (370 mi) from the mainland, in the Juan Fernández Islands. Easter Island is today a province of Chile. Also controlled but only temporarily inhabited (by some local fishermen) are the small islands of Sala y Gómez, San Ambrosio and San Felix. These islands are notable because they extend Chile’s claim to territorial waters out from its coast into the Pacific.^[67]

Climate

The climate of Chile comprises a wide range of weather conditions across a large geographic scale, extending across 38 degrees in latitude, making generalisations difficult. According to the Köppen system, Chile within its borders hosts at least seven major climatic subtypes, ranging from desert in the north, to alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and south east, humid subtropical in Easter Island, Oceanic in the south and Mediterranean climate in central Chile. There are four seasons in most of the country: summer (December to February), autumn (March to May), winter (June to August), and spring (September to November).

Biodiversity

A glacier at Beagle Channel in southern Chile

Juan Fernández Firecrown

Animals

Chile’s geographical isolation also has restricted the immigration of faunal life, so that only a few of the many distinctive Latin American animals are found. Among the larger mammals are the puma or cougar, the llama-like Guanaco and the fox-like chilla. In the forest region, several types of marsupials and a small deer known as the pudu are found.^[68] There are many species of small birds, but most of the larger common Latin American types are absent. Few freshwater fish are native, but North American trout have been successfully introduced into the Andean lakes.^[68] Owing to the vicinity of the Humboldt Current, ocean waters abound with fish and other forms of marine life, which in turn support a rich variety of waterfowl, including different penguins. Whales are abundant, and some six species of seals are found in the area.^[68]

Fungi

Just over 3000 species of fungi recorded from Chile,^[69][70] but this number is far from complete. The true total number of fungal species occurring in Chile, including species not yet recorded, is likely to be far higher, given the generally accepted estimate that only about 7% of all fungi worldwide have so far been discovered.^[71] Although the amount of available information is still very small, a first effort has been made to estimate the number of fungal species endemic to Chile, and 1995 species have been tentatively identified as possible endemics of the country.^[72]

Plants

Chile’s botanical zones conform to the topographic and climatic regions. The northernmost coastal and central region is largely barren of vegetation, approaching the most closely an absolute desert in the world.^[68] On the slopes of the Andes, besides the scattered tola desert brush, grasses are found. The central valley is characterized by several species of cactus, the hard espinos, the Chilean pine, and the Copihue, a red bell-shaped flower that is Chile’s national flower.^[68]

In southern Chile, south of the Biobío River, the heavy precipitation has produced dense forests of laurels, magnolias, and various species of conifers and beeches, which become smaller and more stunted to the south. ^[73] The cold temperatures and winds of the extreme south preclude heavy forestation. Grassland is found in Atlantic Chile (in Patagonia). Much of the Chilean flora is distinct from that of neighboring Argentina, indicating that the Andean barrier existed during its formation.^[73] Chilean species include the monkey-puzzle tree, part of the pine-like Araucaria genus centered in New Caledonia, and southern beeches.

Hotels, Hoteles, Hoteis

In 1532, a group of conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro defeated and captured Inca Emperor Atahualpa. Ten years later, the Spanish Crown established the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included most of its South American colonies.^[12] Viceroy Francisco de Toledo reorganized the country in the 1570s with silver mining as its main economic activity and Amerindian forced labor as its primary workforce.^[13] Peruvian bullion provided revenue for the Spanish Crown and fueled a complex trade network that extended as far as Europe and the Philippines.^[14] However, by the 18th century, declining silver production and economic diversification greatly diminished royal income.^[15] In response, the Crown enacted the Bourbon Reforms, a series of edicts that increased taxes and partitioned the Viceroyalty of Peru.^[16] The new laws provoked Túpac Amaru II’s rebellion and other revolts, all of which were defeated.^[17]

In the early 19th century, while most of South America was swept by wars of independence, Peru remained a royalist stronghold. As the elite hesitated between emancipation and loyalty to the Spanish Monarchy, independence was achieved only after the military campaigns of José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar.^[18] During the early years of the Republic, endemic struggles for power between military leaders caused political instability.^[19] National identity was forged during this period, as Bolivarian projects for a Latin American Confederation floundered and a union with Bolivia proved ephemeral.^[20] Between the 1840s and 1860s, Peru enjoyed a period of stability under the presidency of Ramón Castilla through increased state revenues from guano exports.^[21] However, by the 1870s, these resources had been squandered, the country was heavily indebted, and political in-fighting was again on the rise.

Independence was proclaimed by José de San Martín in 1821.

Peru was defeated by Chile in the 1879–1883 War of the Pacific, losing the provinces of Arica and Tarapacá in the treaties of Ancón and Lima. Internal struggles after the war were followed by a period of stability under the Civilista Party, which lasted until the onset of the authoritarian regime of Augusto B. Leguía.^[23] The Great Depression caused the downfall of Leguía, renewed political turmoil, and the emergence of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA).^[24] The rivalry between this organization and a coalition of the elite and the military defined Peruvian politics for the following three decades.^[25]

In 1968, the Armed Forces, led by General Juan Velasco Alvarado, staged a coup against president Fernando Belaunde. The new regime undertook radical reforms aimed at fostering development but failed to gain widespread support. In 1975, General Francisco Morales Bermúdez forcefully replaced Velasco, paralyzed reforms, and oversaw the reestablishment of democracy. During the 1980s, Peru faced a considerable external debt, ever-growing inflation, a surge in drug trafficking, and massive political violence.^[28] Under the presidency of Alberto Fujimori (1990–2000), the country started to recover; however, accusations of authoritarianism, corruption, and human rights violations forced his resignation after the controversial 2000 elections. Since the end of the Fujimori regime, Peru has tried to fight corruption while sustaining economic growth; since 2011 the president is Ollanta Humala.

Geography

Peru covers 1,285,216 km² (496,225 sq mi). It borders Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the southeast, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The Andes mountains run parallel to the Pacific Ocean, dividing the country into three geographic regions. The costa (coast), to the west, is a narrow plain, largely arid except for valleys created by seasonal rivers. The sierra (highlands) is the region of the Andes; it includes the Altiplano plateau as well as the highest peak of the country, the 6,768 m (22,205 ft) Huascarán.^[47] The third region is the selva (jungle), a wide expanse of flat terrain covered by the Amazon rainforest that extends east. Almost 60% of the country’s area is located within this region.

Left: Alpamayo, a mountain peak in the Huascarán National Park.
Right: Manú National Park, a biosphere reserve, depicts the Peruvian rainforest.

Most Peruvian rivers originate in the peaks of the Andes and drain into one of three basins. Those that drain toward the Pacific Ocean are steep and short, flowing only intermittently. Tributaries of the Amazon River are longer, have a much larger flow, and are less steep once they exit the sierra. Rivers that drain into Lake Titicaca are generally short and have a large flow.^[49] Peru’s longest rivers are the Ucayali, the Marañón, the Putumayo, the Yavarí, the Huallaga, the Urubamba, the Mantaro, and the Amazon.^[50]

Peru, unlike other equatorial countries, does not have an exclusively tropical climate; the influence of the Andes and the Humboldt Current cause great climatic diversity within the country. The costa has moderate temperatures, low precipitations, and high humidity, except for its warmer, wetter northern reaches. In the sierra, rain is frequent during summer, and temperature and humidity diminish with altitude up to the frozen peaks of the Andes. The selva is characterized by heavy rainfall and high temperatures, except for its southernmost part, which has cold winters and seasonal rainfall. Because of its varied geography and climate, Peru has a high biodiversity with 21,462 species of plants and animals reported as of 2003; 5,855 of them endemic. The Peruvian government has established several protected areas for their preservation.

Tours to China – Top China tour operator providing China tours and travel service. Specialized in Tailor-Made andCustomized private tours to china for personal, family and group!

car rental madrid – Rent a Car and get  the best Car Rental Offers  in Spain with Rentspain. Hire a cheap Car in Barcelona, Madrid, Gran Canarias, Majorca, Malaga

Eurostar Deals- EUROSTAR DEALS – Find cheap Eurostar Deals to Paris, Brussels, Lille, Amsterdam and other Eurostar destinations online to save more

limo buses San Diego – Aallinlimos.com offers the highest quality San Diego limo service available. Contact us today for limo bus San Diego occasions or Temecula wine tours. Safe, on-time and affordable San Diego limousines deliver you to your location.

Inca Empire

Through a succession of wars and marriages among the nations that inhabited the valley, the region became part of the Inca Empire in 1463. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived from the north, the Inca Empire was ruled by Huayna Capac, who had two sons: Atahualpa, being in charge of the northern parts of the empire, and Huascar, seated in the Incan capital Cusco. Upon Huayna Capac’s death in 1525, the empire was divided in two: Atahualpa received the north, with his capital in Quito; Huascar received the south, with its capital in Cusco. In 1530, Atahualpa defeated his own brother, Huascar, and claimed control over the entire empire. Atahualpa’s victory was short-lived as he was soon captured by the Spanish conquistadors in Cajamarca, and later executed for the murder of his brother.

Colonization

Spanish Historical Center in Quito

Disease decimated the indigenous population during the first decades of Spanish rule — a time when the natives also were forced into the encomienda labor system for the Spanish. In 1563, Quito became the seat of a real audiencia (administrative district) of Spain and part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, and later the Viceroyalty of New Granada.

After nearly 300 years of Spanish colonization, Quito was still a small city of only 10,000 inhabitants. It was there, on August 10, 1809 (the national holiday), that the first call for independence from Spain was made in Latin America (“Primer Grito de la Independencia”), under the leadership of the city’s criollos like Juan Pío Montúfar, Quiroga, Salinas, and Bishop Cuero y Caicedo. Quito’s nickname, “Luz de América” (“Light of America”), comes from the fact that it was the first successful attempt to produce an independent and local government, although for no more than two months, that had an important repercussion and inspiration for the emancipation of the rest of Spanish America. Quito is also known as “Carita de Dios” (“The Face of God”) for the beauty of its religious colonial art and architecture cloistered in the amazing equatorial Andes landscape.

Independence

The State of Ecuador, Nueva Granada, and Venezuela formed The Republic of Gran Colombia.

On October 9, 1820, Guayaquil became the first city in Ecuador to gain its independence from Spain. On May 24, 1822, the rest of Ecuador gained its independence after Antonio José de Sucre defeated the Spanish Royalist forces at the Battle of Pichincha, near Quito. Following the battle, Ecuador joined Simón Bolívar’s Republic of Gran Colombia – joining with modern day Colombia and Venezuela – only to become a republic in 1830.

The 19th century for Ecuador was marked by instability, with a rapid succession of rulers. The first president of Ecuador was the Venezuelan-born Juan José Flores, who was ultimately deposed, followed by many authoritarian leaders such as Vicente Rocafuerte; José Joaquín de Olmedo; José María Urbina; Diego Noboa; Pedro José de Arteta; Manuel de Ascásubi; and Flores’s own son, Antonio Flores Jijón, among others. The conservative Gabriel Garcia Moreno unified the country in the 1860s with the support of the Roman Catholic Church. In the late 19th century, world demand for cocoa tied the economy to commodity exports and led to migrations from the highlands to the agricultural frontier on the coast.

Geography

The panorama dominant of the Sierra “highland” region

Ecuador lies between latitudes 2°N and 5°S, and longitudes 75° and 92°W.

The country has three main geographic regions, plus an insular region in the Pacific Ocean:

• La Costa, or the coast, comprises the low-lying land in the western part of the country, including the Pacific coastline.
• La Sierra, (“the highlands”) is the high-altitude belt running north-south along the centre of the country, its mountainous terrain dominated by the Andes mountain range.
• La Amazonía, also known as El Oriente (“the east”), comprises the Amazon rainforest areas in the eastern part of the country, accounting for just under half of the country’s total surface area, though populated by less than 5% of the population.
• The Región Insular is the region comprising the Galápagos Islands, some 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) west of the mainland in the Pacific Ocean.

Ecuador’s capital is Quito, which is in the province of Pichincha in the Sierra region. Its largest city is Guayaquil, in the Guayas Province. Cotopaxi, which is just south of Quito, features one of the world’s highest active volcanoes. The top of Mount Chimborazo (6,310 m above sea level) is considered to be the most distant point from the centre of the earth, given the ovoid shape of the planet.^[20]

Climate

There is great variety in the climate, largely determined by altitude. It is mild year-round in the mountain valleys; Humid Subtropical Climate incoastal and Rain Forests in lowlands. The Pacific coastal area has a tropical climate, with a severe rainy season. The climate in the Andean highlands is temperate and relatively dry; and the Amazon basin on the eastern side of the mountains shares the climate of other rain forest zones.

