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Geography and politics: Sample gazetteer articles
Amazon
Portuguese and Spanish Rio Amazonas
Indian Amossona 'destroyer of boats'
River in South America, the second longest in the world, after the Nile; length 6,516 km/4,050 mi. The Amazon ranks as the largest river in the world in terms of the volume of water it discharges (around 95,000 cu m/3.3 million cu ft every second), its number of tributaries (over 500), and the total basin area that it drains (7 million sq km/2.7 million sq mi – almost half the landmass of South America). It has 48,280 km/30,000 mi of navigable waterways. The river empties into the Atlantic Ocean on the Equator, through an estuary 80 km/50 mi wide. Over 5 million sq km/2 million sq mi of the Amazon basin is virgin rainforest, containing 30% of all known plant and animal species. This is the wettest region on Earth, with an average annual rainfall of 2.54 m/8.3 ft.
The Amazon's principal headstreams, the Marañón and the Ucayali, rise in the Andean highlands of central Peru, and unite to flow in a general easterly direction for about 4,000 km/2,500 mi across northern Brazil.
Loss of tropical forest
The opening up of the Amazon River basin to settlers from the overpopulated northeast region or coast of Brazil has resulted in a massive burning of tropical forest to create both arable and pastoral land. The problems of soil erosion, the disappearance of potentially useful plant and animal species, and the possible impact of large-scale forest clearance on global warming of the atmosphere have become environmental issues of international concern. In June 1990 the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espacias (INPE)(National Space Research Institute) announced that 8% of the rainforest in the area had been destroyed by deforestation, amounting to 404,000 sq km/155,944 sq mi – an area almost the size of Sweden. More recent data from INPE has highlighted continued increases in the rate of deforestation throughout the 1990s.
Course and tributaries
From their sources in the high Andes, the Amazon's two main headstreams flow northeast until they join near the town of Nauta in eastern Peru. Beyond Iquitos, some 100 km/62 mi further downstream, the Amazon is joined by its first major tributary, the Napo, which flows from Ecuador. Between Iquitos and Manaus in north-central Brazil, a distance of over 2,000 km/1,243 mi, the Amazon is
known as the Solimões. At the mouth of the river, the 3 million tonnes of sediment that the Amazon deposits daily have formed a delta comprising a large number of islands, which divide the estuary into many branches. The main estuary lies to the north of the island of Marajó (area 36,000 sq km/14,000 sq mi and one of the world's largest fluvial islands); below this island lies the southern branch of the estuary, which is known as the River Pará. So immense is the amount of water discharged by the Amazon that completely fresh water remains at the surface as far as 64 km/40 mi out into the Atlantic Ocean. Well beyond this point, at a distance of about 320 km/206 mi from the river's mouth, the ocean's salinity and colour is still affected by the river's outfall.
The Amazon's many tributaries are fed by either tropical rainfall or the melting snow of the Andes. On the left bank, the most important of these, from west to east, are: the Santiago, Morona, Pastaza, Tigre, and Napo, all of which flow from Ecuador; the Içá and Japurá, which rise in Colombia; the Negro (largest by far of the left-bank tributaries); and the Trombetas, Paru, and Jari, which descend from the highlands of northern Brazil. The right-bank tributaries are more numerous and generally larger, and include the Javari, Juruá, Purus, Madeira (the greatest of all the tributaries), Tapajós, and Xingu. During the rainy season, in June and July, the water level rises considerably, flooding vast areas on either side of the river. Disregarding the effects of such flooding, the width of the Amazon varies from 1.6 km/1 mi to 16 km/10 mi up to the mouth of the river, where the total width of the delta is about 240 km/149 mi.
Navigation
Large ocean-going ships can travel for 1,600 km/994 mi up the Amazon to the port of Manaus, which was developed from the mid-19th century to export rubber from the rainforest. Upstream from here, riverboats can navigate as far as Iquitos in Peru. This is the furthest point up the course of any river in the world that is served by sea-going vessels. Most of the tributaries of the Amazon are navigable by smaller river craft, but waterfalls and rapids (generally found near the tributaries' junction with the main river) prevent unimpeded travel throughout the whole river system.
Human impact
The dense tropical rainforest of the Amazon watershed is intensely inhospitable, and remains one of the least populated and developed regions on Earth. To date, no bridge spans the Amazon along its entire length. For centuries, the only humans to live here were small groups of indigenous hunter-gatherers. Though the 19th century saw the development of commerce along the river, especially to the rubber capital of Manaus, this encroachment remained strictly confined to isolated settlements along the main stream. In more recent times, roads such as the Trans-Amazonian Highway (BR-230) on the southern fringe of the rainforest have made access to the region far easier than before. The numbers of settlers (fazendeiros)in the region are not great, but their use of slash-and-burn techniques to clear tracts of rainforest ready for cattle ranching and arable farming has caused serious damage to the area's ecosystem. In addition, the influx of large multinational agricultural and industrial concerns to the region has further augmented environmental problems. In Amazonia, vegetation quickly grows to cover clearings, but the new growth is not nearly as diverse as the original forest.
Another threat to the rainforest is posed by opencast-mining concerns prospecting for valuable mineral deposits. The activities of both ranchers and miners have created problems of soil erosion and siltation, and threatened the extinction of many plant and
animal species. Gold-mining has caused mercury contamination of the rivers which poses a serious health threat to local human/animal populations. The situtation is particularly grave in Roraima state. Desertification is a real threat in the extensively cleared areas. On a wider scale, large-scale tree-felling contributes to global warming of the atmosphere. The impact of these activities on the isolated indigenous peoples of Amazonia has been devastating, leading to violent conflicts over land rights between incomers and native peoples. Introduced diseases also pose a threat to the indigenous peoples. The exploitation of the rainforest is being closely monitored by international agencies and the Brazilian government (the Brazilian Environment Agency, and the National Foundation for Indians which aims to protect indigenous Indians' rights).
History of exploration
In 1639, Pedro Teixeira travelled 2000 miles up the River Amazon claiming the lands east of Equador for Portugal. However, it was only following the Treaty of Madrid in 1750 that true political possession of these lands was concretized. It took until 1822 (with Brazilian Independence) for the Amazon region to be fully recognized and integrated politically, although this 'union' was threatened by the Cabanagem Rebellion 1835–1836. The rebellion, a revolt by the poor black/mestizo population against racial injustice and white domination, commenced in Belém, Pará state, and rapidly spread, creating instability throughout the region. It sought, albeit unsuccessfully, to establish an independent state. It is estimated that nearly 30,000 people died – one third of the region's population at that time. The discovery of rubber transformed the region economically. Aided by the invention of the rubber tyre and developments in steamboat navigation on the River Amazon in 1858, the region witnessed massive growth. In the 1900s, Manaus and Belém became the focus of the wealth generated in the region. The boom however did not last, as the establishment and growth of rubber plantations in East Asia by 1912, lessened the region's economic importance.
Recent developments
It was only in the latter part of the 20th century that an economic resurgence occurred, albeit with dramatic environmental effects. Deforestation, the influx of multinational companies and immigration by peoples from other regions (primarily northeast Brazil) in search of land have been a major force in the region's contemporary economic development. Former government relocation policies were also instrumental in populating the region in the 1970s. Contemporary economic development of the region however has come with huge social and environmental costs. Road construction, peasant settlement, forest fires, cattle-ranching by ranchers all lead to substantial forest loss. The plight of indigenous tribal peoples, landlessness, disease transmission, physical attacks and violence are less documented. Huge hydroelectric power schemes have submerged vast areas and large industrial schemes (for example
Carajás and southern Pará and gold-mining have caused considerable environmental pollution of the land, air and rivers.