Because of its location at the equator, Ecuador experiences little variation in daylight hours during the course of a year. Both sunrise and sunset occur each day at the two six o’clock hours.^[21]

Biodiversity

Galápagos tortoise

Blue-footed booby

Ecuador is one of 17 megadiverse countries in the world according to Conservation International,^[8] and it has the most biodiversity per square kilometer of any nation.^[22] In addition to the mainland, Ecuador owns the Galapagos Islands, for which the country is most well known.^[23]

Ecuador has 1,600 bird species (15% of the world’s known bird species) in the continental area, and 38 more endemic in the Galápagos. In addition to over 16,000 species of plants, the country has 106 endemic reptiles, 138 endemic amphibians, and 6,000 species of butterfly. The Galápagos Islands are well known as a region of distinct fauna, famous as the place of birth of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[24]

Ecuador has the first constitution to recognize the rights of nature.^[25] The protection of the nation’s biodiversity is an explicit national priority as stated in the National Plan of “Buen Vivir”, or good living, objective 4, Guarantee the rights of nature, policy 1: “Sustainably conserve and manage the natural heritage including its land and marine biodiversity which is considered a strategic sector”.^[26] As of the writing of that Plan in 2008, 19% of Ecuador’s land area was in a protected area, however, the Plan also states that 32% of the land must be protected in order to truly preserve the nation’s biodiversity.^[22] Current protected areas include 11 national parks, 10 wildlife refuges, 9 ecological reserves and other areas.^[27] A program begun in 2008, Sociobosque, is preserving another 2.3% of total landarea (629,475.5 hectares or 6,295 km²) by paying private landowners or community landowners (such as indigenous tribes) incentives to maintain their land as native ecosystems such as native forests or grasslands. Eligibility and subsidy rates for this program are determined based on the poverty in the region, the number of hectacres that will be protected, the type of ecosystem of the land to be protected among other factors.^[28]

Despite being on the UNESCO list, the Galapagos are endangered by a range of negative environmental effects, threatening the existence of this exotic ecosystem.^[29] Additionally, oil exploitation of the Amazon rain forest has led to the release of billions of gallons of untreated wastes, gas, and crude oil into the environment, contaminating ecosystems and causing detrimental health effects to indigenous peoples.^[30]

Kanada Reise | Gartenhaus

A dense fluvial network covers the country, consisting of four river basins or deltas; the Río de la Plata, the Uruguay River, the Laguna Merín and the Río Negro. The major internal river is the Río Negro (‘black river’). Several lagoons are found along the Atlantic coast.

The highest point in the country is the Cerro Catedral whose peak reaches to 514 metres (1,686 ft) AMSL in the Sierra Carapé hill range. To the southwest is the Río de Plata, the estuary of the Uruguay River which forms the western border, and the Paraná River.

Montevideo is the southernmost capital city in the Americas, and the third most southerly in the world (only Canberra and Wellington are further south).

Uruguay has 660 km of coastline.^[1]

There are nine National Parks in Uruguay. Five in the wetland areas of the east, three in the central hill country and one in the west along the Rio Uruguay.^[54]

Climate

Maldonado bay

Uruguay’s climate is relatively mild. Located entirely within the temperate zone Uruguay has a climate that is fairly uniform nationwide.^[55] Seasonal variations are pronounced, but extremes in temperature are rare.^[55] As would be expected by its abundance of water, high humidity and fog are common.^[55] The absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, makes all locations vulnerable to high winds and rapid changes in weather as fronts or storms sweep across the country.^[55] Both summer and winter weather may vary from day to day with the passing of storm fronts where a hot northerly wind may occasionally be followed by a cold wind (pampero) from the Argentine Pampas.^[5]

Uruguay has a largely uniform temperature throughout the year, summer being tempered by winds off the Atlantic, and severe cold in winter is unknown.^[55][56] The heaviest precipitation occurs during the autumn months, although more frequent rainy spells occur in winter.^[5] The mean annual precipitation is generally greater than 40 inches (1,000 mm), decreasing with distance from the sea coast, and is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year.

Early history and colonization

The only documented inhabitants of Uruguay before European colonization of the area were the Charrúa, a small tribe driven south by the Guaraní of Paraguay.

The Spanish arrived in the territory of present-day Uruguay in 1516 but the people’s fierce resistance to conquest, combined with the absence of gold and silver, limited their settlement in the region during the 16th and 17th centuries.^[7] Uruguay then became a zone of contention between the Spanish and the Portuguese empires. In 1603 the Spanish began to introduce cattle, which became a source of wealth in the region. The first permanent settlement on the territory of present-day Uruguay was founded by the Spanish in 1624 at Soriano on the Río Negro. In 1669–71 the Portuguese built a fort at Colonia del Sacramento. Spanish colonization increased as Spain sought to limit Portugal’s expansion of Brazil’s frontiers.

Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Its natural harbor soon developed into a commercial area competing with Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires.^[7] Uruguay’s early 19th century history was shaped by ongoing fights between the British, Spanish, Portuguese, and other colonial forces for dominance in the Platine region.^[7] In 1806 and 1807 the British army attempted to seize Buenos Aires as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result Montevideo was occupied by a British force from February to September 1807.

Independence struggle

The oath of the Thirty-Three Orientals

In 1811 José Gervasio Artigas, who became Uruguay’s national hero, launched a successful revolution against the Spanish authorities, defeating them on 18 May at the Battle of Las Piedras.

In 1813 the new government in Buenos Aires convened a constituent assembly where Artigas emerged as a champion of federalism, demanding political and economic autonomy for each area, and for the Banda Oriental in particular.^[18] The assembly refused to seat the delegates from the Banda Oriental however, and Buenos Aires pursued a system based on unitary centralism.

Consequently Artigas broke with Buenos Aires and besieged Montevideo, taking the city in early 1815.^[18] Once the troops from Buenos Aires had withdrawn the Banda Oriental appointed its first autonomous government.^[18] Artigas organized the Federal League under his protection, consisting of six provinces, four of which are now part of Argentina.^[18]

In 1816 a force of 10,000 Portuguese troops invaded the Banda Oriental from Brazil and took Montevideo in January 1817.^[18] After nearly four more years of struggle Portuguese Brazil annexed the Banda Oriental as a province under the name of Cisplatina.^[18] The Brazilian Empire became independent from Portugal in 1822. In response to the annexation the Thirty-Three Orientals, led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja, declared independence on 25 August 1825 supported by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina).

This led to the 500 day-long Argentina-Brazil War. Neither side gained the upper hand and in 1828 the Treaty of Montevideo, fostered by the United Kingdom, gave birth to Uruguay as an independent state. The nation’s first constitution was adopted on 18 July 1830.^[7]

Blancos—Colorados conflicts

Manuel Oribe

Battle of Caseros

At the time of independence Uruguay had an estimated population of just under 75,000.^[19] The political scene in Uruguay became split between two parties: the conservative Blancos (Whites) headed by Manuel Oribe, representing the agricultural interests of the countryside; and the liberal Colorados (Reds) led by Fructuoso Rivera, representing the business interests of Montevideo. The Uruguayan parties became associated with warring political factions in neighbouring Argentina.

The Colorados favored the exiled Argentinian liberal Unitarios, many of whom had taken refuge in Montevideo while the Blanco president Manuel Oribe was a close friend of the Argentinian ruler Manuel de Rosas. On 15 June 1838 an army led by the Colorado leader Rivera overthrew the president, who fled to Argentina.^[19] Rivera declared war on Rosas in 1839. The conflict would last thirteen years and become known as the Guerra Grande (the Great War).

In 1843 an Argentinian army overran Uruguay on Oribe’s behalf, but failed to take the capital. The siege of Montevideo, which began in February 1843, would last nine years.^[20] The besieged Uruguayans called on resident foreigners for help which led to a French and an Italian legion being formed, the latter led by the exiled Giuseppe Garibaldi.^[20] (Hitherto unknown, it was Garibaldi’s fame in this war which led to his later central role in the Unification of Italy).

In 1845 Britain and France intervened against Rosas to restore commerce to normal levels in the region. Their efforts proved ineffective and by 1849, tired of the war, both withdrew after signing a treaty favorable to Rosas.^[20] It appeared that Montevideo would finally fall when an uprising against Rosas, led by Justo José de Urquiza governor of Argentina’s Entre Ríos Province began. The Brazilian intervention in May 1851 on behalf of the Colorados, combined with the uprising, changed the situation and Oribe was defeated. The siege of Montevideo was lifted and the Guerra Grande finally came to an end.^[20] Montevideo rewarded Brazil’s support by signing treaties that confirmed Brazil’s right to intervene in Uruguay’s internal affairs.

In accordance with the 1851 treaties Brazil intervened militarily in Uruguay as often as it deemed necessary.^[21] In 1865 the Triple Alliance was formed by the emperor of Brazil, the president of Argentina, and the Colorado general Venancio Flores, the Uruguayan head of government whom they both had helped to gain power. The Triple Alliance declared war on Paraguayan leader Francisco Solano López^[21] and the resulting War of the Triple Alliance ended with the invasion of Paraguay and its defeat by the armies of the three countries. Montevideo, which was used as a supply station by the Brazilian navy, experienced a period of prosperity and relative calm during the war.

The constitutional government of General Lorenzo Batlle y Grau (1868–72) was forced to suppress an insurrection led by the National Party.^[22] After two years of struggle a peace agreement was signed in 1872 that gave the Blancos a share in the emoluments and functions of government, through control of four of the departments of Uruguay.^[22] This establishment of the policy of co-participation represented the search for a new formula of compromise, based on the coexistence of the party in power and the party in opposition.

Between 1875 and 1886 the military became the center of power.^[23] During this authoritarian period the government took steps toward the organization of the country as a modern state, encouraging its economic and social transformation. Pressure groups (consisting mainly of businessmen, hacendados, and industrialists) were organized and had a strong influence on government.^[23] A transition period (1886–90) followed, during which politicians began recovering lost ground and some civilian participation in government occurred.

Mass immigration and development

Juan Idiarte Borda

After the Guerra Grande there was a sharp rise in the number of immigrants, primarily from Italy and Spain. By 1879 the total population of the country was over 438,000.^[24] The economy saw a steep upswing, above all in livestock raising and exports.^[24] Montevideo became a major economic centre of the region and an entrepôt for goods from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.^[24]

The Colorado leader José Batlle y Ordóñez was elected president in 1903.^[25] The following year the Blancos led a rural revolt and eight bloody months of fighting ensued before their leader, Aparicio Saraiva, was killed in battle. Government forces emerged victorious, leading to the end of the co-participation politics that had begun in 1872.^[25] Batlle had two terms (1903–07 and 1911–15) during which, and taking advantage of the nation’s stability and growing economic prosperity, he instituted major reforms such as a welfare program, government participation in many facets of the economy, and a plural executive.^[7]

Gabriel Terra became president in March 1931. His inauguration coincided with the effects of the Great Depression.^[26] when the social climate became tense as a result of the lack of jobs. There were confrontations in which police and leftists died.^[26] In 1933 Terra organized a coup d’état, dissolving the General Assembly and governing by decree.^[26] A new constitution was promulgated in 1934, transferring powers to the president.^[26] In general, the Terra government weakened or neutralized economic nationalism and social reform.^[26]

In 1938 general elections were held and Terra’s brother-in-law, General Alfredo Baldomir, was elected president. Under pressure from organized labor and the National Party Baldomir advocated free elections, freedom of the press, and a new constitution.^[27] Although Baldomir declared Uruguay neutral in 1939 British warships and the German ship Admiral Graf Spee fought a battle not far off Uruguay’s coast.^[27] Admiral Graf Spee took refuge in Montevideo, claiming sanctuary in a neutral port, but was later ordered out.^[27] In 1945 Uruguay abandoned its policy of neutrality and joined the Allied cause.

In the late 1950s, partly because of a world-wide decrease in demand for agricultural products, Uruguayans suffered from a steep drop in the standard of living which led to student militancy and labor unrest. An urban guerrilla movement known as the Tupamaros emerged, engaging in activities such as robbing banks and distributing the proceeds to the poor in addition to attempting political dialogue. As the government banned their political activities and the police became more oppressive, the Tupamaros took up an overtly armed struggle.^{[28][verification needed]}

President Jorge Pacheco declared a state of emergency in 1968, followed by a further suspension of civil liberties in 1972. In 1973, amid increasing economic and political turmoil, the armed forces closed the Congress and established a civilian-military regime.^[7] Around 180 Uruguayans are known to have been killed during the 12-year military rule from 1973–1985.^[29] Most were killed in Argentina and other neighbouring countries, with only 36 of them having been killed in Uruguay.

Return to democracy

Then-president Jorge Batlle with George H.W. Bush

A new constitution, drafted by the military, was rejected in a November 1980 referendum.^[7] Following the referendum the armed forces announced a plan for the return to civilian rule, and national elections were held in 1984.^[7] Colorado Party leader Julio María Sanguinetti won the presidency and served from 1985 to 1990. The first Sanguinetti administration implemented economic reforms and consolidated democracy following the country’s years under military rule.^[7]

The National Party’s Luis Alberto Lacalle won the 1989 presidential election and an amnesty for human rights abusers was endorsed by referendum. Sanguinetti was again elected in 1994.^[31] Both carried on with the economic structural reforms initiated after the reinstatement of democracy and other important reforms were aimed at improving the electoral system, social security, education, and public safety.

The 1999 national elections were held under a new electoral system established by a 1996 constitutional amendment. Colorado Party candidate Jorge Batlle, aided by the support of the National Party, defeated Broad Front candidate Tabaré Vázquez. The formal coalition ended in November 2002 when the Blancos withdrew their ministers from the cabinet,^[7] although the Blancos continued to support the Colorados on most issues. Low commodity prices and economic difficulties in Uruguay’s main export markets, first in Brazil with the devaluation of the real then in Argentina in 2002, caused a severe recession—the economy contracted by 11%, unemployment climbed to 21% and the percentage of Uruguayans in poverty rose to over 30%.

In 2004 Uruguayans elected Tabaré Vázquez as president, while giving the Broad Front a majority in both houses of Parliament. Vázquez stuck to economic orthodoxy. As commodity prices soared and the economy recoiled from recession, he tripled foreign investment, cut poverty and unemployment, cut public debt from 79% of GDP to 60% and kept inflation steady.

In 2009 José Mujica, a former left-wing militant who spent almost 15 years in prison during the country’s military rule, emerged as the new President as the Broad Front won the election for a second time.

The Country Club India network of clubs is known all around with its members as the most accessible and reachable clubbing facility. The best feature that country club India member’s recognize is the number of own clubs and the country club India franchise clubs that provide the best service for the country club India members. These country club India franchise clubs are situated in almost all the states and regions in our country. These country club India franchise clubs have their presence starting from Jammu and Kashmir to Kodaikanal.

With the provision from country club India franchise clubs, Jammu and Kashmir offers different exquisite hotels and resorts for the country club India member’s. Country Club Heevan Resort – Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. Country Club Heevan Retreat – Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir. Country Club Hotel Heevan– Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Country Club Pine & Peak Resort – Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Th4e beauty of the Jammu and Kashmir is totally enjoyed by the country club India members with the help of the country club India franchise clubs in Jammu and Kashmir. The natural beauty that comprises the awesome snow capped mountains in Himachal Pradesh can be enjoyed by the country club members via country club India franchise clubs in shimla and Manali. Country Club Orchard Green – Manali. Country Club De Vivendi Resorts – Manali. Country Club Galleu Hill Resort – Shimla. Country Club River Country Resort – Manali. Country Club Sirmour Retreat – Sirmur District, Himachal Pradesh. Country Club Snow Valley Resort – Manali. Country club India franchise clubs also provides its clubs in Assam and Haryana too for the member’s pleasure.

Country club India franchise clubs are also a perfect destination in Goa as it has eight classy getaways naming The Country Club Aldiea Bello Resort – Goa. The Country Club Alegria De Goa Resort – Goa. The Country Club Beira mar Alfran Resort – Goa. The Country Club Leoney Resort – Goa. The Country Club Lotus Inn Resort – Goa. The Country Club Maizons Lake View Resort – Goa. The Country Club Resorte De Tio Carmino – Goa. Country Club Roma Gardens – Pen, Mumbai – Goa Highway.

Country club India franchise clubs provide more options for the members in the other cities like West Bengal, Uttarkhand, Tamilnadu,Silvassa,Rajasthan,Orissa,Madhya Pradesh, Mysore,Maharashtra,Kerala,Karnataka,Hyderabadand other parts ofAndhra Pradesh. Country club India franchise clubs are known for providing best facilities and luxury options for all the country club India members.

Travel Incentive Programs – Looking to travel Iceland? Make sure your travel incentive programs are quite in order. Travel incentive programs are part of the many travel packages that Touris.com offers for Iceland vacations.
adventure travel | travel guide|

carte ile tenerife – Tenerife is the largest of seven islands in the Canarian Archipelago.

Climate

The local climate ranges from subtropical to temperate, with substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, though becoming semi-arid in the far west.

History

Francisco Solano López

Pre-Columbian society in the wooded, fertile region which is now present-day Paraguay consisted of seminomadic tribes, who were recognized for their fierce warrior traditions. These indigenous tribes were members of five distinct language families, and 17 separate ethnolinguistic groups still remain today.

Europeans first arrived in the area in the early sixteenth century, and the settlement of Asunción was founded on August 15, 1537, by the Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar de Espinosa. The city eventually became the center of a Spanish colonial province, as well as a primary site of the Jesuit missions and settlements in South America in the eighteenth century. Jesuit Reductions were founded and flourished in eastern Paraguay for about 150 years until the expulsion of the Jesuits by the Spanish crown in 1767. Paraguay overthrew the local Spanish administration on May 15, 1811. They became independent from Spain, but the relation with Buenos Aires was limited to a non-aggression pact; Paraguayan independence from Argentina was declared in 1842.

Paraguay fought the War of the Triple Alliance against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and was defeated in 1870 after five years of the bloodiest war in South America. According to William D. Rubinstein, “The normal estimate is that of a Paraguayan population of somewhere between 450,000 and 900,000, only 221,000 survived the war, of whom only 28,000 were adult males.”^[8] Paraguay also suffered extensive territorial losses to Brazil and Argentina.

The Chaco War was fought with Bolivia in the 1930s, and Bolivia was defeated. Paraguay re-established sovereignty over the region called the Chaco, but forfeited additional territorial gains as a price of peace.

The official narrative of Paraguay’s history is fraught with disputes among historians, educators and politicians. The “authentic” version of historical events, wars in particular, varies depending on whether it was written in Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Europe, or North America.

Both the Colorado Party and Liberal Party maintain distinct official versions of Paraguayan history^{[citation needed]}. During the pillaging of Asuncion (Saqueo de Asunción) in 1869, the Brazilian Imperial Army ransacked and relocated the Paraguayan National Archives to Rio de Janeiro where they have been kept in secrecy,^[9] making Colonial and early National Period Paraguayan history difficult to study.

Between 1904 and 1954, Paraguay had thirty-one presidents, most of whom were removed from office by force.

From 1954 to 1989, the country was ruled by Alfredo Stroessner and the Colorado party. The dictator oversaw an era of economic expansion, but at the cost of a poor human rights and environmental record (see “Political History”). Torture and death for political opponents was routine.^[11] After his overthrow, the Colorado continued to dominate national politics until 2008.

Leftist former bishop Fernando Lugo achieved a historic victory in Paraguay’s presidential election in April 2008, defeating the ruling party candidate and ending 61 years of conservative rule. Lugo won with nearly 41% of the vote compared to almost 31% for Blanca Ovelar of the Colorado party.

Demographics

Paraguay population density (people per km²)

National Routes

There is no official data on the ethnic composition of the Paraguayan population, because the Department of Statistics, Surveys and Censuses^[16] of Paraguay does not include the concepts of race and ethnicity in census surveys,^[17] although it does inquire about the indigenous population. According to the census of 2002, the indigenous population was 1.7% of Paraguay’s total population.^[18]

Traditionally, the Paraguayan population is considered mixed (mestizo in Spanish), because of the widespread offspring of Guaraní women and Spanish settlers during Spain’s domination of the country.^[19]

The Ministry of Education and Culture of Paraguay^[20] refers thus to the population of the country: “The dominant ancestry is European, which represents a large proportion of the population, mostly descendants of Spanish, Germans, Italians (who have contributed to repopulate the country after the War of the Triple Alliance) but also a large number of people of German descent, because the German Mennonites (mostly in the western part of the territory). There are 17 Mennonite colonies, mostly in the Paraguayan Chaco. It is one of South American countries with less indigenous trait (because the traditional Paraguayan population – Guaraní-Spanish mix – had been destroyed by the Allies in 1870, for which it had to repopulate the country by resorting to the Italian immigration).”^[21]

Scientific publication Composición Étnica de las Tres Áreas Culturales del Continente Americano al Comienzo del Siglo XXI^[2] (Ethnic Composition of the Three Cultural Zones of the Americas at the Beginning of XXI century) of Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades de la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (Center for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities of the Mexico State Autonomous University) suggests the following ethnic composition:

• Mestizos: 74.5%
• White: 20%
• Mulatos: 3.5%
• Indigenous: 1.5%

According to the CIA World Factbook, Paraguay has a population of 6,669,086, 95% of which are mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian) and 5% are labelled as “other” ^[22] and are members of indigenous tribal groups. They are divided into 17 distinct ethnolinguistic groupings, many of which are poorly documented.

One remarkable trace of the indigenous Guaraní culture that has endured in Paraguay is the Guaraní language, generally understoood by about 90% of the population. However, nearly all Paraguayans speak Spanish. Spanish and Guaraní are official languages.^[23] Small groups of ethnic Italians, Germans, Russians, Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, Arabs, Ukrainians, Brazilians, and Argentines settled in Paraguay, and they have to an extent retained their respective languages and culture, particularly the Brazilians who represent the largest number. An estimated 400,000 Brazilians live in Paraguay.^[24] Many of the Brazilians are descendants of the German, Italian and Polish immigrants.^[25] There are also an estimated 63,000 Afro-Paraguayans, or 1% of the population.^[26] Some 25,000 German-speaking Mennonites live in the Paraguayan Chaco.

Paraguay has one of the more important and representative German communities in South America. German settlers founded several towns as Hohenau, Filadelfia, Neuland, Obligado, Nueva Germania, etc. Some specialized German sites that promote German immigration to Paraguay refers to 5%-7% of German descent Paraguayan population and 150.000 German-Brazilian descent population

Paraguay’s population is distributed unevenly through the country. About 56% of Paraguayans live in urban areas. The vast majority of the people live in the eastern region near the capital and largest city, Asunción, accounting for 10% of the country’s population. The Gran Chaco region, which includes the Alto Paraguay, Boquerón and Presidente Hayes Department, and accounts for about 60% of the territory, is home to less than 2% of the population.

The community grew to urban proportions between AD 600 and AD 800, becoming an important regional power in the southern Andes. According to early estimates, at its maximum extent, the city covered approximately 6.5 square kilometres, and had between 15,000 – 30,000 inhabitants. However, satellite imaging was used recently to map the extent of fossilized suka kollus across the three primary valleys of Tiwanaku, arriving at population-carrying capacity estimates of anywhere between 285,000 and 1,482,000 people.

Around AD 400, Tiwanaku went from being a locally dominant force to a predatory state. Tiwanaku expanded its reaches into the Yungas and brought its culture and way of life to many other cultures in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. However, Tiwanaku was not a violent culture in many aspects. In order to expand its reach Tiwanaku became very political creating colonies, trade agreements (which made the other cultures rather dependant), and state cults.

The empire continued to grow with no end in sight. William H. Isbell states that “Tiahuanaco underwent a dramatic transformation between AD 600 and 700 that established new monumental standards for civic architecture and greatly increased the resident population.”^[24] Tiwanaku continued to absorb cultures rather than eradicate them. Archaeologists have seen a dramatic adoption of Tiwanaku ceramics in the cultures who became part of the Tiwanaku empire. Tiwanaku gained its power through the trade it implemented between all of the cities within its empire.

The elites gained their status by the surplus of food they gained from all of the regions and then by having the ability to redistribute the food among all the people. This is where the control of llama herds became very significant to Tiwanaku. The llama herds were essential for carrying goods back and forth between the centre and the periphery as well as symbolizing the distance between the commoners and the elites. Their power continued to grow in this manner of a surplus of resources until about AD 950. At this time a dramatic shift in climate occurred.^.

At this point in time there was a significant drop in precipitation for the Titicaca Basin. Some archaeologists even venture to say that a great drought occurred. As the rain became less and less many of the cities further away from Lake Titicaca began to produce fewer crops to give to the elites. As the surplus of food ran out for the elites their power began to fall. The capital city became the last place of production, due to the resiliency of the raised fields, but in the end even the intelligent design of the fields was no match for the weather. Tiwanaku disappeared around AD 1000 because food production, their main source of power, dried up. The land was not inhabited for many years after that.^.

Inca Expansion (1438–1527)

Between 1438 and 1527, the Incan empire, on a mass expansion, acquired much of what is now western Bolivia. The Incans would not maintain control of the region for long however, as the rapidly expanding Inca Empire was internally weak. As such, the Spanish conquest would be remarkably easy.

Geography

Map of Bolivia

At 1,098,580 square kilometres (424,160 sq mi), Bolivia is the world’s 28th-largest country. It lies between latitudes 9° and 23°S, and longitudes 57° and 70°W.

Bolivia was a landlocked nation from 1879 to 1992, after losing its coastal department of Litoral to Chile in the War of the Pacific. However, it does have access to the Atlantic via the Paraguay River. In 1992, Peru gave Bolivia a parcel of land on the Pacific coast. In 2010 this was expanded into a 99-year lease allowing the development of a port and naval station on a 3.6 km² (1.4 sq mi) land parcel 18 km (11 mi) south of Peru’s port of Ilo. However, since no ports yet exist on this land, Bolivia is in effect still landlocked.

Many ecological zones are represented within Bolivia’s territory. The western highlands of the country are situated in the Andes and include the Bolivian Altiplano. The eastern lowlands include large sections of Amazonian rainforests and the Chaco Plain. The highest peak is Nevado Sajama at 6,542 metres (21,463 ft) located in the Oruro Department. Lake Titicaca is located on the border between Bolivia and Peru. The Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat, lies in the southwest corner of the country, in Potosí Department.

Climate

Dust Storm over Bolivia.

The weather in Bolivia can vary drastically from one climatic zone to another. The summer months in Bolivia are November through March. The weather is typically warmer and wetter during these months. April through October, the winter months, are typically colder and drier.

In the highlands, the weather can be very cold and temperatures frequently go below zero at night, especially on the Altiplano. Snow is common in Potosí during the winter months and sometimes also falls on La Paz and Oruro. In contrast, winter in Sucre, Cochabamba and Tarija on the Cordillera Real is a time of blue skies and comfortable temperatures.

The weather in the rainforest is usually very hot and is often very wet. The drier period of the year is May to October. The section of the rainforest that borders the Cordillera Real of the Andes Mountains is a bit cooler, but still very wet. As altitude declines, the temperature rises. Additionally many rivers and aquatic zones will dry up very noticeably in winter and then flood in summer creating an unpredictable landscape.

Geology

The geology of Bolivia compromises a variety of different lithologies as well as tectonic and sedimentary environments. On a synoptic scale geological units coincide with topographical units, to begin the country is divided into a mountainous western area affected by the subduction processes in the Pacific and an eastern lowlands of stable platforms and shields.

Economy

Bolivia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Latin America, despite being rich in natural resources. Bolivia’s 2002 gross domestic product (GDP) totaled USD $7.9 billion. Economic growth is about 2.5% per year, and inflation was expected to be between 3% and 4% in 2002 (it was under 2% in 2001). Bolivia was rated ‘Repressed’ by the 2010 Index of Economic Freedom.^[47] However, despite a series of mostly political setbacks, between 2006 and 2009 the Morales administration has spurred growth higher than at any point in the preceding 30 years. The growth was accompanied by a moderate decrease in inequality.^[48]

Cochabamba

Bolivia’s current economic situation remains lackluster, a factor that can be linked to several factors from the past three decades. The first major blow to the Bolivian economy came with a dramatic fall in the price of tin during the early 1980s, which impacted one of Bolivia’s main sources of income and one of its major mining-industries.^[49] The second major economic blow came at the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s and early 1990s as economic aid was withdrawn by western countries who had previously tried to keep a market-liberal regime in power through financial support.