Biodiversity
The biodiversity of the River Amazon and its surrounding forest is huge; here there are 3,000 known species of land vertebrates, 2,000 species of freshwater fish, 80,000 known species of trees, and 55,000 species of flowering plant (of which half are exclusive
to Amazonia). It is estimated that each species of tree supports over 400 unique species of animal. Countless species of flora and fauna have yet to be categorized; many of the fish caught in the abundant fishing grounds off the mouths of the Amazon, for example, still have no official classification. It is therefore difficult to monitor threatened species as well as species which have potential medicinal benefits.
Between 1993 and 1997 Brazilian and US researchers studying Amazonian fauna took samples from 2,500 nautical miles of river and discovered 30 new fish species, including 2 new genera. In 2000, new species discovered along the Amazon, in an area near the Rio Madeira, included 12 monkey species, 5 kinds of birds, a deer and a peccary species.
Antarctica
Region lying south of the Antarctic Circle that includes the Antarctic continent surrounding the South Pole. Occupying 10% of the world's surface, in summer it is almost one-and-a-half times the size of the USA. Antarctica contains 90% of the world's ice, representing nearly three-quarters of its fresh water. It is thought that if all the ice suddenly melted, the world sea level would rise by 60 m/197 ft.
Area: 13,000,000 sq km/5,019,300 sq mi; in winter Antarctica virtually doubles in area because of the increase in surrounding sea ice
Features: Mount Erebus on Ross Island is the world's most southern active volcano, and reaches a height of 3,794 m/12,448 ft above sea level; the Ross Ice Shelf is formed by several glaciers coalescing in the Ross Sea
Physical: Antarctica can be divided into two regions, separated by the Transantarctic Mountains, which extend for 3,500 km/2,175 mi and whose peaks, many of them exceeding 3,000 m/9,850 ft in height, protrude through the ice. The larger region, known as Greater or East Antarctica, is comprised of ancient rocks lying mostly at sea level, which are approximately 3,800 million years old. In contrast, Lesser or West Antarctica is 150–200 million years old and has mountain ranges buried under the ice. These include the Antarctic Peninsular and the Ellsworth Mountains, in which the highest peak in Antarctica, the Vinson Massif, is located; height 5,140 m/16,863 ft. The few peaks that are visible above the ice are known as nunataks. Two vast seas, the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea, cut into the continent. Between them lies the mountainous Antarctic Peninsula, which was originally connected to South America before continental drift
Population: no permanent residents and no indigenous inhabitants; settlement is limited to scientific research stations with maximum population of 10,000 (including 3,000 tourists) during the summer months. Sectors of Antarctica are claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, the UK, Norway, and New Zealand
Antarctic ice
Around 2% of the land is ice free. With an estimated volume of 30 million cu km/7.2 million cu mi, the ice-cap has an average thickness of approximately 2,000 m/6,600 ft, in places reaching depths of 4,000 m/13,000 ft or more. Each annual layer of snow preserves a record of global conditions, and where no melting at the surface of the bedrock has occurred the ice can be a million years old.
The snow in the Antarctic rarely melts but accumulates into massive ice caps. As the ice caps grow, the weight of the ice squeezes the ice cap sideways towards the coast, where ice shelves extend out into the surrounding seas. These fringing ice shelves are broken up by ocean tides and waves, creating icebergs.
Solid ice attached to the Antarctic landmass is known as fast ice. If the ice forms a ridge more than 2 m/6.6 ft above sea level, it is known as an ice shelf. Pack ice is a mixture of ice floes in water. A lead is a navigable passage through pack ice. A polynya is a small area of open water surrounded by ice. The Antarctic Convergence is the point at which colder water from Antarctica meets and flows beneath warmer subantarctic water. The position of the Convergence may vary by up to 100 km/62 mi
Climate
The combination of cold air, high winds, and blowing snow makes Antarctica's climate the severest in the world. The location of
Antarctica at the south pole results in only small amounts of energy being received from the sun. The temperatures are consequently very low. The Antarctic continent is surrounded by the Southern Ocean, which creates a physical barrier between Antarctica and the warmer seas and lands to the north. This creates a refrigeration of the Antarctic. It is the coldest continent on Earth, with a mean annual temperature at the South Pole of –49°C/–56°F. In 1983 a temperature of –89°C/–128°F was recorded in Antarctica at the Russian base Vostok, the lowest ever in the world.
Precipitation is largely in the form of snow or hoar-frost rather than rain, which rarely exceeds 50 mm/2 in per year (less than the Sahara Desert). The minimal snow fall makes Antarctica one of the most arid deserts on Earth. Dry valleys are unique areas that remain snow-free all the year round because of the katabatic winds that remove moisture. The Antarctic summer (the period during which the ice melts) has lengthened from 60 to 90 days since the 1970s. The average temperature on the Antarctic Peninsula has risen by approximately 2.5°C/4.5°F since monitoring started in the 1950s, a result of the greenhouse effect.
Flora and fauna
The Antarctic ecosystem is characterized by large numbers of relatively few species of higher plants and animals, and a short food chain from tiny marine plants to whales, seals, penguins, and other sea birds.
Plant life is rich in the Sub-Antarctic islands but is practically nonexistent in continental Antarctica. Only two species of flowering plant are known: the Antarctic pearlwort and the Antarctic hairgrass, both of which are rapidly increasing. There are about 85 species of moss, 200 species of lichen, and over 400 species of algae. As the Antarctic ice shelves disintegrate with
the lengthening summers, new lichens are appearing in soil uncovered by the retreating glaciers.
There are five animal species which breed ashore during the winter months: emperor penguins, king penguins, wandering albatross, grey petrel, and the grey-winged petrel. The emperor penguin breeds under the most extreme environmental conditions of any vertebrate animal. There are only 67 species of insect; the largest in Antarctica is a midge measuring 12 mm/0.5 in. There are no native land mammals (the Arctic has 40); no resident land birds (the Arctic has 8); and fewer than 50 species of seabirds, only 13 of which breed in Antarctica. Because of the cold conditions, animals live longer, produce fewer eggs, and protect them for longer.
The oceans around the Antarctic contain relatively few fish; it is estimated that there are six times as many squid by weight in Antarctic seas as fish. Three-quarters of the Antarctic fish belong to the order Nototheniidae, comprising five families, of which four are found only in Antarctica, reflecting the need for specialization to survive in such hostile conditions. Most of them are deepwater fish. There is a high level of parental care, unusual in fish. Fish have low levels of haemoglobin, and some have a specialized 'antifreeze' glycoprotein in their blood, which lowers its freezing point, enabling them to survive without freezing in the sea at –1.9°C/28.6°F.
Large creatures on the Antarctic seabed, discovered in the late 1990s, include: isopods up to 17 cm/7 in long; sea spiders up to 33 cm/13 in (1,000 times larger than European sea spiders); ribbon worms 3 m/10 ft long; and a sponge 3 m/10 ft tall.
Products
Cod, Antarctic icefish, and krill are fished in Antarctic waters. Whaling, which began in the early 20th century, ceased during the 1960s as a result of overfishing, although Norway and Iceland defied the ban in 1992 and recommenced whaling. Petroleum, coal, and minerals such as palladium and platinum exist, but their exploitation is prevented by a 50-year ban on commercial mining, agreed by 39 nations in 1991.