Since 1985, the government of Bolivia has implemented a far-reaching program of macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform aimed at maintaining price stability, creating conditions for sustained growth, and alleviating scarcity. A major reform of the customs service in recent years has significantly improved transparency in this area. Parallel legislative reforms have locked into place market-liberal policies, especially in the hydrocarbon and telecommunication sectors, that have encouraged private investment. Foreign investors are accorded national treatment, and foreign ownership of companies enjoys virtually no restrictions in Bolivia.^[50]

The Central Bank of Bolivia

Bolivia has the second largest natural gas reserves in South America.^[51] The government has a long-term sales-agreement to sell natural gas to Brazil through 2019. The government held a binding referendum in 2005 on the Hydrocarbon Law.

The US Geological Service estimates that Bolivia has 5.4 million cubic tonnes of lithium which represents 50%–70% of world reserves. The light metal is used to make high-capacity batteries used in electric cars and such. The spinoff effect of lithium mining could cause Bolivia to become the “Saudi Arabia of the Green World.” However, to mine for it would involve disturbing the country’s salt flats (called Salar de Uyuni), an important natural feature which boosts tourism in the region. The government does not want to destroy this unique natural landscape, to meet the rising world demand for lithium.^[52]

In April 2000, Hugo Banzer, the former President of Bolivia, signed a contract with Aguas del Tunari, a private consortium, to operate and improve the water supply in Bolivia’s fourth-largest city, Cochabamba. Shortly thereafter, the company tripled the water rates in that city, an action which resulted in protests and rioting among those who could no longer afford clean water.^[53][54] Amidst Bolivia’s nationwide economic collapse and growing national unrest over the state of the economy, the Bolivian government was forced to withdraw the water contract.

Bolivian commercial exports were $1.3 billion in 2002, from a low of $652 million in 1991. Imports were $1.7 billion in 2002. Bolivian tariffs are a uniformly low 10%, with capital equipment charged only 5%. Bolivia’s trade-deficit was $460 million in 2002.

Salt mounds in Salar de Uyuni. Each mound is about a meter high.

Bolivia’s trade with neighboring countries is growing, in part because of several regional preferential trade agreements it has negotiated. Bolivia is a member of the Andean Community of Nations and enjoys nominally free trade with other member countries.

The United States remains Bolivia’s largest trading partner (excepting natural resources, such as natural gas). In 2002, the United States exported $283 million of merchandise to Bolivia and imported $162 million.

Camino a Samaipata Santa Cruz Bolivia

Agriculture accounts for roughly 15% of Bolivia’s GDP. Soybeans are the major cash crop, sold into the Andean Community market.

Bolivia’s government remains heavily dependent on foreign assistance to finance development projects. At the end of 2002, the government owed $4.5 billion to its foreign creditors, with $1.6 billion of this amount owed to other governments and most of the balance owed to multilateral development banks. Most payments to other governments have been rescheduled on several occasions since 1987 through the Paris Club mechanism. External creditors have been willing to do this because the Bolivian government has generally achieved the monetary and fiscal targets set by IMF programs since 1987, though economic crises in recent years have undercut Bolivia’s normally good record.

Uro person on floating an islet in Titicaca.

The rescheduling of agreements granted by the Paris Club has allowed the individual creditor countries to apply very soft terms to the rescheduled debt. As a result, some countries have forgiven substantial amounts of Bolivia’s bilateral debt. The U.S. government reached an agreement at the Paris Club meeting in December 1995 that reduced by 67% Bolivia’s existing debt stock. The Bolivian government continues to pay its debts to the multilateral development banks on time. Bolivia is a beneficiary of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Enhanced HIPC debt relief programs, which by agreement restricts Bolivia’s access to new soft loans.

The income from tourism becomes more important. Bolivia’s tourist industry has grown gradually since about 1990.

Towers of Great Zimbabwe.

Proto-Shona speaking societies first emerged in the middle Limpopo valley in the 9th century before moving on to the Zimbabwean highlands. The Zimbabwean plateau eventually became the center of subsequent Shona states, beginning in ca. the 10th century. Around the early 10th century, trade developed with Muslim merchants on the Indian Ocean coast, helping to develop the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in the 11th century. This was the precursor to the more impressive Shona civilizations that would dominate the region during the 13th to 15th centuries, evidenced by ruins at Great Zimbabwe, near Masvingo, and other smaller sites. The main archaeological site is a unique dry stone architecture.

The Kingdom of Mapungubwe was the first in a series of sophisticated trade states developed in Zimbabwe by the time of the first European explorers from Portugal. They traded in gold, ivory and copper for cloth and glass.^[11]

From about 1300 until 1600, Mapungubwe was eclipsed by the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. This Shona state further refined and expanded upon Mapungubwe’s stone architecture, which survives to this day at the ruins of the kingdom’s capital of Great Zimbabwe. From circa 1450–1760, Zimbabwe gave way to the Kingdom of Mutapa. This Shona state ruled much of the area that is known as Zimbabwe today, and parts of central Mozambique. It is known by many names including the Mutapa Empire, also known as Mwene Mutapa or Monomotapa as well as “Munhumutapa,” and was renowned for its gold trade routes with Arabs and the Portuguese. Portuguese settlers destroyed the trade and began a series of wars which left the empire in near collapse in the early 17th century.^[11]

As a direct response to Portuguese aggression in the interior, a new Shona state emerged called the Rozvi Empire. Relying on centuries of military, political and religious development, the Rozvi (which means “destroyers”) removed the Portuguese from the Zimbabwe plateau by force of arms. The Rozvi continued the stone building traditions of the Zimbabwe and Mapungubwe kingdoms while adding guns to its arsenal and developing a professional army to protect its trade routes and conquests.

Economy

Zimbabwean exports in 2006

Crop production in Zimbabwe has considerably fallen in recent years

Mineral exports, agriculture, and tourism are the main foreign currency earners of Zimbabwe.^[90] The mining sector remains very lucrative, with some of the world’s largest platinum reserves being mined by Anglo-American and Impala Platinum.^[91] The Marange diamond fields, discovered in 2006, are considered the biggest diamond find in over a century.^[92] They have the potential to improve the fiscal situation of the country considerably, but almost all revenues from the field have disappeared in to the pockets of army officers and ZANU-PF politicians.^[93] Zimbabwe is the biggest trading partner of South Africa on the continent.^[94]

Zimbabwe maintained positive economic growth throughout the 1980s (5.0% GDP growth per year) and 1990s (4.3% GDP growth per year). The economy declined from 2000: 5% decline in 2000, 8% in 2001, 12% in 2002 and 18% in 2003.^[95] The government of Zimbabwe faces a variety of economic problems after having abandoned earlier efforts to develop a market-oriented economy. Problems include a shortage of foreign exchange, soaring inflation, and supply shortages. Zimbabwe’s involvement from 1998 to 2002 in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy.^[96]

The downward spiral of the economy has been attributed mainly to mismanagement and corruption of the Mugabe regime and the eviction of more than 4,000 white farmers in the controversial land redistribution of 2000.^{[97][98][99][100]} Zimbabwe was previously an exporter of maize but has become a net importer.^[91] Tobacco exports and other exports of crops have also declined sharply.

Tourism was an important industry for the country, but has been failing in recent years. The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force released a report in June 2007, estimating 60% of Zimbabwe’s wildlife has died since 2000 due to poaching and deforestation. The report warns that the loss of life combined with widespread deforestation is potentially disastrous for the tourist industry.^[101]

On November 2010, the IMF described the Zimbabwean economy as “completing its second year of buoyant economic growth”.^[

Culture and recreation

A Zimbabwe market place and bus terminus.

Zimbabwe has many different cultures which may include beliefs and ceremonies, one of them being Shona. Zimbabwe's largest ethnic group is Shona. The Shona people have many sculptures and carvings of gods (idols) which are made with the finest materials available.

Zimbabwe first celebrated its independence on 18 April 1980.^[175] Celebrations are held at either the National Sports Stadium or Rufaro Stadium in Harare. The first independence celebrations were held in 1980 at the Zimbabwe Grounds. At these celebrations doves are released to symbolise peace and fighter jets fly over and the national anthem is sung. The flame of independence is lit by the president after parades by the presidential family and members of the armed forces of Zimbabwe. The president also gives a speech to the people of Zimbabwe which is televised for those unable to attend the stadium.^[176]

Pre-Dynastic era

The area now known as Vietnam has been inhabited since Paleolithic times, and some archaeological sites in Thanh Hóa Province purportedly date back several thousand years. Archaeologists link the beginnings of Vietnamese civilization to the late Neolithic, Early Bronze Age, Phung Nguyen culture, which was centered in Vĩnh Phúc Province of contemporary Vietnam from about 2000 to 1400 BCE.

By about 1200 BCE, the development of wet-rice cultivation and bronze casting in the Ma River and Red River plains led to the development of the Dong Son culture, notable for its elaborate bronze drums. The bronze weapons, tools, and drums of Dong-Sonian sites show a Southeast Asian influence that indicates an indigenous origin for the bronze-casting technology.

A Song Da bronze drum’s surface.

Many small, ancient copper mine sites have been found in northern Vietnam. Some of the similarities between the Dong-Sonian sites and other Southeast Asian sites include the presence of boat-shaped coffins and burial jars, stilt dwellings, and evidence of the customs of betel-nut-chewing and teeth-blackening.

Dynastic era

The legendary Hồng Bàng Dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered by many Vietnamese as the first Vietnamese state, known as Văn Lang. In 257 BCE, the last Hùng king lost to Thục Phán, who consolidated the Lạc Việt tribes with his Âu Việt tribes, forming Âu Lạc and proclaiming himself An Dương Vương. In 207 BCE, a Chinese general named Zhao Tuo defeated An Dương Vương and consolidated Âu Lạc into Nanyue. In 111 BCE, the Chinese Han Dynasty consolidated Nanyue into their empire.

For the next thousand years, Vietnam was mostly under Chinese rule.^[24] Early independence movements such as those of the Trưng Sisters and of Lady Triệu were only briefly successful. It was independent as Vạn Xuân under the Anterior Lý Dynasty between 544 and 602. By the early 10th century, Vietnam had gained autonomy, but not independence, under the Khúc family.

Vietnam is approximately 331,688 km² (128,065 sq mi) in area (not including Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands), larger than Italy and almost the size of Germany. The combined length of the country’s land boundaries is 4,639 km (2,883 mi) and its coastline (excluding islands) is 3,444 km (2,140 mi). The topography consists of hills and densely forested mountains, with level land covering no more than 20%. Mountains account for 40% of the area, with smaller hills accounting for 40% and tropical forests 42%.

Son Doong Cave, the world’s largest cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

The northern part of the country consists mostly of highlands and the Red River Delta. Phan Xi Păng, located in Lào Cai province, is the highest mountain in Vietnam at 3,143 m (10,312 ft). The south is divided into coastal lowlands, Annamite Chain peaks, extensive forests, and poor soil. Comprising five relatively flat plateaus of basalt soil, the highlands account for 16% of the country’s arable land and 22% of its total forested land.

The delta of the Red River (also known as the Sông Hồng), a flat, triangular region of 15,000 km² (5,792 sq mi),^[54] is smaller but more intensely developed and more densely populated than the Mekong River Delta. Once an inlet of the Gulf of Tonkin, it has been filled in by the enormous alluvial deposits of the rivers over a period of millennia, and it advances one 100 meters (328.1 ft) into the Gulf annually. The Mekong delta, covering about 40,000 km² (15,444 sq mi), is a low-level plain no more than 3 meters (9.8 ft) above sea level at any point and criss-crossed by a maze of canals and rivers. So much sediment is carried by the Mekong’s various branches and tributaries that the delta advances 60 to 80 meters (196.9 to 262.5 ft) into the sea every year.

Because of differences in latitude and the marked variety of topographical relief, the climate tends to vary considerably from place to place. During the winter or dry season, extending roughly from November to April, the monsoon winds usually blow from the northeast along the China coast and across the Gulf of Tonkin, picking up considerable moisture; consequently the winter season in most parts of the country is dry only by comparison with the rainy or summer season.

The average annual temperature is generally higher in the plains than in the mountains and plateaus and in the south than in the north. Temperatures in the southern plains (Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta) varies less, going between 21 and 28 °C (69.8 and 82.4 °F) over the course of a year. The seasons in the mountains and plateaus and in the north are much more dramatic, and temperatures may vary from 5 °C (41 °F) in December and January to 37 °C (98.6 °F) in July and August.

Nature

Vietnam has two World Natural Heritage sites: Halong Bay and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and six World biosphere reserves including: Can Gio Mangrove Forest, Cat Tien, Cat Ba, Kien Giang, Red River Delta, Western Nghe An. Because of Typhoon Ketsana of 29 September 2009, more than 300,000 persons were evacuated.^[55]

Biodiversity

The Saola, one of the world’s rarest mammals and native to Vietnam

Vietnam is in the Indomalaya ecozone.

According to chapter 1 of the 2005 National Environmental Present Condition Report, “Biodiversity Subject of Vietnam Environment Protection Agency,”^[56] in terms of species diversity Vietnam is one of twenty five countries considered to possess a high level of biodiversity, and is ranked 16th in biological diversity (having 16% world’s species) (page 9). 15,986 flora were identified, of which 10% are endemic (p9). Statistics indicate that there are 307 nematodes, 200 oligochaeta, 145 acarina, 113 springtails, 7750 insects, 260 reptiles, 120 amphibians, 840 birds and 310 mammals of which 100 birds and 78 mammals are endemic (p9,10).

Vietnam also has 1438 fresh water microalgae (9,6% species in the world) (Table 1.2, p9). It is also noted that there are 794 aquatic invertebrates and 2458 sea fish (p10,11). In recent years, there have been 13 genera, 222 species, and 30 taxa of flora newly described. 6 mammals have been discovered including the saola, giant muntjac, Tonkin Snub-nosed Langur, livistona halongensis, geothelphusa vietnamica, and 1 bird, the Edwards’s Pheasant.

In agricultural genetic diversity, Vietnam is one of the world’s twelve original cultivar centers (p13). The Vietnam National Cultivar Gene Bank is preserving 12,300 cultivars of 115 species (p14). In Chapter 4 of that report, it is said that the Vietnamese government spent 49.07 million USD for preserving biodiversity in 2004 (p71) and has established 126 conservation areas including 28 national parks (p73).

Economy and international trade

Ho Chi Minh City’s Downtown at Night.

Historically, Vietnam has been an agricultural civilization based on wet rice cultivating. The Vietnam War destroyed much of the country’s economy. Upon taking power, the Government created a planned economy for the nation.

Collectivization of farms, factories and economic capital was implemented, and millions of people were put to work in government programs. For a decade, united Vietnam’s economy was plagued with inefficiency and corruption in state programs, poor quality and underproduction and restrictions on economic activities and trade. It also suffered from the trade embargo from the United States and most of Europe after the Vietnam War. Subsequently, the trade partners of the Communist blocs began to erode.

In 1986, the Sixth Party Congress introduced significant economic reforms with free market economy elements as part of a broad economic reform package called “đổi mới” (Renovation), resulting in a Socialist-oriented market economy. Private ownership was encouraged in industries, commerce and agriculture.^[57]

Saigon River Port

Vietnam achieved around 8% annual GDP growth from 1990 to 1997 and continued at around 7% from 2000 to 2005, making it one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Growth by 8.5 percent, 6.3, 5.3 and 6.8 for the year of 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively, but inflation rate hit 11.8 percent in December 2010 on a year-on-year basis, according to a GSO estimate. The dong has been devalued three times since late last year.^[58] Before 1998, foreign investment grew threefold and domestic savings quintupled.^{[citation needed]} Manufacturing, information technology and high-tech industries form a large and fast-growing part of the national economy. Vietnam is a relative newcomer to the oil business, but today it is the third-largest oil producer in Southeast Asia with output of 400,000 barrels per day (64,000 m³/d). Vietnam is one of Asia’s most open economies: two-way trade is around 160% of GDP, more than twice the ratio for China and over four times India’s.^[59]

Deep poverty, defined as a percent of the population living under $1 per day, has declined significantly and is now smaller than that of China, India, and the Philippines.^[60] Much can be attributed to equitable economic policy that aimed at improving living standards and preventing the rise of inequality; this included egalitarian land distribution at the initial stages of Doi Moi, investing in poor remote areas and the supporting the poor with education and health fees.^[61]

In 2009, the nominal GDP reached $92.439 billion,^[4] with nominal GDP per capita of $1,060^[4] According to a forecast in December 2005 by Goldman-Sachs, Vietnamese economy will become the 17th largest economy in the world in 2025, with nominal GDP of $ 436 billion and GDP per capita of 4,357 USD.^[62] According to the forecast by the PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2008, Vietnam may be fastest growing of emerging economies by 2025 with a potential growth rate of almost 10% per annum in real dollar terms that could push it up to around 70% of the size of the UK economy by 2050.^[63]

As a result of several land reform measures, Vietnam is now the largest producer of cashew nuts with a one-third global share, the largest producer of black pepper accounting for one-third of the world’s market and second largest rice exporter in the world after Thailand. Vietnam has the highest percent of land use for permanent crops, 6.93%, of any nation in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Besides rice, key exports are coffee, tea, rubber, and fishery products. However, agriculture’s share of economic output has declined, falling as a share of GDP from 42% in 1989 to 20% in 2006, as production in other sectors of the economy has risen. According to the CIA World Fact Book, the unemployment rate in Vietnam is 2.9% (30 April 2009 est.)^[64]

Vietnam applied sequenced trade liberalisation, a two-track approach opening some sectors of the economy to international markets while protecting others.^[61][65] Among other steps taken in the process of transitioning to a market economy, Vietnam in July 2006 updated its intellectual property legislation to comply with TRIPS. Vietnam was accepted into the WTO on November 7, 2006. Vietnam’s chief trading partners include China, Japan, Australia, ASEAN countries, the U.S. and Western European countries. Vietnam still uses five-year plans however (see Five-Year Plans of Vietnam).

online private Krankenversicherung |  Jaipur Tourism

Native American and European settlement

The indigenous peoples of the U.S. mainland, including Alaska Natives, are believed to have migrated from Asia, beginning between 12,000 and 40,000 years ago.^[31] Some, such as the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture, developed advanced agriculture, grand architecture, and state-level societies. After Europeans began settling the Americas, many millions of indigenous Americans died from epidemics of imported diseases such as smallpox.^[32]

In 1492, Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus, under contract to the Spanish crown, reached several Caribbean islands, making first contact with the indigenous people. On April 2, 1513, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León landed on what he called “La Florida”—the first documented European arrival on what would become the U.S. mainland. Spanish settlements in the region were followed by ones in the present-day southwestern United States that drew thousands through Mexico. French fur traders established outposts of New France around the Great Lakes; France eventually claimed much of the North American interior, down to the Gulf of Mexico. The first successful English settlements were the Virginia Colony in Jamestown in 1607 and the Pilgrims’ Plymouth Colony in 1620. The 1628 chartering of the Massachusetts Bay Colony resulted in a wave of migration; by 1634, New England had been settled by some 10,000 Puritans. Between the late 1610s and the American Revolution, about 50,000 convicts were shipped to Britain’s American colonies.^[33] Beginning in 1614, the Dutch settled along the lower Hudson River, including New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island.

In 1674, the Dutch ceded their American territory to England; the province of New Netherland was renamed New York. Many new immigrants, especially to the South, were indentured servants—some two-thirds of all Virginia immigrants between 1630 and 1680.^[34] By the turn of the 18th century, African slaves were becoming the primary source of bonded labor. With the 1729 division of the Carolinas and the 1732 colonization of Georgia, the thirteen British colonies that would become the United States of America were established. All had local governments with elections open to most free men, with a growing devotion to the ancient rights of Englishmen and a sense of self-government stimulating support for republicanism. All legalized the African slave trade. With high birth rates, low death rates, and steady immigration, the colonial population grew rapidly. The Christian revivalist movement of the 1730s and 1740s known as the Great Awakening fueled interest in both religion and religious liberty. In the French and Indian War, British forces seized Canada from the French, but the francophone population remained politically isolated from the southern colonies. Excluding the Native Americans (popularly known as “American Indians”), who were being displaced, those thirteen colonies had a population of 2.6 million in 1770, about one-third that of Britain; nearly one in five Americans were black slaves.^[35] Though subject to British taxation, the American colonials had no representation in the Parliament of Great Britain.

Economy

The United States has a capitalist mixed economy, which is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity.^[77] According to the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. GDP of $15 trillion constitutes 23% of the gross world product at market exchange rates and over 20% of the gross world product at purchasing power parity (PPP).^[3] Though larger than any other nation’s, its national GDP is about 5% smaller than the GDP of the European Union at PPP in 2008. The country ranks ninth in the world in nominal GDP per capita and sixth in GDP per capita at PPP.^[3] The U.S. dollar is the world’s primary reserve currency.

The United States is the largest importer of goods and third largest exporter, though exports per capita are relatively low. In 2008, the total U.S. trade deficit was $696 billion.^[78] Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, and Germany are its top trading partners.^[79] In 2007, vehicles constituted both the leading import and leading export commodity.^[80] China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. public debt.

Culture

The United States is a multicultural nation, home to a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and values.^[6][201] Aside from the now small Native American and Native Hawaiian populations, nearly all Americans or their ancestors immigrated within the past five centuries.^[202] The culture held in common by most Americans—mainstream American culture—is a Western culture largely derived from the traditions of European immigrants with influences from many other sources, such as traditions brought by slaves from Africa.^[6][203] More recent immigration from Asia and especially Latin America has added to a cultural mix that has been described as both a homogenizing melting pot, and a heterogeneous salad bowl in which immigrants and their descendants retain distinctive cultural characteristics.^[6]

American culture is considered the most individualistic in the world.^[204] Though the American Dream, or the perception that Americans enjoy high social mobility, plays a key role in attracting immigrants, other developed nations offer greater social mobility.^[205] While the mainstream culture holds that the United States is a classless society,^[206] scholars identify significant differences between the country’s social classes, affecting socialization, language, and values.^[207] The American middle and professional class has initiated many contemporary social trends such as modern feminism, environmentalism, and multiculturalism.^[208] Americans’ self-images, social viewpoints, and cultural expectations are associated with their occupations to an unusually close degree.^[209] While Americans tend greatly to value socioeconomic achievement, being ordinary or average is generally seen as a positive attribute.^[210]

Popular media

Portland is a great tourism city; too see it better the best option is a Car Hire Portland. Let a local take you on a tour of this magical city.

Will a quick visit to Houston be enough? Probably not, but you can make the best of it with Houston Car Hire.

Big D is one of the most interesting cities in the South West of the US. Cheap Car Hire Dallasis there to assist you in your visit.

Bristol has gone from an industrial town to one of the most happening cities in England. Cheap Car Hire Bristolcan help you discover it.

Mexico is one of the most history rich places this side of the globe. Cheap Car Hire Mexicocan make your visit the one of a life time.

Florida is one of the top destinations in the US and Jacksonville is a big reason for it. Let Jacksonville Carhelp you discover this part of the Sunshine State.

Los Angeles is the Biggest and Fastest City in the West Coast. Let car review Los Angeleshelp you choose the best car service for your needs.

Car Hire Phoenixis the best way to help you see the great American West. Scenery and attractions are one of a kind.

A place as big and as happening as New York will give you many lodging options. Best Hotel New Yorkwill give you the best options to stay when traveling to the Capital of the World.

Las Vegas is still the place to be to try your luck and have fun like no other. Best Car Hire Las Vegas Vegas can drive you so you don’t have to deal with the Strip’s traffic.

Australia Vacation – vacation rentals: holiday homes and villas direct from owners – cottages, Beach Houses ,Cabins, apartments and Condos for pleasure and business trips

Minneapolis International Airport Car Rental – Get suitable car rental deal at Minneapolis Airport with minneapolisairportcars.com

san diego diamond | valley resort |

Charter buses – We offer charter buses and services throughout the US’s major metro areas. We have many ground transportation options for any sized group.

Cheap Airfares – Find cheap flights, airline tickets and exclusive cheap airfare flight deals. Save big on cheap plane tickets and air fare by booking cheap tickets on Globester!

The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 243,610 square kilometres (94,060 sq mi). The country occupies the major part of the British Isles^[98] archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the south-east coast coming within 35 kilometres (22 mi) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel.^[99] As of 1993 10% of the UK was forested, 46% used for pastures and 25% used for agriculture.^[100] The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London is the defining point of the Prime Meridian.

The United Kingdom lies between latitudes 49° to 61° N, and longitudes 9° W to 2° E. Northern Ireland shares a 360-kilometre (224 mi) land boundary with the Republic of Ireland.^[99] The coastline of Great Britain is 17,820 kilometres (11,073 mi) long.^[101] It is connected to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel, which at 50 kilometres (31 mi) (38 kilometres (24 mi) underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world.^[102]

England accounts for just over half of the total area of the UK, covering 130,395 square kilometres (50,350 sq mi).^[103] Most of the country consists of lowland terrain,^[100] with mountainous terrain north-west of the Tees-Exe line; including the Cumbrian Mountains of the Lake District, the Pennines and limestone hills of the Peak District, Exmoor and Dartmoor. The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames, Severn and the Humber. England’s highest mountain is Scafell Pike (978 metres (3,209 ft)) in the Lake District. Its principal rivers are the Severn, Thames, Humber, Tees, Tyne, Tweed, Avon, Exe and Mersey.^[100]

Scotland accounts for just under a third of the total area of the UK, covering 78,772 square kilometres (30,410 sq mi)^[104] and including nearly eight hundred islands,^[105] predominantly west and north of the mainland; notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. The topography of Scotland is distinguished by the Highland Boundary Fault  – a geological rock fracture – which traverses Scotland from Arran in the west to Stonehaven in the east.^[106] The faultline separates two distinctively different regions; namely the Highlands to the north and west and the lowlands to the south and east. The more rugged Highland region contains the majority of Scotland’s mountainous land, including Ben Nevis which at 1,343 metres (4,406 ft) is the highest point in the British Isles.^[107] Lowland areas, especially the narrow waist of land between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth known as the Central Belt, are flatter and home to most of the population including Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, and Edinburgh, its capital and political centre.

Wales accounts for less than a tenth of the total area of the UK, covering 20,779 square kilometres (8,020 sq mi).^[108] Wales is mostly mountainous, though South Wales is less mountainous than North and mid Wales. The main population and industrial areas are in South Wales, consisting of the coastal cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and the South Wales Valleys to their north. The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon (Welsh: Yr Wyddfa) which, at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft), is the highest peak in Wales.^[100] The 14, or possibly 15, Welsh mountains over 3,000 feet (914 m) high are known collectively as the Welsh 3000s. Wales has over 1,200 km (750 miles) of coastline. There are several islands off the Welsh mainland, the largest of which is Anglesey (Ynys Môn) in the northwest.

Northern Ireland accounts for just 14,160 square kilometres (5,470 sq mi) and is mostly hilly. It includes Lough Neagh which, at 388 square kilometres (150 sq mi), is the largest lake in the British Isles by area.^[109] The highest peak in Northern Ireland is Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains at 852 metres (2,795 ft).^[100]

Climate

The United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round.^[99] The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below −11 °C (12 °F) or rising above 35 °C (95 °F).^[110] The prevailing wind is from the south-west and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean,^[99] although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind  – as the majority of the rain falls over the western regions the eastern parts are therefore the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream, bring mild winters; especially in the west where winters are wet and even moreso over high ground. Summers are warmest in the south-east of England, being closest to the European mainland, and coolest in the north. Snowfall can occur in winter and early spring, though it rarely settles to great depth away from high ground.