Exploration
The first person to explore Antarctica was Captain James Cook, who reached 70° 10' South in 1774; the most southerly point to which a ship had ever sailed. In 1775 Cook took possession of the Isle of Georgia and reached the South Sandwich Islands. In 1819 William Smith landed on and claimed for the UK the South Shetland Islands.
International cooperation
The International Geophysical Year (IGY) 1957–58 marked a turning point in the understanding of this region. IGY was a worldwide experiment involving 66 nations and costing $75 million. The Antarctic section of the project was one of the most expensive components, involving 12 nations: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the USA. Following IGY a series of conferences took place culminating in the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, which came into force in 1961. The Treaty covers the area south of 60° south. It recognizes 'that it is in the interests of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord'. A protocol to this treaty banned oil and other mineral exploration for at least the subsequent 50 years. The establishment of military bases, the testing of weapons, nuclear explosions, and the disposal of radioactive material were forbidden, and all national territorial claims were frozen.
Geological history
180 million years ago Antarctica was the keystone of a great southern supercontinent called Gondwanaland, which, before its break-up through continental drift, also included the Brazilian Plateau, most of Africa, and the Western Plateau of Australia. The geology has never been investigated in detail because of the thickness of the permanent ice which covers it. However, seismic and radio-echo soundings have revealed a picture of the continent beneath the ice.
Arctic Ocean
Ocean surrounding the North Pole; area 14,000,000 sq km/5,405,400 sq mi. Because of the Siberian and North American rivers flowing into it, it has comparatively low salinity and freezes readily.
The ocean comprises:
Beaufort Sea off Canada/Alaska coast, named after British admiral Francis Beaufort; oil drilling allowed only in winter because the sea is the breeding and migration route of the bowhead whales, staple diet of the local Inuit people; Greenland Sea between Greenland and Svalbard;
Norwegian Sea between Greenland and Norway, which belongs physiographically to the same basin as the Atlantic Ocean;
From west to east along the north coast of Russia:
Barents Sea named after Willem Barents, which has oil and gas reserves and was strategically significant as the meeting point of the NATO and Warsaw Pact forces. The White Sea (Beloye More) is its southernmost gulf;
Kara Sea (Kavaskoye More) renowned for bad weather and called the 'great ice cellar';
Laptev Sea between Taimyr Peninsula and New Siberian Island;
East Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea (Cukotskoje More) between Russia and the USA; the semi-nomadic Chukchi people of Northeast Siberia finally accepted Soviet rule in the 1930s.
The Arctic Ocean has the world's greatest concentration of nuclear submarines, but at the same time there is much scientific cooperation on exploration, especially since Russia needs Western aid to develop oil and gas in its areas.
The Arctic Ocean is linked to the Atlantic Ocean by the Norwegian Sea; the Denmark Strait, between Greenland and Iceland; and the Davis Strait, between Greenland and Canada. The only link it has with the Pacific Ocean is the Bering Strait. The main rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean are the Onega, the Dvina, and the Pechora in Europe; the Lena, the Yenisey, and the Ob in Asia; and the Mackenzie in North America.
Arctic ice
The region immediately at and around the North Pole is covered with rough sea ice, and the depth of the water at the North Pole itself is more than 3,658 m/2,000 fathoms. In fact, the whole ocean is covered with sea ice, which varies in depth from 1.5 m/5 ft to 9 m/30 ft, with an average of about 3 m/33 ft. It is frozen in winter but in the summer it is broken up into floes of varying size. Pack ice is a mixture of ice floes in water. A lead is a navigable passage through pack ice; when these leads close up again the floes are piled up on one another, and hummocky ice results. If hummocky ice is piled up against a shallow shore for a great length of time, it takes on the appearance of what George Strong Nares called the palaeocrystic sea; an ice block phenomenon that resembles an enormous car park full of ice cars.
A permanent layer of fresh water is found in many places outside the edge of the ice pack. This layer, which has a depth of 2 m/7 ft in some places, is formed partly by the melted ice and partly from the outflow of the rivers of Siberia. The sea ice as a whole has been found to drift from the middle of the north coast of Siberia northwestwards towards the northeast extremity of Greenland. Large quantities of ice also pass down between Spitsbergen and Greenland each year. The warm surface waters of the Atlantic flow up into the Arctic regions, passing between Greenland and Norway, where they are chilled by contact with the icy Arctic waters, and gradually sink to the bottom. Finally they return, along the east side of Greenland and down Davis Strait, as a cold current carrying with it the icebergs that are a danger to navigation in the Atlantic.
Depth
The Arctic Ocean is bordered by a fairly broad continental shelf; this means that the ocean as a whole is shallow. Along the north of Europe and Siberia, to 135°east longitude, the water is very shallow, and proceeding westward from this point the depth does not exceed 146 m/80 fathoms. Between Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya the depth of the water varies from 183–274 m/100–150 fathoms, and between Norway and Bjornoya it is 439 m/240 fathoms. In the Kara Sea a depth of over 732 m/400 fathoms is found. The depth of the ocean north of the Beaufort Sea suddenly increases to 3,658 m/2,000 fathoms.
Temperature
The temperature of the Arctic Ocean varies at different depths. The surface temperature in the polar regions is usually about the freezing-point of salt water, –1.6°C/29.1°F. It increases at about 201 m/110 fathoms to 0.6°C/33.1°F, and between 219–640 m/120–350 fathoms the temperature is higher than at any other depth, ranging between 1.7°C/35.1°F and 4.3°C/39.7°F. This warm layer is probably caused by the Gulf Stream. Directly underneath this, down to nearly 1,829 m/1,000 fathoms there is a decrease to about –0.1°C/31.8°F. Lastly, from 1,829 m/1,000 fathoms to the bottom the water is slightly warmer, and the temperature is fairly uniform, between 0.6°C/33.1°F and 0.8°C/33.4°F.
Climate
A relatively mild climate is found a long way inside the Arctic Circle because of the influence of the Gulf Stream off the coast of Norway. Conversely, Arctic conditions are created far into the Atlantic by the Arctic currents, which flow through Davis Strait and along the east coast of Greenland.
Near the Pole itself there are usually light winds in the winter, and the air is clear; in lower latitudes – around Franz Josef Land and Greenland, for instance – although the temperature is higher, strong winds prevail. These are generally southwesterly along the coast of Norway and as far as Franz Josef Land, but west of this region northeasterly winds are typical. During the summer, fogs and mists are very frequent, and form one of the greatest dangers.
Bering Sea
Section of the Pacific Ocean north of the Aleutian Islands, between Siberia and Alaska; area 2.28 million sq km/880,000 sq mi. It connects with the Chukchi Sea, to the north, via the Bering Strait, extending for 87 km/54 mi from east–west, between the Chukchi Peninsula of Siberia and the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. It is named after the Danish explorer Vitus Bering, who explored the Bering Strait in 1728.
Blue Mountains
Part of the Great Dividing Range, New South Wales, Australia, running almost parallel with the coast, 80–100 km/50–62 mi west of Sydney. The highest peak is Mount Beemarang (1,247 m/4,091 ft). The mountains are popular with tourists, attracted by the fine scenery.
In November 2000, the region was awarded World Heritage status by the United Nations World Heritage Committee on the basis of its outstanding eucalyptus trees and biodiversity. There are 132 plant species found nowhere else in the world, including the Wollemi pine, a species thought to be extinct since the dinosaur age until a handful of trees were found in a remote gorge in 1994.