Administrative divisions

Each country of the United Kingdom has its own system of administrative and geographic demarcation, which often has origins that pre-date the formation of the United Kingdom itself. Consequently there is “no common stratum of administrative unit encompassing the United Kingdom”.^[111] Until the 19th century there was little change to those arrangements, but there has since been a constant evolution of role and function.^[112] Change did not occur in a uniform manner and the devolution of power over local government to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland means that future changes are unlikely to be uniform either.

The organisation of local government in England is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to the local arrangements. Legislation concerning local government in England is decided by the UK parliament and the Government of the United Kingdom, as England does not have a devolved parliament. The upper-tier subdivisions of England are the nine Government office regions or European Union government office regions.^[113] One region, Greater London, has had a directly elected assembly and mayor since 2000 following popular support for the proposal in a referendum.^[114] It was intended that other regions would also be given their own elected regional assemblies but the rejection of a proposed assembly in the North East region, by a referendum in 2004, stopped this idea in its tracks.^[115] Below the region level England has either county councils and district councils or unitary authorities and London which consists of 32 London boroughs. Councillors are elected by the first-past-the-post system in single-member wards or by the multi-member plurality system in multi-member wards.^[116]

Local government in Scotland is divided on a basis of 32 council areas, with wide variation in both size and population. The cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee are separate council areas as is the Highland Council which includes a third of Scotland’s area but just over 200,000 people. The power invested in local authorities is administered by elected councillors, of which there are currently 1,222^[117] and are each paid a part-time salary. Elections are conducted by single transferable vote in multi-member wards that elect either three or four councillors. Each council elects a Provost, or Convenor, to chair meetings of the council and to act as a figurehead for the area. Councillors are subject to a code of conduct enforced by the Standards Commission for Scotland.^[118] The representative association of Scotland’s local authorities is the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).^[119]

Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary authorities. These include the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport which are unitary authorities in their own right.^[120] Elections are held every four years under the first-past-the-post system.^[121] The most recent elections were held in May 2008. The Welsh Local Government Association represents the interests of local authorities in Wales.^[122]

Local government in Northern Ireland has, since 1973, been organised into 26 district councils, each elected by single transferable vote. Their powers are limited to services such as collecting waste, controlling dogs, and maintaining parks and cemeteries.^[123] On 13 March 2008 the executive agreed on proposals to create 11 new councils and replace the present system.^[124] The next local elections were postponed until 2011 to facilitate this.^[125]

Economy

The UK has a partially regulated market economy.^[186] Based on market exchange rates the UK is today the sixth-largest economy in the world and the third-largest in Europe after Germany and France, having fallen behind France for the first time in over a decade in 2008.^[187] HM Treasury, led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is responsible for developing and executing the British government’s public finance policy and economic policy. The Bank of England is the UK’s central bank and is responsible for issuing the nation’s currency, the pound sterling. Banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland retain the right to issue their own notes, subject to retaining enough Bank of England notes in reserve to cover their issue. Pound sterling is the world’s third-largest reserve currency (after the U.S. Dollar and the Euro).^[188] Since 1997 the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, headed by the Governor of the Bank of England, has been responsible for setting interest rates at the level necessary to achieve the overall inflation target for the economy that is set by the Chancellor each year.

Education

Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, with each country having a separate education system.

Education in England is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Education, though the day-to-day administration and funding of state schools is the responsibility of local authorities.^[328] Universally free of charge state education was introduced piecemeal between 1870 and 1944, with education becoming compulsory for all 5 to 14 year-olds in 1921.^[329][330] Education is now mandatory from ages five to sixteen (15 if born in late July or August). The majority of children are educated in state-sector schools, only a small proportion of which select on the grounds of academic ability. State schools which are allowed to select pupils according to intelligence and academic ability can achieve comparable results to the most selective private schools: out of the top ten performing schools in terms of GCSE results in 2006 two were state-run grammar schools. Despite a fall in actual numbers the proportion of children in England attending private schools has risen to over 7%.^[331] Over half of students at the leading universities of Cambridge and Oxford had attended state schools.^[332] The universities of England include some of the top universities in the world; the University of Cambridge, University College London, the University of Oxford and Imperial College London are all ranked in the global top 10 in the 2010 QS World University Rankings, with Cambridge ranked first.^[333] Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) rated pupils in England 7th in the world for maths and 6th for science. The results put England’s pupils ahead of other European countries, including Germany and the Scandinavian countries.^[334]

Cheap Flights to New York

Get cheap flights to New York right away at Crystal Travel. Our New York flights are available from all the leading airports in the UK. We offer cheap flights to New York with most profitable airlines.

if you want Good Quality link building service Then click here. We offers all type of link building services at The Global IT Solution

Web Design Agency | Digital Agency | lionel messi| alquiler de microbus en Marrakech Marruecos | Suchmaschinenoptimierung ohne Risiko | campeggio zadar – campeggio zadar

Heathrow Taxi | Hotels | moola| speeding ticket  detroit – Ticket void matches a local ticket attorney

Origins

An 18th century watchtower in Hatta

The earliest known human habitation in the UAE dated from 5500 BCE. At this early stage, there is proof of interaction with the outside world, particularly with civilizations to the north in Persia. These contacts persisted and became wide-ranging, probably motivated by trade in copper from the Hajar Mountains, which commenced around 3000 BCE.^[13] Foreign trade, the recurring motif in the history of this strategic region, flourished also in later periods, facilitated by the domestication of the camel at the end of the second millennium BC.^[14]

By the 1st century AD overland caravan traffic between Syria and cities in southern Iraq began. Also, there was seaborne travel to the important port of Omana (perhaps present-day Umm al-Qaiwain) and then to India. These routes were an alternative to the Red Sea route used by the Romans.^[15] Pearls had been exploited in the area for millennia but at this time the trade reached new heights. Seafaring was also a mainstay and major fairs were held at Dibba, bringing in merchants from as far as China.^[16]

Geography

The landscape of Sir Bani Yas Island

The United Arab Emirates is situated in Southwest Asia, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia; it is in a strategic location along southern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil.^[37]

A view of the desert landscape on the outskirts of Dubai

The mountainous region in the north

The UAE lies between 22°30′ and 26°10′ north latitude and between 51° and 56°25′ east longitude. It shares a 530-kilometer border with Saudi Arabia on the west, south, and southeast, and a 450-kilometer border with Oman on the southeast and northeast. The land border with Qatar in the Khawr al Udayd area is about nineteen kilometers in the northwest; however, it is a source of ongoing dispute.^[38] The total area of the UAE is approximately 77,700 square kilometers. The country’s exact size is unknown because of disputed claims to several islands in the Persian Gulf, because of the lack of precise information on the size of many of these islands, and because most of its land boundaries, especially with Saudi Arabia, remain undemarcated.^[39] Additionally, island disputes with Iran and Qatar remain unresolved.^[40]

The largest emirate, Abu Dhabi, accounts for 87% of the UAE’s total area (67,340 square kilometers). The smallest emirate, Ajman, encompasses only 259 square kilometers (see figure).

The UAE coast stretches for more than 650 kilometers along the southern shore of the Persian Gulf. Most of the coast consists of salt pans that extend far inland. The largest natural harbor is at Dubai, although other ports have been dredged at Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and elsewhere. Numerous islands are found in the Persian Gulf, and the ownership of some of them has been the subject of international disputes with both Iran and Qatar. The smaller islands, as well as many coral reefs and shifting sandbars, are a menace to navigation. Strong tides and occasional windstorms further complicate ship movements near the shore. The UAE also has a stretch of the Al Bāţinah coast of the Gulf of Oman, although the Musandam Peninsula, the very tip of Arabia by the Strait of Hormuz is an enclave of Oman within the UAE.

South and west of Abu Dhabi, vast, rolling sand dunes merge into the Rub al-Khali (Empty Quarter) of Saudi Arabia. The desert area of Abu Dhabi includes two important oases with adequate underground water for permanent settlements and cultivation. The extensive Liwa Oasis is in the south near the undefined border with Saudi Arabia. About 100 kilometers to the northeast of Liwa is the Al-Buraimi oasis, which extends on both sides of the Abu Dhabi-Oman border.

Prior to withdrawing from the area in 1971, Britain delineated the internal borders among the seven emirates in order to preempt territorial disputes that might hamper formation of the federation. In general, the rulers of the emirates accepted the British intervention, but in the case of boundary disputes between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and also between Dubai and Sharjah, conflicting claims were not resolved until after the UAE became independent. The most complicated borders were in the Al-Hajar al-Gharbi Mountains, where five of the emirates contested jurisdiction over more than a dozen enclaves.

Flora and fauna

Acacia trees growing in desert suburbs near Fujairah

The oases grow date palms, acacia and eucalyptus trees. In the desert the flora is very sparse and consists of grasses and thornbushes. The indigenous fauna had come close to extinction because of intensive hunting, which has led to a conservation program on Bani Yas island initiated by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in the 1970s, resulting in the survival of, for example, Arabian oryx and leopards. Coastal fish consist mainly of mackerel, perch and tuna, as well as sharks and whales.

Climate

The climate of the U.A.E is subtropical-arid with hot summers and warm winters. The hottest months are July and August, when average maximum temperatures reach above 50 °C (122.0 °F) on the coastal plain. In the Al Hajar Mountains, temperatures are considerably lower, a result of increased altitude.^[41] Average minimum temperatures in January and February are between 10 and 14 °C (50 and 57.2 °F).^[42] During the late summer months, a humid southeastern wind known as Sharqi (i.e. “Easterner”) makes the coastal region especially unpleasant. The average annual rainfall in the coastal area is less than 120 mm (4.7 in), but in some mountainous areas annual rainfall often reaches 350 mm (13.8 in). Rain in the coastal region falls in short, torrential bursts during the summer months, sometimes resulting in floods in ordinarily dry wadi beds.^[43] The region is prone to occasional, violent dust storms, which can severely reduce visibility. The Jebel Jais mountain cluster in Ras al-Khaimah has experienced snow only twice since records began.^[44]

Wireless Security System Reviews

The Ugandans were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago. Bantu-speaking populations, who were probably from central Africa, migrated to the southern parts of the country.^[4][5] These groups brought and developed ironworking skills and new ideas of social and political organization. The Empire of Kitara covered most of the great lakes area, from Lake Albert, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, to Lake Kyoga. Its leadership headquarters were mainly in what became Ankole, believed to have been run by the Bachwezi dynasty in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, who may have followed a semi-legendary dynasty known as the Batembuzi. Bunyoro-Kitara is claimed as the antecedent of later kingdoms; Buganda and Ankole.^[6] The Nilotic Luo invasion is believed to have led the collapse of Chwezi empire. The twins Rukidi Mpuuga and Kato Kimera are believed to be the first kings of Bunyonro and Buganda after the Chwezi Empire collapsed, creating the Babiito and Bambejja Dynasty. Nilotic people including Luo and Ateker entered the area from the north, probably beginning about A.D. 120. They were cattle herders and subsistence farmers who settled mainly the northern and eastern parts of the country. Some Luo invaded the area of Bunyoro and assimilated with the Bantu there, establishing the Babiito dynasty of the current Omukama (ruler) of Bunyoro-Kitara.^[7] Luo migration continued until the 16th century, with some Luo settling amid Bantu people in Eastern Uganda, with others proceeding to the western shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya and Tanzania. The Ateker (Karimojong and Iteso) settled in the northeastern and eastern parts of the country, and some fused with the Luo in the area north of Lake Kyoga.

Arab traders moved inland from the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa in the 1830s. They were followed in the 1860s by British explorers searching for the source of the Nile. Protestant missionaries entered the country in 1877, followed by Catholic missionaries in 1879.^[8] The United Kingdom placed the area under the charter of the British East Africa Company in 1888, and ruled it as a protectorate from 1894.

As several other territories and chiefdoms were integrated, the final protectorate called Uganda took shape in 1914. From 1900 to 1920, a sleeping sickness epidemic killed more than 250,000 people,^[9] about two-thirds of the population in the affected lake-shore areas.^[10]

Uganda gained independence from Britain in 1962, maintaining its Commonwealth membership. The first post-independence election, held in 1962, was won by an alliance between the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) and Kabaka Yekka (KY). UPC and KY formed the first post-independence government with Milton Obote as executive Prime Minister, the Buganda Kabaka (King) Edward Muteesa II holding the largely ceremonial position of President^[11][12] and William Wilberforce Nadiope, the Kyabazinga (paramount chief) of Busoga, as Vice President.^{[citation needed]}

In 1966, following a power struggle between the Obote-led government and King Muteesa, the UPC-dominated Parliament changed the constitution and removed the ceremonial president and vice president. In 1967, a new constitution proclaimed Uganda a republic and abolished the traditional kingdoms. Without first calling elections, Obote was declared the executive President.^[13]

Obote was deposed from office in 1971 when Idi Amin seized power. Amin ruled the country with the military for the next eight years.^[14] Amin’s rule cost an estimated 300,000 Ugandans’ lives.^[15] He forcibly removed the entrepreneurial South Asian minority from Uganda.^[16] The Ugandan economy was devastated.

Amin’s reign was ended after the Uganda-Tanzania War in 1979 in which Tanzanian forces aided by Ugandan exiles invaded Uganda. This led to the return of Obote, who was deposed once more in 1985 by General Tito Okello. Okello ruled for six months until he was deposed after the so called “bush war” by the National Resistance Army (NRA) operating under the leadership of the current president, Yoweri Museveni, and various rebel groups, including the Federal Democratic Movement of Andrew Kayiira, and another belonging to John Nkwaanga.