Oil bearing eucalyptus trees densely cover the Blue Mountains, and the mountains appear blue because the eucalyptus trees produce oil, which when combined with dust and water vapour, scatter short-wave length light rays which are blue in colour. The Blue Mountains National Park (area 2,160 sq km/834 sq mi) provides a habitat for a variety of wildlife, including kangaroos, platypuses, wallabies, and many bird species. A passage over the Blue Mountains, leading to the Bathurst Plains was, found in 1813 by surveyor William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland, and William Wentworth; until this time the mountains blocked Sydney from the interior.
Victoria Pass
Linking Mount Victoria and Mount Hartley, Victoria Pass was constructed in 1832, overseen by the New South Wales surveyor general, Thomas Mitchell. Much of the pass was constructed by hand with convict labour. The original bridge, known as Mitchell's bridge, is still in use and forms part of the Great Western Highway, built in 1926. The Highway closely follows Mitchell's original route.
Three Sisters
The large rock formation known as the Three Sisters is a popular tourist attraction in the Blue Mountains region. Its name derives from an Aboriginal legend: three sisters fell in love with three brothers from a different tribe but were forbidden to marry by tribal law; the brothers decided to use force to capture the sisters, and a tribal battle occurred; their lives endangered, the sisters were turned to stone by the witch doctor for their protection; the witch doctor, the only person who could undo the spell, died in the battle, so the three sisters remained as stone.
Cayman Islands
British island group in the West Indies; area 260 sq km/100 sq mi; population (1994 est) 31,800 (mostly on Grand Cayman). The Caymans lie 160 km/100 mi south of Cuba and comprise three low-lying islands: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. The capital is George Town (on Grand Cayman), which has an international airport to serve the tourist industry. The islands export seawhip coral (a source of prostaglandins), shrimps, honey, and jewellery.
The Cayman Islands were first reached by Christopher Columbus in 1503; they were acquired by Britain following the Treaty of Madrid in 1670, and became a dependency of Jamaica in 1863. In 1959 the islands became a separate crown colony, although the inhabitants chose to remain British. From that date, changes in legislation attracted foreign banks and the Caymans are now an international financial centre and tax haven as well as a tourist resort, with emphasis on scuba diving.
The Islands are governed by a governor, executive council, and legislative assembly. English is the chief language; the currency is the Cayman Island dollar.
Coimbra
Capital of Coimbra district, west-central Portugal, situated on the right bank of the Mondego River, 180 km/112 mi north of Lisbon, and 32 km/19 mi from the Atlantic coast; population (1991) 96,200. There are textile and pottery industries, and paper and biscuits are produced. Coimbra is a bishopric, and was capital of Portugal from 1139 to 1260. There is a 12th-century Romanesque church (formerly a cathedral) incorporating part of an older mosque, and a 16th-century church, which has been the cathedral since 1772. The university, founded in Lisbon in 1290, was transferred to Coimbra in 1537.
Estonia
Country in northern Europe, bounded east by Russia, south by Latvia, and north and west by the Baltic Sea.
Government
The 1992 constitution provides for a democratic parliamentary political system, with a strong presidency. There is a 101-member, popularly elected parliament (Riigikogu), serving a four-year term. Parliament elects the president, who must be an Estonian citizen by birth and at least 40 years old, for a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms. The president appoints the prime minister.
History
Independent states were formed in the area now known as Estonia during the 1st century AD. In the 13th century southern Estonia came under the control of the Teutonic Knights, German crusaders, who converted the inhabitants to Christianity. The Danes, who had taken control of northern Estonia, sold this area to the Teutonic Knights in 1324.
By the 16th century German nobles owned much of the land. In 1561 Sweden took control of the north, with Poland governing the south; Sweden ruled the whole country between 1625 and 1710. Estonia came under Russian control in 1710, but it was not until the 19th century that the Estonians started their movement for independence.
Struggle for independence
Estonia was occupied by German troops during World War I. The Soviet forces, who tried to regain power in 1917, were overthrown by Germany in March 1918, restored in November 1918, and again overthrown with the help of the British navy in May 1919, when Estonia, having declared independence in 1918, was established as a democratic republic. A fascist coup in 1934 replaced the government.
Soviet republic
In 1939 Germany and the USSR secretly agreed that Estonia should come under Russian influence and the country was incorporated into the USSR as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940. During World War II Estonia was again occupied by Germany 1941–44, but the USSR subsequently regained control.
Renewed nationalism
Nationalist dissent grew from 1980. In 1988 Estonia adopted its own constitution, with a power of veto on all Soviet legislation. The new constitution allowed private property and placed land and natural resources under Estonian control. An Estonian popular front (Rahvarinne) was established in October 1988 to campaign for democratization, increased autonomy, and eventual independence, and held mass rallies. In November of the same year Estonia's supreme soviet (state assembly) voted to declare the republic 'sovereign' and thus autonomous in all matters except military and foreign affairs, although the presidium of the USSR's supreme soviet rejected this as unconstitutional. In 1989 a law was passed replacing Russian with Estonian as the main language and in November of that year Estonia's assembly denounced the 1940 incorporation of the republic into the USSR as 'forced annexation'.
Multiparty elections
Several parties had sprung up by the elections of March 1990 – the Popular Front, the Association for a Free Estonia, and the Russian-oriented International Movement – and a coalition government was formed. A plebiscite in the spring of 1991 voted 77.8% in favour of independence. By the summer the republic had embarked on a programme of privatization. The prices of agricultural products were freed in July 1991.
Independence
In August 1991, in the midst of the attempted anti-Gorbachev coup in the USSR, during which Red Army troops were moved into Tallinn and the republic's main port was blocked by the Soviet navy, Estonia declared its full independence and outlawed the Communist Party. In September 1991 this declaration was recognized by the Soviet government and Western nations; the new state was granted membership of the United Nations.
Economic hardship
In January 1992 prime minister Edgar Savisaar and his cabinet resigned after failing to alleviate food and energy shortages. Tiit Vahi, the former transport minister, formed a new government and in June a new constitution was approved by referendum. The
September 1992 presidential election failed to produce a clear winner, and in the parliamentary elections no single party won an overall majority. Parliament chose nationalist Lennart Meri of the Isamaaliit (Fatherland Union) as the new president in October 1992. Meri appointed Mart Laar as prime minister, a free-marketeer, who, aged 31, referred to himself as 'Thatcher's grandson'. The new administration embarked on an ambitious programme of market-centred economic reform, involving large-scale privatization, and from 1994 there were signs of economic growth. However, cutbacks in social spending and passage of a controversial 'aliens' law, compelling the republic's 500,000 former Soviet citizens to apply for residency or face expulsion, led to a dramatic slump in popular support for the government and in September 1994 Laar was voted out of office by parliament, and replaced by Andres Tarand. The last Russian troops were withdrawn in August 1994.
Ex-communists restored to power
Economic hardship, largely a result of the on-going economic-reform programme, led to former communists winning the largest number of seats in the March 1995 elections. A coalition government was formed under their leader, Tiit Vahi. It was expected to adopt a 'social market' strategy and to improve relations with Russia, but in the event it remained committed to further integration into Western and European institutions, signing a trade and cooperation agreement with the European Union in June. The government collapsed in October, following a wiretapping scandal involving interior minister Edgar Savisaar, and a new coalition, incorporating centre-right parties, was formed under Vahi.