Museveni has been in power since 1986. In the mid to late 1990s, he was lauded by the West as part of a new generation of African leaders.^[17] His presidency has included involvement in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other conflicts in the Great Lakes region, as well as the civil war against the Lord’s Resistance Army, which has been guilty of numerous crimes against humanity including child slavery and mass murder. Conflict in northern Uganda has killed thousands and displaced millions.^{[citation needed]}

Geography

The country is located on the East African plateau, lying mostly between latitudes 4°N and 2°S (a small area is north of 4°), and longitudes 29° and 35°E. It averages about 1,100 metres (3,609 ft) above sea level, and this slopes very steadily downwards to the Sudanese Plain to the north. However, much of the south is poorly drained, while the centre is dominated by Lake Kyoga, which is also surrounded by extensive marshy areas. Uganda lies almost completely within the Nile basin. The Victoria Nile drains from the lake into Lake Kyoga and thence into Lake Albert on the Congolese border. It then runs northwards into Sudan. One small area on the eastern edge of Uganda is drained by the Turkwel River, part of the internal drainage basin of Lake Turkana.It was named after the Founder Adnan

Lake Kyoga serves as a rough boundary between Bantu speakers in the south and Nilotic and Central Sudanic language speakers in the north. Despite the division between north and south in political affairs, this linguistic boundary actually runs roughly from northwest to southeast, near the course of the Nile. However, many Ugandans live among people who speak different languages, especially in rural areas. Some sources describe regional variation in terms of physical characteristics, clothing, bodily adornment, and mannerisms, but others claim that those differences are disappearing.

Although generally equatorial, the climate is not uniform as the altitude modifies the climate. Southern Uganda is wetter with rain generally spread throughout the year. At Entebbe on the northern shore of Lake Victoria, most rain falls from March to June and the November/December period. Further to the north a dry season gradually emerges; at Gulu about 120 km from the Sudanese border, November to February is much drier than the rest of the year.

The northeastern Karamoja region has the driest climate and is prone to droughts in some years. Rwenzori in the southwest on the border with Congo (DRC) receives heavy rain all year round. The south of the country is heavily influenced by one of the world’s biggest lakes, Lake Victoria, which contains many islands. It prevents temperatures from varying significantly and increases cloudiness and rainfall. Most important cities are located in the south, near Lake Victoria, including the capital Kampala and the nearby city of Entebbe.

Economy

For decades, Uganda’s economy suffered from devastating economic policies and instability, leaving Uganda as one of the world’s poorest countries. The country has commenced economic reforms and growth has been robust. In 2008, Uganda recorded 7% growth despite the global downturn and regional instability.^[21]

Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. The country has largely untapped reserves of both crude oil and natural gas.^[22] While agriculture used to account for 56% of the economy in 1986, with coffee as its main export, it has now been surpassed by the services sector, which accounted for 52% of percent GDP in 2007.^[23] In the 1950s the British Colonial regime encouraged some 500,000 subsistence farmers to join co-operatives.^[24] Since 1986, the government (with the support of foreign countries and international agencies) has acted to rehabilitate an economy devastated during the regime of Idi Amin and subsequent civil war.^[2] Inflation ran at 240% in 1987 and 42% in June 1992, and was 5.1% in 2003.

Are you in vacation? Do you want to spend your holidays for a safari? Then you can choose Uganda safari which is the best safari in the world. Uganda is a country in Africa which has the amazing national parks. For an instance, there is a park named as “Queen Elizabeth National Park “which has the many number of animals.

Uganda safari is a tourism package and it offers many kinds. Uganda safari makes the people to travel happily around the country and it has amusing natural parks. Uganda safari is a historic place for many spices because it has lot of mountains around the country and keep the persons around the country are more health.

Uganda safaris are one of the amazing places in space to spend our summer holidays with natural forest environment. Uganda safaris are the place in African continent and it has many natural parks around it. Uganda safaris make people to enjoy the tour happily and move around the place with the help of guide.

Turkey Yacht Charter – Turkey yacht charter. Seafarer offers excellent quality yachts, sailing from Bodrum, Fethiye, Gocek, Marmaris and Orhaniye.

string sans ficelle

Antiquity

The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited regions in the world. The earliest Neolithic settlements such as Çatalhöyük (Pottery Neolithic), Çayönü (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A to Pottery Neolithic), Nevalı Çori (Pre-Pottery Neolithic B), Hacılar (Pottery Neolithic), Göbekli Tepe (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A) and Mersin are considered to be among the earliest human settlements in the world.^[23]

Portion of the legendary walls of Troy (VII), identified as the site of the Trojan War (ca. 1200 BCE.)

The settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic and continued into the Iron Age. Through recorded history, Anatolians have spoken Indo-European, Semitic and Kartvelian languages, as well as many languages of uncertain affiliation. In fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical center from which the Indo-European languages radiated.^[24] The Hattians were an ancient people who inhabited the southeastern part of Anatolia, noted at least as early as ca. 2300. Indo-European Hittites came to Anatolia and gradually absorbed Hattians ca. 2000–1700 BC. The first major empire in the area was founded by the Hittites, from the eighteenth through the 13th century BC. The Assyrians colonized parts of southeastern Turkey as far back as 1950 BC until the year 612 BC, when the Assyrian Empire was conquered by the Chaldean dynasty in Babylon.^[25][26] Following the Hittite collapse, the Phrygians, an Indo-European people, achieved ascendancy until their kingdom was destroyed by the Cimmerians in the 7th century BC.^[27] The most powerful of Phrygia’s successor states were Lydia, Caria and Lycia. The Lydians and Lycians spoke languages that were fundamentally Indo-European, but both languages had acquired non-Indo-European elements prior to the Hittite and Hellenistic periods.

The Celsus Library in Ephesus, dating from 135 AD.

Starting around 1200 BC, the coast of Anatolia was heavily settled by Aeolian and Ionian Greeks. Numerous important cities were founded by these colonists, such as Miletus, Ephesus, Smyrna (modern İzmir), and Byzantium (later Constantinople and Istanbul). The first state established in Anatolia that was called Armenia by neighboring peoples (Hecataeus of Miletus and Behistun Inscription) was the state of the Armenian Orontid dynasty. Anatolia was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire during the 6th and 5th centuries BC and later fell to Alexander the Great in 334 BC.^[28] Anatolia was subsequently divided into a number of small Hellenistic kingdoms (including Bithynia, Cappadocia, Pergamum, and Pontus), all of which had succumbed to the Roman Republic by the mid-1st century BC.^[29] Arsacid Armenia, the first state to accept Christianity as official religion had lands in Anatolia.

Geography

Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, connecting Europe (left) and Asia (right.)

Turkey is a transcontinental^[81] Eurasian country. Asian Turkey (made up largely of Anatolia), which includes 97% of the country, is separated from European Turkey by the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles (which together form a water link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean). European Turkey (eastern Thrace or Rumelia in the Balkan peninsula) comprises 3% of the country.^[82]

The territory of Turkey is more than 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) long and 800 km (500 mi) wide, with a roughly rectangular shape.^[79] It lies between latitudes 35° and 43° N, and longitudes 25° and 45° E. Turkey’s area, including lakes, occupies 783,562^[83] square kilometres (300,948 sq mi), of which 755,688 square kilometres (291,773 sq mi) are in Southwest Asia and 23,764 square kilometres (9,174 sq mi) in Europe.^[79] Turkey is the world’s 37th-largest country in terms of area. The country is encircled by seas on three sides: the Aegean Sea to the west, the Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean to the south. Turkey also contains the Sea of Marmara in the northwest.^[84]

Ölüdeniz Beach near Fethiye on the Turkish Riviera.

The European section of Turkey, East Thrace, forms the borders of Turkey with Greece and Bulgaria. The Asian part of the country, Anatolia, consists of a high central plateau with narrow coastal plains, between the Köroğlu and Pontic mountain ranges to the north and the Taurus Mountains to the south. Eastern Turkey has a more mountainous landscape and is home to the sources of rivers such as the Euphrates, Tigris and Aras, and contains Lake Van and Mount Ararat, Turkey’s highest point at 5,165 metres (16,946 ft).^[84][85] Lake Tuz, Turkey’s third-largest lake, is a macroscopically visible feature in the middle of the country.

Turkey is divided into seven census regions: Marmara, Aegean, Black Sea, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia and the Mediterranean. The uneven north Anatolian terrain running along the Black Sea resembles a long, narrow belt. This region comprises approximately one-sixth of Turkey’s total land area. As a general trend, the inland Anatolian plateau becomes increasingly rugged as it progresses eastward.^[84]

Mount Ararat (Ağrı Dağı) is the highest peak in Turkey at 5,165 m (16,946 ft.)

Turkey’s varied landscapes are the product of complex earth movements that have shaped the region over thousands of years and still manifest themselves in fairly frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions. The Bosporus and the Dardanelles owe their existence to the fault lines running through Turkey that led to the creation of the Black Sea. There is an earthquake fault line across the north of the country from west to east, which caused a major earthquake in 1999.^[86]

Climate

The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea have a temperate Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters. The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Black Sea have a temperate Oceanic climate with warm, wet summers and cool to cold, wet winters. The Turkish Black Sea coast receives the greatest amount of precipitation and is the only region of Turkey that receives high precipitation throughout the year. The eastern part of that coast averages 2,500 millimeters annually which is the highest precipitation in the country.

The coastal areas of Turkey bordering the Sea of Marmara (including Istanbul), which connects the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea, have a transitional climate between a temperate Mediterranean climate and a temperate Oceanic climate with warm to hot, moderately dry summers and cool to cold, wet winters. Snow does occur on the coastal areas of the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea almost every winter, but it usually lies no more than a few days. Snow on the other hand is rare in the coastal areas of the Aegean Sea and very rare in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea.

Conditions can be much harsher in the more arid interior. Mountains close to the coast prevent Mediterranean influences from extending inland, giving the central Anatolian plateau of the interior of Turkey a continental climate with sharply contrasting seasons.

Winters on the plateau are especially severe. Temperatures of −30 °C to −40 °C (−22 °F to −40 °F) can occur in eastern Anatolia, and snow may lie on the ground at least 120 days of the year. In the west, winter temperatures average below 1 °C (34 °F). Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures generally above 30 °C (86 °F) in the day. Annual precipitation averages about 400 millimetres (15 in), with actual amounts determined by elevation. The driest regions are the Konya plain and the Malatya plain, where annual rainfall frequently is less than 300 millimetres (12 in). May is generally the wettest month, whereas July and August are the driest.^[87]

Economy

Maslak financial district in Istanbul.

Turkey has the world’s 15th largest GDP-PPP^[5] and 17th largest Nominal GDP.^[7] The country is a founding member of the OECD and the G-20 major economies. During the first six decades of the republic, between 1923 and 1983, Turkey has mostly adhered to a quasi-statist approach with strict government planning of the budget and government-imposed limitations over private sector participation, foreign trade, flow of foreign currency, and foreign direct investment. However in 1983 Prime Minister Turgut Özal initiated a series of reforms designed to shift the economy from a statist, insulated system to a more private-sector, market-based model.^[47]

The reforms spurred rapid growth, but this growth was punctuated by sharp recessions and financial crises in 1994, 1999 (following the earthquake of that year),^[88] and 2001,^[89] resulting in an average of 4% GDP growth per annum between 1981 and 2003.^[90] Lack of additional fiscal reforms, combined with large and growing public sector deficits and widespread corruption, resulted in high inflation, a weak banking sector and increased macroeconomic volatility.^[91] Since the economic crisis of 2001 and the reforms initiated by the finance minister of the time, Kemal Derviş, inflation has fallen to single-digit numbers, investor confidence and foreign investment have soared, and unemployment has fallen. The International Monetary Fund forecasts a 6% inflation rate for Turkey in 2008.

Folding Camper Insurance – Trailer Tent and Folding Camper Insurance quotes online from Shield Total Insurance. We specialise in Trailer Tent and Folding Camper Insurance online, get the righ Insurance cover at the right price.

SEO Los Angeles | Used Cisco Equipment

The region known as Thailand has been inhabited by humans at least since the Paleolithic period, about 40,000 years ago. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, it was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, starting with the kingdom of Funan around the 1st century CE.

After the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 13th century, various states thrived there, such as the various Tai, Mon, Khmer and Malay kingdoms, as seen through the numerous archaeological sites and artifacts that are scattered throughout the Siamese landscape. Prior to the 12th century however, the first Thai or Siamese state is traditionally considered to be the Buddhist kingdom of Sukhothai, which was founded in 1238.

Following the decline and fall of the Khmer empire in the 13th–14th century, the Buddhist Tai kingdoms of Sukhothai, Lanna and Lan Xang (now Laos) were on the ascension. However, a century later, the power of Sukhothai was overshadowed by the new kingdom of Ayutthaya, established in the mid-14th century in the lower Chao Phraya River or Menam area.

Ayutthaya’s expansion centered along the Menam while in the northern valley the Lanna Kingdom and other small Tai city-states ruled the area. In 1431, the Khmer abandoned Angkor after the Ayutthaya forces invaded the city.^[16] Thailand retained a tradition of trade with its neighbouring states, from China to India, Persia and Arab lands. Ayutthaya became one of the most vibrant trading centres in Asia. European traders arrived in the 16th century, beginning with the Portuguese, followed by the French, Dutch and English.

After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 to the Burmese, King Taksin the Great moved the capital of Thailand to Thonburi for approximately 15 years. The current Rattanakosin era of Thai history began in 1782, following the establishment of Bangkok as capital of the Chakri dynasty under King Rama I the Great. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, “A quarter to a third of the population of some areas of Thailand and Burma were slaves in the 17th through the 19th centuries.”^[17][18]

Despite European pressure, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian nation that has never been colonized.^[19] This has been ascribed to the long succession of able rulers in the past four centuries who exploited the rivalry and tension between French Indochina and the British Empire. As a result, the country remained a buffer state between parts of Southeast Asia that were colonized by the two colonizing powers, Great Britain and France. Western influence nevertheless led to many reforms in the 19th century and major concessions, most notably being the loss of a large territory on the east side of the Mekong to the French and the step-by-step absorption by Britain of the Malay Peninsula.

Geography

Totaling 513,120 square kilometres (198,120 sq mi),^[50] Thailand is the world’s 50th largest country in land mass, while it is the world’s 20th largest country in terms of population. It is comparable in population to countries such as France and the United Kingdom, and is similar in land size to France and California in the United States.