In September 1996, Lennart Meri was re-elected president after three previous rounds of unsuccessful voting. The ruling coalition of the Eesti Reformierakond (ER; Estonian Reform Party) and the Coalition Party and Rural bloc (KMU, an alliance of Vahi's Coalition Party and the Rural Union, the Union of Families and Pensioners, and the MU) collapsed in November 1996 when six ER ministers resigned from the cabinet. This followed the signing of local agreements between the Coalition Party and the opposition Centre Party, which broke the ER's hold on the Tallinn city council. Vahi continued in office, heading a minority KMU government which controlled only 41 seats in the 101-member legislature. However, in February 1997 Vahi, who had been accused by the opposition of corruption, resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Mart Siimann, the deputy chairman of the Coalition Party, whose new coalition government included the ER.
In July 1997, the European Commission decided to include Estonia in a group of countries invited to participate in talks concerning their integration with the EU. In elections held in March 1999, Mart Laar was elected prime minister for a second time,
again leading a centre-right government.
Electoral reform
In November 1998, the legislature voted to ban electoral alliances in future elections, in a move designed to make it more difficult for minor parties to secure representation.
2001 presidential elections
In September 2001, a special assembly, comprising 101 parliamentarians and 266 local government delegates, elected the next
president after the parliament failed in August to arrive at a decision. Arnold Rüütel was elected, defeating Toomas Savi by 186 to 155 votes in a run-off round. Rüütel was sworn in as president in October.
Government collapse
Mart Laar's coalition government collapsed in January 2002. The Isamaaliit party and the Rahvaerakond Möödukad (RM; People's Party Moderates) fell out with the third coalition member, the ER, after it was disclosed that they had held secret talks with the opposition about local government alliances. Laar was replaced by the former finance minister, Siim Kallas.
Hampshire
County of south England (since April 1997 Portsmouth and Southampton have been separate unitary authorities).
Area: 3,679 sq km/1,420 sq mi
Towns and cities: Winchester (administrative headquarters), Aldershot, Andover, Basingstoke, Eastleigh, Gosport, Romsey, and Lymington
Physical: New Forest (area 373 sq km/144 sq mi), in the southeast of the county, a Saxon royal hunting ground; rivers Avon, Ichen, and Test (which has trout fishing)
Features: Hampshire Basin, where Britain has onshore and offshore oil; Danebury, 2,500-year-old Celtic hill fort; Beaulieu (including National Motor Museum); Broadlands (home of Lord Mountbatten); Highclere castle (home of the Earl of Carnarvon, with gardens by English landscape gardener Capability Brown); Hambledon, where the first cricket club was founded in 1750; site of the Roman town of Silchester; Jane Austen's cottage at Chawton (1809–17), now a museum; Twyford Down section of the M3 motorway was completed in 1994 despite protests
Agriculture: market gardening (watercress)
Industries: aeronautics, brewing, chemicals, electronics, light engineering (at Basingstoke), oil from refineries at Fawley, perfume, pharmaceuticals
Population: (1996) 1,627,400
Famous people: Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Gilbert White
Topography
Hampshire is bounded on the south by the Solent and the Spithead, Southampton, and Portsmouth; on the west by Dorset and Wiltshire; on the north by West Berkshire and Wokingham; and on the east by Surrey and West Sussex. The county is divided by Southampton Water. The South Downs terminate south of Petersfield at Butser Hill (271 m/889 ft). There are also hills in the northern part of the county along the boundary, which are some of the highest chalk downs in England; the highest point of these hills is Sidown Hill (286 m/938 ft). There are the remains of the minor forests at Bere, Woolmer, Alice Holt, and Waltham Chase. About 377 ha/931 acres of common and manorial land on the northern edge of the New Forest were acquired in 1928 for the National Trust.
Historic remains
In addition to Danebury, there are early fortified hilltop refuges at Old Winchester Hill; St Catherine's Hill, Winchester; Ladle Hill, Sydmonton; Beacon Hill, Burghclere; and Quarley Hill. There are convent ruins at Netley, Beaulieu, and Titchfield; notable monastic churches still in use are Winchester Cathedral and Romsey Abbey.
The armed services
The Royal Navy has an establishment at Gosport, and the army has important military depots and training areas at Aldershot and Bordon in the northeast, and at Tidworth in the northwest. At Hamble there is aircraft construction.
Kuala Lumpur
Malay 'muddy confluence'
Capital of the Federation of Malaysia; population (2000 est) 1,297,500. The city lies in a central position on the Malay Peninsula at the confluence of the Kelang and Gombak rivers, 40 km/25 mi from the west coast. Malaysia's leading commercial and industrial centre, Kuala Lumpur developed after 1873 with the expansion of tin and rubber trading and processing, which remain
important. Other industries include iron, cement, food processing, and the manufacture of electrical, electronic, and railway equipment. International trade is conducted through the port at Klang, on the Strait of Malacca, and through the international airport (1998).
Kuala Lumpur originated in 1857 as a camp for Chinese tin miners. It became the capital of Selangor state in 1880, of the Federated Malay States in 1896, of the newly-independent state of Malaya in 1957, and of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. Since 1974 the city has been a federal territory. In 1998 it hosted the Commonwealth Games, the first Asian city to do so.
Important buildings include the Parliament House, the National Museum, the Merdeka Stadium, the University of Malaya (1962), and the Technological University of Malaysia (1906), as well as the National Mosque and a number of Chinese and Hindu temples. The Rubber Research Institute dates from 1925. The National Zoo (1963) is 13 km/8 mi to the northeast. In 1996 stainless steel pinnacles were added to the twin Petronas Towers in the city centre complex, making it the tallest building in the world at 451.9 m/1,482 ft 7 in. The towers were designed by US architect Cesar Pelli.
McKinley, Mount
or Denali
Highest peak in North America, situated in the Rocky Mountains, Alaska; height 6,194 m/20,320 ft. It was named after US president William McKinley in 1896.
The summit was first reached in 1913 by the Anglo-American explorer Hudson Stuck and three others, and about 1,000 climbers attempt it each year in the short climbing season. Mount McKinley, called Denali, 'the high one', by American Indians (and the state of Alaska), rises in the enlarged and renamed (1980) Denali National Park.
Missouri
called the Show Me State
American Indian 'town of the large canoes'
State in the USA, situated in the Midwest, bordered to the south by Arkansas, to the west by Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, to the north by Iowa, and to the east by Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee; area 178,414 sq km/68,886 sq mi; population (2000) 5,595,200; capital Jefferson City. Missouri's nickname refers to its inhabitants' character, which is generally thought to be sturdy and sceptical. In the southeast are the scenic highlands of the Ozark Plateau. The state is a commercial and industrial leader in the region, with a high degree of urbanization and industrial output, particularly in the manufacture of transport and aerospace equipment. The agricultural sector is strong, producing soybeans, livestock, and dairy foods, but has been overtaken by tourism and recreation. There are rich mineral resources, notably lead. The two largest cities are St Louis and Kansas City. Other important cities and towns are Springfield, Independence, Columbia, St Joseph, St Charles, Florissant, and Lee's Summit. Originally home to the Missouri American Indian people, the region was acquired by the USA under the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and became a state in 1820, following the Missouri Compromise. Missouri was the westernmost state of the Union until Texas joined in 1845, and it served for a time as the eastern end of the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California trails. Missouri was admitted to the Union in 1821 as the 24th US state.
Physical
The Missouri River crosses the state west to east, passing through Kansas City in the west, Jefferson City in the centre, and just north of St Louis on the eastern border, where it joins the Mississippi River. The Missouri River Valley marks the southern extent of glaciers during the last ice age. Meltwater from their retreat 400,000 years ago carved the river's original course. North of the river, the Glaciated Plains make up Missouri's northern half. The level topography and thick fertile soils are the result of glacial erosion and deposition. Part of the vast Central Lowlands of the USA, the Glaciated Plains once contained tallgrass prairie, oak savannah, and deciduous forest, but have now been adapted for agricultural use.
To the south of the Missouri River lies the Ozark Plateau, a rugged, forested area underlaid by sedimentary rocks, with steep cliffs, deep hollows, narrow valleys, and isolated peaks. The area is drained by the Osage, Gasconade, White, and Black rivers. The Ozark region contains over 1,000 caves and nearly 10,000 springs. The St François Mountains in the eastern Ozarks are remnants of ancient volcanoes and contain Missouri's oldest rocks, as well as the state's highest point, Taum Sauk Mountain (540 m/1,772 ft). Iron is mined here.
Missouri's Osage Plains region lies west of the Ozarks. Unlike the plains to the north, this region was not glaciated. It is characterized by rolling hills and flat river valleys, with marshes and swamps. Much of the state's remaining prairie is located here.
The Mississippi and Missouri rivers, along with the Grand and Des Moines rivers, form a distinctive natural region consisting of broad flood plains, terraces, islands, marshes, and sand bars characteristic of shifting, meandering rivers. This setting provides a habitat for diverse wildlife: bald eagles are known to migrate there in the winter.
The Bootheel and adjoining counties in the far southeast of Missouri lie in the Mississippi Lowlands region, where the state's low point (70 m/230 ft) is located at the mouth of the St Francis River. Once consisting of swamps and forests, the region has been drained and modified for agricultural use. A steep escarpment divides this area from the Ozark Plateau. The southeastern part of Missouri is not tectonically stable and earth tremors sometimes occur there. The biggest earthquake in North America occurred in New Madrid along the New Madrid seismic fault zone in 1811. The earthquake shifted the course of the Mississippi River.
Missouri has many artificial lakes, built mainly to provide hydroelectric power and protect against flooding, but which also provide recreational facilities. The largest of these is the Lake of the Ozarks, with a shoreline of 2,213 km/1,375 mi. The state also has an abundance of natural streams, some of which are among the largest in the world.
Features
St Louis is Missouri's largest city and has a wealth of historical and cultural attractions. The city's role as 'gateway to the West' during the period of Westward expansion in the mid-19th century is commemorated by the huge Gateway Arch (1965, designed by Eero Saarinen) which dominates the city skyline and the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the park in which it sits; at 192 m/630 ft high, the arch is the tallest national monument in the USA. Eads Bridge was also hailed as an architectural triumph when it was built in 1874, as it was the first major bridge to be made entirely of steel and was also the first bridge to span the Mississippi River in the region. The Old Cathedral (1831–34) is the oldest Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi River. St Louis is the home of the Cardinals baseball team, and the team's Hall of Fame is located there. The Anheuser-Busch company, the largest producer of beer in the world, has its headquarters in St Louis; it owned the St Louis Cardinals from 1953 to 1996.
Independence, the home town and burial place of Harry S Truman, the 33rd US president, has the Truman Library and Museum (1957) and the Truman home. In the mid-1800s, Independence was the departure point for thousands of traders, immigrants, and adventurers heading west on the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California trails.
Fulton was the site of British prime minister Winston Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech in 1946, and there is a collection of
materials about Churchill in the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury (bombed in London, England, during World War II and reassembled at Fulton).
Some of the state's other historic sites include Sainte Genevieve, the oldest permanent settlement in Missouri, with 18th-century Creole architecture; Wilson's Creek National Battlefield; the Pony Express National Memorial, and the birthplace of the outlaw Jesse James, in St Joseph; and the Laura Ingalls Wilder home in Mansfield. Hannibal, Mark Twain's hometown, has the Mark Twain home and museum. Just south of Hannibal is the Mark Twain Cave, said to be a hideout for Jesse James and a stop on the Underground Railroad for runaway slaves.
Missouri has extensive state parks and recreational facilities; the many lakes and rivers are ideal for canoeing, fishing, camping, and waterskiing.
Culture
Missouri culture grew from a variety of influences, from American Indian to pioneer and frontier adventurism, European
immigrant traditions, riverboat life, and the southern customs of a former slave state.
Today Missouri has a mix of ethnic populations. A large number of its immigrants arrived in the mid to late 19th century, mainly from Germany, Ireland, and England. Later, Italians, Greeks, Poles, and Jews came to the state, settling mainly in St Louis and Kansas City, while immigrants from many other European ethnic groups settled in the rural areas. The impact of the German immigration on Missouri agriculture is seen in the many vineyards in the Missouri River Valley.
Among the state's cultural institutions are the St Louis Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1880, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, which has one of the finest collections of Asian art in the Western world. The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St Joseph is known for its collection of landscapes and colonial portraits.
The world's first school of journalism was established at the University of Missouri by the Missouri Press Association (founded in 1867), which also established the State Historical Society of Missouri. The St Louis Post-Dispatch, a merging of two pre-existing newspapers, was launched by the Hungarian-born publisher Joseph Pulitzer in 1878. The Mercantile Library in St Louis, built in 1861, was the first library west of the Mississippi River and contains works pertaining to the history of Westward expansion and the fur trade.
Native arts and crafts skills, such as quilting, have been revived. The development of traditional skills and activities is supported by the Missouri Federation of Arts and Crafts.
Northern Missouri preserves the state's frontier culture. Portions of the Santa Fe Trail and old railways, such as the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad, are preserved in Katy Trail State Park, which has a 360-km/225-mi hiking and biking trail.
The homesteading history of the Ozarks remains in the many horse farms throughout the region, and particularly the Missouri Fox Trotter breed of horse, known for its surefootedness in mountainous terrain.
The Bootheel of Missouri is known for its gospel music, religious oratory traditions, and sharecropping heritage, as well as its history as a pro-slave region. The river culture of the Mississippi is exemplified by the literature of Mark Twain and the blues and jazz music that travelled up the Mississippi River from the south. Black American history and social issues are explored by the Unity Theatre Ensemble in East St Louis.
Government
Missouri's state constitution Missouri has had four constitutions: 1820, 1865, 1875, and 1945. The 1945 constitution is still used today.
Structure of state government The legislature consists of a 163-member House of Representatives, whose members serve two-year terms, and a 34-member Senate, whose members serve four-year terms. Senators and representatives may serve no more than eight years. Missouri sends two senators and nine representatives to the US Congress. The state has 11 electoral votes in presidential elections.
There are six officials in the Missouri executive: governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state auditor, and state treasurer.
The judiciary consists of three major levels: the Supreme Court, consisting of seven justices who serve 12-year terms; three courts of appeals in Kansas City, St Louis, and Springfield; and 46 circuit courts, divided along county lines. The circuit courts have one circuit judge and at least one associate judge for each county within a circuit.
Missouri has 114 counties, each with a county commission and a presiding commissioner. St Louis has county status but is governed by a county executive, elected to a four-year term, along with a seven-member county council.
Economy
Missouri became heavily industrialized during the 20th century, but Missouri's service sector has grown substantially since the 1990s and this now constitutes the largest portion of the state's economy. A growing tourism industry is concentrated in the areas of St Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, and the Lake District.
Manufacturing is the second-largest sector of Missouri's economy. Industries include aerospace, transport equipment and components, machinery, fabricated metals, and chemicals and agri-chemicals. Information technology, life sciences, and transport manufacturing alone comprise over 11% of Missouri's income.
Mining forms a relatively small portion of the economy; products include lead, coal, and aggregate for cement.