Thailand is home to several distinct geographic regions, partly corresponding to the provincial groups. The north of the country is mountainous, with the highest point being Doi Inthanon at 2,565 metres (8,415 ft) above sea level. The northeast, Isan, consists of the Khorat Plateau, bordered to the east by the Mekong River. The centre of the country is dominated by the predominantly flat Chao Phraya river valley, which runs into the Gulf of Thailand.

Southern Thailand consists of the narrow Kra Isthmus that widens into the Malay Peninsula. Politically, there are six geographical regions which differ from the others in population, basic resources, natural features, and level of social and economic development. The diversity of the regions is the most pronounced attribute of Thailand’s physical setting.

The Chao Phraya and the Mekong River are the sustainable resource of rural Thailand. Industrial scale production of crops use both rivers and their tributaries. The Gulf of Thailand covers 320,000 square kilometres (124,000 sq mi) and is fed by the Chao Phraya, Mae Klong, Bang Pakong and Tapi Rivers. It contributes to the tourism sector owing to its clear shallow waters along the coasts in the Southern Region and the Kra Isthmus. The Gulf of Thailand is also an industrial center of Thailand with the kingdom’s main port in Sattahip along with being the entry gates for Bangkok’s Inland Seaport.

The Andaman Sea is regarded as Thailand’s most precious natural resource as it hosts the most popular and luxurious resorts in Asia. Phuket, Krabi, Ranong, Phang Nga and Trang and their lush islands all lay along the coasts of the Andaman Sea and despite the 2004 Tsunami, they continue to be and ever more so, the playground of the rich and elite of Asia and the world.

Plans have resurfaced of a logistical connection of the two bodies of water which would be coined the Thai Canal, analogous to the Suez and the Panama Canal. Such an idea has been greeted with positive accounts by Thai politicians as it would cut fees charged by the Ports of Singapore, improve ties with China and India, lower shipping times and increase ship safety owing to pirate fears in the Strait of Melaka and, support the Thai government’s policy of being the logistical hub for Southeast Asia.

The ports would improve economic conditions in the south of Thailand, which relies heavily on tourism income, and it would also change the structure of the Thai economy moving it closer to a services center of Asia. The canal would be a major engineering project and has expected costs of 20–30 billion dollars.

Climate

The local climate is tropical and characterized by monsoons. There is a rainy, warm, and cloudy southwest monsoon from mid-May to September, as well as a dry, cool northeast monsoon from November to mid-March. The southern isthmus is always hot and humid.

Education

Thailand enjoys a high level of literacy, and education is provided by a well-organized school system of kindergartens, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools, numerous vocational colleges, and universities. The private sector of education is well developed and significantly contributes to the overall provision of education which the government would not be able to meet through the public establishments. Education is compulsory up to and including age group 14, and the government provides free education through to age group 17.

Bandscheibenvorfall Behandlung | Imagefilm Unternehmensfilm | karten legen lassen | private Krankenversicherung| India Tour|

Etymology

The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod, which meant “people of the Swedes” (Old Norse Svíþjóð, Latin Suetidi). This word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas (Old Norse Sviar, Latin Suiones). The Swedish name Sverige (a conjunction of the words Svea and Rike, first recorded as Swēorice in Beowulf, with the consonant ‘k’ softened to ‘g’^[15] – compare “rige” in modern Danish) literally means “Kingdom of the Swedes”, excluding the Geats in Götaland.

Variations of the name Sweden are used in most languages, with the exception of Danish and Norwegian using Sverige, Icelandic Svíþjóð, and the more notable exception of some Finno-Ugric languages where Ruotsi (Finnish) and Rootsi (Estonian) are used, names commonly considered etymologically related to the English name for Russia, referring to the people, Rus’, originally from the coastal areas of Roslagen, Uppland.

The etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning “one’s own”,^[16] referring to one’s own Germanic tribe.

Geography

View of the Stora Sjöfallet National Park

Situated in Northern Europe, Sweden lies west of the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia, providing a long coastline, and forms the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. To the west is the Scandinavian mountain chain (Skanderna), a range that separates Sweden from Norway. Finland is located to its northeast. It has maritime borders with Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and it is also linked to Denmark (southwest) by the Öresund Bridge.

Sweden lies between latitudes 55° and 70° N, and mostly between longitudes 11° and 25° E (part of Stora Drammen island is just west of 11°).

At 449,964 km² (173,732 sq mi), Sweden is the 55th largest country in the world,^[64] the 4th largest in Europe (excluding European Russia), and the largest in Northern Europe. The lowest elevation in Sweden is in the bay of Lake Hammarsjön, near Kristianstad at −2.41 m (−7.91 ft) below sea level. The highest point is Kebnekaise at 2,111 m (6,926 ft) above sea level.

Lake landscape at the outskirts of Ramsjö

Sweden has 25 provinces or landskap (landscapes), based on culture, geography and history. While these provinces serve no political or administrative purpose, they play an important role for people’s self-identification. The provinces are usually grouped together in three large lands, parts, the northern Norrland, the central Svealand and southern Götaland. The sparsely populated Norrland encompasses almost 60% of the country.

About 15% of Sweden lies north of the Arctic Circle. Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, with increasing forest coverage northward. Around 65% of Sweden’s total land area is covered with forests. The highest population density is in the Öresund Region in southern Sweden, along the western coast up to central Bohuslän, and in the valley of lake Mälaren and Stockholm. Gotland and Öland are Sweden’s largest islands; Vänern and Vättern are its largest lakes. Vänern is the third largest in Europe, after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in Russia.

Climate

The Scandinavian Mountains

Most of Sweden has a temperate climate, despite its northern latitude, with four distinct seasons and mild temperatures throughout the year. The country can be divided into three types of climate; the southernmost part has an oceanic climate, the central part has a humid continental climate and the northernmost part has a subarctic climate.^[65] However, Sweden is much warmer and drier than other places at a similar latitude, and even somewhat farther south, mainly because of the Gulf Stream.^[66][67] For example, central and southern Sweden has much warmer winters than many parts of Russia, Canada, and the northern United States.^[68] Because of its high latitude, the length of daylight varies greatly. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets for part of each summer, and it never rises for part of each winter. In the capital, Stockholm, daylight lasts for more than 18 hours in late June but only around 6 hours in late December. Sweden receives between 1,100 to 1,900 hours of sunshine annually.^[69][70]

Temperatures vary greatly from north to south. Southern and central parts of the country have warm summers and cold winters, with average high temperatures of 20 to 25 °C (68 to 77 °F)^[71] and lows of 12 to 15 °C (54 to 59 °F)^[72] in the summer, and average temperatures of -4 to 2 °C (25 to 36 °F) in the winter,^[73] while the northern part of the country has shorter, cooler summers and longer, colder and snowier winters, with temperatures that often drop below freezing from September through May.^[74][75] The highest temperature ever recorded in Sweden was 38 °C (100 °F) in Målilla in 1947, while the coldest temperature ever recorded was −52.6 °C (−62.7 °F) in Vuoggatjålme in 1966.^[76][77]

On average, most of Sweden receives between 500 and 800 mm (20 and 31 in) of precipitation each year, making it considerably drier than the global average. The southwestern part of the country receives more precipitation, between 1000 and 1200 mm (39 and 47 in), and some mountain areas in the north are estimated to receive up to 2000 mm (79 in). Despite northerly locations, southern and central Sweden may have almost no snow in some winters.

Artifacts indicating human activity dating back to the early Stone Age 200,000 years ago have been found in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Prehistoric rock art paintings date from ca. 25,000 B.C. and continue up to the 19th century.

The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by the Bantu tribes during Bantu migrations who hailed from the Great Lakes regions of Eastern Africa. Evidence of agriculture and iron use dates from about the 4th century and people speaking languages ancestral to current Sotho and Nguni languages began settling no later than the 11th century. The Bantu people known as the Swazis established iron-working and settled farming colonies in the 15th century after crossing the Limpopo river. They experienced great economic pressure from the rival Ndwandwe clans from the south.^[6]

The country derives its name from a later king, Mswati I. However, Ngwane is an alternative name for Swaziland and Dlamini remains the surname of the royal house, while Nkosi means “king”. Scholarly history of Swaziland shows that independent chiefdoms and small kingdoms dominated by various clans were initially conquered and incorporated into the growing Ngwane kingdom ruled by members of the Dlamini clan sometime in the 18th and 19th centuries, long before British colonisation.^[7]

According to Swazi royalist tradition, these clans came to be classified in the Dlamini kingdom as the Emakhandzambile category of clans (“those found ahead”, e.g. the Gamedze), meaning that they were on the land prior to Dlamini immigration and conquest, as opposed to the Bomdzabuko (“true Swazi”) who accompanied the Dlamini kings, and the Emafikemuva (“those who came behind”) who joined the kingdom later. Emakhandzambile clans initially were incorporated with wide autonomy, and often in part by granting them special ritual and political status (cf. mediatisation), but the extent of their autonomy was drastically curtailed by King Mswati II, who attacked and subdued some of the clans in the 1850s.^[8]

The autonomy of the Swaziland Nation was dictated by British rule of southern Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1881 the British government signed a convention recognizing Swazi independence. However, controversial land and mineral rights concessions were made under the authority of the Foreign Jurisdiction Act of 1890 in terms of which the administration of Swaziland was also placed under that of the then South African Republic (Transvaal). Swaziland was indirectly involved in the Second Boer War (1899–1902).

Geography

Swaziland lies across a geological fault which runs from the Drakensberg Mountains of Lesotho, north through the Eastern highlands of Zimbabwe, forms the Great Rift Valley of Kenya and, eventually, peters out in present-day Turkey.

A small, land-locked Kingdom, Swaziland is bordered in the North, West and South by the Republic of South Africa and by Mozambique in the East. Although Swaziland has a land area of only 17,364 km², roughly the size of Wales or the American State of New Jersey, it contains four separate geographical regions. These run from North to South and are determined by altitude.

Swaziland is located at approximately 26°30′S, 31°30′E.^[10] Swaziland also offers a wide variety of landscapes, from the mountains along the Mozambican border to savannas in the east and rain forest in the northwest. Several rivers flow through the country, such as the Great Usuthu River.

Along the eastern border with Mozambique is the Lubombo, a mountain ridge, at an altitude of around 600 meters. The mountains are broken by the canyons of three rivers, the Ngwavuma, the Usutu and the Mbuluzi. This is cattle ranching country.

The western border of the country, with an average altitude of 1200 meters, lies on the edge of an escarpment. Between the mountains rivers rush through deep gorges making this a most scenic region. Mbabane, the capital, is located on the Highveld.

The Middleveld, lying at an average 700 meters above sea level is the most densely populated region of Swaziland with a lower rainfall than the mountains. Manzini, the principal commercial and industrial city, is situated in the Middleveld.

The Lowveld of Swaziland, at around 250 meters, is less populated than other areas and presents a typical African bush country of thorn trees and grasslands. Development of the region was inhibited, in early days, by the scourge of malaria.

Climate

The seasons are the reverse of those in the Northern Hemisphere with December being mid-summer and June mid-winter. Generally speaking, rain falls mostly during the summer months, often in the form of thunderstorms. Winter is the dry season. Annual rainfall is highest on the Highveld in the West, between 1,000 and 2,000 mm (39.4 and 78.7 in) depending on the year. The further East, the less rain, with the Lowveld recording 500 to 900 mm (19.7 to 35.4 in) per annum. Variations in temperature are also related to the altitude of the different regions. The Highveld temperature is temperate and, seldom, uncomfortably hot while the Lowveld may record temperatures around 40 °C (104 °F) in summer.

The average temperatures at Mbabane, according to seasons:

Economy

Swaziland’s economy is diversified, with agriculture, forestry and mining accounting for about 13% of GDP, manufacturing (textiles and sugar-related processing) representing 37% of GDP and services – with government services in the lead – constituting 50% of GDP. Title Deed Lands (TDLs), where the bulk of high value crops are grown (sugar, forestry, and citrus) are characterized by high levels of investment and irrigation, and high productivity. Nevertheless, the majority of the population – about 75%—is employed in subsistence agriculture on Swazi Nation Land (SNL), which, in contrast, suffers from low productivity and investment. This dual nature of the Swazi economy, with high productivity in textile manufacturing and in the industrialized agricultural TDLs on the one hand, and declining productivity subsistence agriculture (on SNL) on the other, may well explain the country’s overall low growth, high inequality and unemployment.

Economic growth in Swaziland has lagged behind that of its neighbors. Real GDP growth since 2001 has averaged 2.8%, nearly 2 percentage points lower than growth in other Southern African Customs Union (SACU) member countries. Low agricultural productivity in the SNLs, repeated droughts, the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS and an overly large and inefficient government sector are likely contributing factors. Swaziland’s public finances deteriorated in the late 1990s following sizable surpluses a decade earlier. A combination of declining revenues and increased spending led to significant budget deficits.

white gold engagement rings  | USA Reise | Gartenhaus Gerätehaus | PkV online | Ratenkredit online | Astrologie |  Management auf Zeit | Volkswagen Jetta Headlight – We understand your dilemma. You need to get your car in order, you need to do it fast, and it’s got to be done correctly. Fortunately for you, this headlight can ensure all of the above. Don’t settle for a substandard headlight that’ll fail just when things seem to be going right. Instead, treat your car right with the best parts available. Assembled to the highest standards of production and DOT/SAE Certified, this Volkswagen Jetta Headlight is the cream of the crop, and you’ll quickly realize that.

Dodge Ram Side Mirror – You can be sure that this replacement automotive side mirror is built to last. That’s because all of our side mirrors are assembled to meet the highest standards in the industry. Furthermore, it complies with federal safety standards ( FMVSS-111). This side view mirror is made from the best materials out there. Good looking, durable, and cost-effective. This Dodge Ram Side Mirror is all that, and more.