Less than 4% of Missouri's economy is related to agriculture. The state's chief agricultural commodities are soybeans, feed grains, wheat, cattle and calves, and hogs.
Missouri has 12 ports on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. The Port of Metropolitan St Louis is the second-largest inland port in the USA and handles petroleum, chemicals, and grains. Other commodities distributed by Missouri ports are fertilizers, coal, steel, rock, salt, and feed grains.
History
Indigenous peoples Missouri was home to the Missouri and Osage tribes of Siouan-speaking American Indian peoples. The Missouri inhabited the northern half of the state, between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, while the Osage dwelled in southern Missouri, particularly in the Osage River Valley.
Both tribes were prodigious hunters, who went on long hunting expeditions. They also cultivated crops and lived in settlements, the Missouri dwelling in groups of earth-covered houses and the Osage in structures made from wooden poles draped with skins or woven mats.
The French first encountered the Osage in the late 17th century and established a thriving fur-trade relationship that would last throughout the 18th century. The fur trade would form the basis of Missouri's history of outposts and outfitters during the period of Westward expansion in the USA, with the growth of towns such as St Joseph and Independence located on the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California trails.
Exploration, settlement, and statehood The Missouri region was explored by Hernando de Soto for Spain in 1541. It was further explored by the Frenchmen Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet in 1673, after which explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, took possession of Louisiana Territory, which encompassed the entire Mississippi River basin.
The first settlement in Missouri was Fort Orleans, founded in 1724. Held briefly by Spain in the late 18th century, the Louisiana Territory was returned to the French in 1800 and was acquired by the USA under the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The Lewis and Clark expedition set out from St Louis the next year, encountering the Missouri peoples. A series of treaties – in 1808, 1818, and 1825 – subsequently forced the Osage and Missouri to cede their lands to the US government, pushing them west into Kansas and eventually to Oklahoma. The Missouri Fur Company, established in St Louis in 1809, led to the development of the Upper Louisiana Territory, and, by 1812, the Territory of Missouri was carved out of Louisiana Territory.
Though Missouri petitioned to become a state in 1818, it did not join the Union until 1821, following the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The Compromise permitted Missouri to enter as a slave state, while admitting Maine as a nonslave state, thus maintaining the balance of slave and nonslave states in the Union.
Settled by Southerners moving upriver, the Missouri region has long been called 'Little Dixie'. Early development had primarily to do with transport, especially (after 1817) steamboat travel, as St Louis became the gateway to the opening West. While St Louis was eventually eclipsed by Chicago as the commercial centre of the Midwest, Kansas City benefited from the growth of the railways. From the 1840s, US settlers in Missouri were joined by an influx of Germans, who quickly impressed their culture and industry on the region. Irish, Italian, and other European settlers arrived throughout the 19th century, gravitating toward the larger cities.
The Civil War and the late 19th century There was conflict in Missouri over the issue of slavery. Although Missouri had entered the Union as a slave state, the Missouri Compromise had stipulated that the region north of 36° 30' latitude – a region that ultimately comprised a major portion of Missouri after 1837 – would be free from slavery. The first half of the 19th century saw many court cases about the rights of former slaves in Missouri, culminating in the Dred Scott Decision of 1857, in which the US Supreme Court ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.
Missouri remained part of the Union during the Civil War, although strong sympathy for both sides existed. In 1861, the Battle of Wilson's Creek left southwestern Missouri in Confederate hands, until the Battle of Pea Ridge in 1862. Many battles and skirmishes, particularly by pro-Southern guerrillas, fostered a general lawlessness that continued in the post-war exploits of such bandits as Jesse and Frank James.
Post-war expansion saw the rise of railways and the decline of river commerce and communities. St Louis benefited from the building of Eads Bridge, spanning the Mississippi River, and the Wainwright Building (1891), one of the USA's first skyscrapers. The Grasshopper Plague of 1875 briefly damaged Missouri agriculture, after which agricultural prosperity was regained until the Great Depression.
20th-century industrialization and diversification Missouri was progressively urbanized and industrialized during the 20th century, beginning with the establishment of the Monsanto chemical company in St Louis in 1901. In 1933, the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was founded and played a key role in World War II, after which Missouri entered the car industry.
Big-city political machines, such as that of Kansas City's Thomas Pendergast, helped pull Missouri through the Depression and were influential in national politics. Missouri benefited economically during World War II, and after the war, with Missourian Harry Truman as US president.
Transport industries grew in the mid-20th century. Increasing urbanization brought problems with segregation and civil rights:
Missouri's 'separate but equal' laws were challenged by the US Supreme Court in 1938, although court-mandated desegregation of schools did not begin until in 1980. Missouri's economy suffered from the decentralization of its manufacturing sector and a declining population in the late 20th century.
Famous people
sport Casey Stengel (1891–1975), baseball player; Yogi Berra (1925– ), baseball player; Tom Watson (1949– ), golfer
the arts Mark Twain (1835–1910), writer; Eugene Field (1850–1895), journalist and poet; Charles M Russell (1864–1926), painter; T S Eliot (1888–1965), poet and playwright; Thomas Hart Benton (1889–1975), painter; Josephine Baker (1906–1975), dancer; John Huston (1906–1987), director; Jean Harlow (1911–1937), actor; Vincent Price (1911–1993), actor; Ginger Rogers (1911–1995), dancer and actor; William Burroughs (1914–1997), author; Betty Grable (1916–1973), actor; Robert Altman (1925– ), director; Dick Van Dyke (1925– ), actor; Chuck Berry (1926– ), singer; Maya Angelou (1928– ), writer and activist; Burt Bacharach
(1929– ), songwriter; Sheryl Crow (1962– ), singer
science George Washington Carver (1860–1943), agricultural chemist; Harlow Shapley (1885–1972), astronomer; Edwin Hubble (1889–1953), astronomer; Norbert Wiener (1894–1964), mathematician; William Lear (1902–1978), aviation inventor; Jack Kilby (1923– ), Nobel Prize-winning electrical engineer
society and education Dale Carnegie (1888–1955), author and teacher; Roy Wilkins (1901–1981), civil-rights leader; Martha Gellhorn (1908–1998), journalist; Walter Cronkite (1916– ), journalist
economics James McKinsey (1889–1937), management consultant
politics and law Jesse James (1847–1882), outlaw; John J Pershing (1860–1948), general; Thomas Pendergast (1872–1945), politician; Harry S Truman (1884–1972), 33rd president of the USA; Omar Nelson Bradley (1893–1981), general; William Fulbright (1905–1995), politician.
Sahara
Arabic Sahra, 'wilderness'
Largest desert in the world, occupying around 9,065,000 sq km/3,500,000 sq mi of north Africa from the Atlantic to the Nile, covering: west Egypt; part of west Sudan; large parts of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Chad; and southern parts of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Small areas in Algeria and Tunisia are below sea level, but it is mainly a plateau with a central mountain system, including the Ahaggar Mountains in Algeria, the Aïr Massif in Niger, and the Tibesti Massif in Chad, of which the highest peak is Emi Koussi, 3,415 m/11,208 ft.
Oases punctuate the caravan routes, now modern roads. Resources include oil and gas in the north. Satellite observations have established a pattern below the surface of dried-up rivers that existed 2 million years ago. Cave paintings confirm that 4,000 years ago running rivers and animal life existed. Satellite photos taken during the 1980s have revealed that the Sahara expands and contracts from one year to another depending on rainfall; there is no continuous expansion, as had been feared.
Mountains and highland
The Sahara is mostly an elevated plateau with a mean altitude of 600 m/1,968 ft, the surface of which is diversified by high
tablelands and mountains (some 43% of the area is mountains). The summits of the central Ahaggar Mountains and of the Tibesti Mountains, farther to the east, rise as high as 2,600 m/8,530 ft and are snow-capped for several months of the year. To the northeast and northwest of the Ahaggar peaks extends the ridge of the Muidir plateau (320 km/200 mi), and that of the Tasili of the Asjer (480 km/300 mi), which has a mean altitude of 1,500 m/4,920 ft. South of the Ahaggar are the mountains of Air (2,000 m/6,562
ft). The Igidi, which with the West and East Erg stretches from Cape Blanco to the south of Tunisia (2,000 km/1,243 mi), is a vast belt of sand-hills. These account for only one-ninth of the area of the Sahara.
Surface covering
Rocky wastes, with the bare exposure of fissured rocks as dominant features of the scene, form the hammada type of the Sahara. Numerous shrubs of different kinds find shelter in the clefts, and here, too, may be found rough camel pasture. Much of the central
plateaus of Ahaggar and Tibesti is of this character. The Hammada al-Homra and the hammada of Murzuk are vast, undulating granite-strewn surfaces; and there are also vast tracts of stones and water-worn pebbles, called serir. Some 28% of the area is covered in soft sand, sometimes blown by the wind into high dunes, continually shifting and changing contour. The most extended area of sandy waste is the Libyan Desert, which stretches southwards for 1,795 km/1,115 mi from the Siwah group of oases.
Water and oases
Very little rain falls on the Sahara. However there are subterranean sources of water. The wells of the oases, for example those of the Tuat group in the north-central Sahara, make cultivation on a limited scale possible (tropical fruit trees, palms, cereals). This combined with the nodal position of the oases on lines of trans-Saharan communication, gives them considerable economic and
commercial significance. Ancient watercourses prove that rivers formerly flowed through the desert, and the presence of salt and marine shells indicates that parts of it were once under the sea.
Desertification
It has long been suggested that the margins of the Sahara are becoming increasingly arid. The major evidence to support these claims are the presence of deserted (or semi-deserted) cities, abandoned caravan routes, and the fact that many settlements have been abandoned in the past 50 years. The idea of desert margins advancing was put forward in the 1970s but has subsequently been largely disproved. It has been shown that while human destruction of vegetation through fuelwood collection and cattle grazing may cause major soil degradation, fluctuations of the margins of the desert are mainly due to vegetation responding to seasonal variations in rainfall.
Climate
The interior areas have the highest temperatures of Africa, as afternoon temperatures may exceed 44°C in summer, but in winter the mean in the interior is below 15°C and frosts are not unusual. Rainfall levels vary across the Sahara, with the very arid centre receiving less than 50 mm/2 in per year.
Resources
The Sahara contains rich mineral resources, of which oil and natural gas are the most important. Hasei R'Mel, Edjeleh, and the Allizi Basin are the main centres of production in Algeria, and the Sarir field is the main source of oil in the Libyan Desert. Other mineral resources in the Sahara found in substantial quantities include iron ore in Algeria and Mauritania, and phosphates in Morocco and Western Sahara.
Communications
Traders used to cross the desert by recognized routes linking oases. Major trans-Saharan routes are now at least partially tar-surfaced, with the most commonly used routes running from Beni Abbès (Algeria) to Niamey (Niger) via Bourem (Mali), and from El Goléa (Algeria) to Kano (Nigeria) via the Ahaggar plateau. Bus services run along these routes, with the majority of freight now carried by lorry as opposed to camel. It is also possible to skirt the edge of the desert via Morocco and Mauritania, a route of increasing importance since the sporadic clashes between Tuareg nomads and the Mali and Niger governments in the 1990s.
Exploration
British explorers include Major Laing who crossed to Timbuktu in 1826, John Davidson in 1836, and John Richardson in 1845. B Khun de Prohok, between 1920 and 1930, was the first person to undertake motor expeditions.
Sapporo
Capital of Hokkaido prefecture, Japan, on the Ishikari River; population (2000 est) 1,822,000. Industries include rubber, food
processing, printing, brewing beer, and lead and zinc mining. It is a winter sports centre and was the site of the 1972 Winter Olympics. Giant figures are sculpted in ice at the annual snow festival. The city has an underground railway.
Sapporo was laid out as an entirely new settlement after 1869, and became the headquarters for the colonization of Hokkaido. The city plan, with its distinctive grid pattern of streets, was American in inspiration. The city is home to Hokkaido University (1876) and Hokkai-Gakuen Kitami University (1885).
Tyneside
Industrial conurbation in Tyne and Wear, northeast England, on the River Tyne; population (1991) 783,300. North Tyneside and South Tyneside are metropolitan boroughs of Tyne and Wear. The area extends from South Shields to Newcastle upon Tyne and is characterized by heavy industry such as shipbuilding and repairing, and fish canneries.
West Bank
Area (5,879 sq km/2,270 sq mi) on the west bank of the River Jordan; population (1997 est) 1,873,500. Its main cities are
Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nablus in the north; Jerusalem, Jericho, and Ramallah in the centre; and Bethlehem and Hebron in the south. The area was captured by Israel from Jordan in 1967; Jordan finally renounced any claim to it in 1988. Israel refers to the area as Judaea and Samaria, and in 2001 75% of the area of the West Bank remained under Israeli military control, protecting the 180,000 Israeli settlers.
The West Bank was held by the Jordanian army in 1948 at the end of the First Arab-Israeli War following the creation of the state of Israel, and formally annexed in 1950. The area was integrated into the kingdom of Jordan, with Palestinians there being given Jordanian passports and citizenship. The West Bank was captured by Israel during the Six-Day War (5–10 June 1967) and placed under military government. There was initially little resistance from the resident Arab Palestinian population, in part due to Israeli improvements in the standard of living, and in part lack of affinity with Jordanians in Jordan's East Bank. However, Israeli settlement of the area picked up pace in the 1980s, creating tensions, and after 1987 as the Intifada (uprising) gained strength in the occupied territories, Israeli military presence increased significantly. In July 1988 Jordan renounced responsibility for the West Bank, having previously recognized the main representative of Palestinians to be the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
In 1993 Israel and the PLO began negotiations in the Israel–Palestine peace process. They agreed to a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and Arab towns and villages in the West Bank and to limited self-rule for Palestinians. The West Bank was divided into three zones: A, where PLO devolved authority was greatest; B, where the Palestine National Authority (PNA) had some limited authority but Israel maintained a security presence and 'overriding security responsibility'; and C, under military occupation. In May 1994 the PLO assumed control over the Jericho area of the West Bank; in September 1995 Israeli armed forces withdrew from Nablus, Ramallah, Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, and Bethlehem; and in December 1995 the PLO took over civil administration in Hebron. However, numerous Jewish settlements remained in place in the West Bank under Israeli military protection. The October 1998 Wye Memorandum envisaged, after full implementation, that 17% of the West Bank would fall into Zone A, 24% into Zone B, and 59% into Zone C. The final status of the West Bank has yet to be resolved, with the issue of Jerusalem, claimed as a national capital by both peoples, remaining particularly contentious. There are around 170,000 armed Israeli settlers in the West Bank
During the second Intifada, in 2000–01, Israeli troops temporarily sealed off several West Bank towns, in retaliation for Palestinian bomb explosions in Israel, and there was fierce fighting in Nablus and Ramallah, involving Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships. In August 2001 Israeli troops entered Jenin in the far north, marking the first incursion into a city under full Palestinian control since the 1994 transfer of control.
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