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This book challenges the precedent that a mountain's worth scales with height. It is a rational synthesis of new concepts that compel one to reassess the popular "heightist mindset". The concept of prominence, loosely defined as a mountain's vertical relief, is a stiff competitor to summit height for assessing a mountain's stature and relative worth for innumerable purposes. The community of prominence theoreticians, list builders, and climbers has reached critical mass - suggesting publication of a book dedicated exclusively to prominence. Revolutions are not overnight. The heightist mindset has minimally a 100 year head start. Eventually the climbing community will embrace prominence. For ...
There is no end to how people seek the heights. Within such a continuum of mountain enthusiasts, the peakbagger is peculiarly focused on the summit-not just in classic alpine style but also in deserts, jungles, and everywhere a big mountain awaits, ticking off his lists. County high-pointing represents this obsession, providing the practitioner with all manner of rewards, perceived and tangible. His hobby is not for the timid, often entails difficulties beyond the norm, and always consumes inordinately large chunks of time. Part 1 describes the genre in five chapters. Part 2 reviews the author's multisummer project of reaching the highest ground for each of the 414 counties in America's west. It's a memorable accomplishment replete with many unexpected challenges. The required perseverance and will to achieve beyond the norm is his parting message to the reader. Part 3 reviews Alaska and Hawaii county high-pointing, followed by four appendices and a 330-entry glossary of terms. With 400 pages and 236 illustrations, A Tale of Twelve Summers is both comprehensive and visually attractive.
From the discovery of the fossil Archaeopteryx to more than 10,000 different documented species today, birds have become the second most diversified class of vertebrates on Earth. Birds have evolved extensively since they first emerged in prehistoric times--but that diversity could dwindle and even vanish unless we take steps to conserve their habitats, ensuring that they sustain their numbers and their variety. This natural history of birds starts in the distant past--going back to the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Paleogene periods--in order to get a broader understanding of the birds that we see today. Chapters cover their lives, breeding, flight, migration and more, while also highlighting some especially unique bird fossils, such as the Pelagornis Sandersi, which had a wingspan of more than 20 feet. Also included are chapters on the loss of needed habitats, the current decline of native birds, and what can be done to reverse it.
Better Birding reveals the techniques expert birders use to identify a wide array of bird species in the field—quickly and easily. Featuring hundreds of stunning photos and composite plates throughout, this book simplifies identification by organizing the birds you see into groupings and offering strategies specifically tailored to each group. Skill building focuses not just on traditional elements such as plumage, but also on creating a context around each bird, including habitat, behavior, and taxonomy—parts so integral to every bird's identity but often glossed over by typical field guides. Critical background information is provided for each group, enabling you to approach bird ident...
'Created one hundred years ago, the Board has functioned to provide standardized spellings of geographic names to meet official U.S. requirements. It is the oldest body of its kind in the world. Without an independent budget, its programs reflected overall budgetary restrictions that affected its support agencies. Immediately prior to the Second World War, for example, the Board worked at a relatively slow pace. With the onset of that conflict, however, the Board's staff was greatly enlarged to provide names for new maps and charts needed by the U.S. armed services. In 1947 the Board was reorganized by Public Law 242 of the 80th Congress and given explicit missions to meet new requirements the nation had for geographic names on a global basis. Since that time, and in the present era of new nations and changed names, the Board has functioned as the world's foremost body of experts dealing with geographic names' -- page 1.
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This book shows how California’s weather and climate have drastically changed and what we can expect in the near future. California’s weather and climate are becoming as common a topic in the media as inflation and wars. It comes into our lives during heat waves when we require more cooling and during droughts when we are asked to limit our use of water. We may not be able to visit state and national parks when fires rage nearby. Indeed, California does have weather. LaDochy and Witiw dispel the erroneous myths about the state’s climate in a colorful, entertaining way. California does have seasons. It does rain in Southern California. It is not always sunny and mild throughout the year. And not all El Niños bring abundant rainfall every time throughout the state. These and other myths are discussed and dismissed with the latest science and remarkable vignettes. The authors describe the diversity of the state’s physical environment, both natural and man-made and how climate change is currently altering this diverse environment. Climate change, in the past, present and future, continues to influence this most populous state. Yes, California does have weather.
There is widespread agreement that the world's most successful developing countries in the 1980s were those in Southeast Asia. Following in the footsteps of postwar Japan and more recently Korea, the populations of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines have made enormous strides in income, industrial and agricultural production, exports, education, health, nutrition, consumption, and other development indicators. This book brings together political scientists, economists, officials of Asian governments, the United States, and representatives of the multilateral banks to analyze and explain Southeast Asia's extraordinary growth. Chapters and contributors to ...
Local and regional government information is essential to government workers, corporate researchers, students, and many other citizens, but finding a city ordinance or a county report can be a daunting experience. This unique, timesaving, and easy-to-use reference guide offers strategies for locating local and regional government information, including what to look for, how and where to search, and what to expect. Leading users through the labyrinth of records and reports available from a wide variety of sources, this guide provides tips on how to use sources effectively and efficiently in real-world research. An accessible overview covers the different types of government documents, how local governments are organized, and how to contact government agencies and archives. The guide also describes the major general indexes and bibliographies covering local government information, including the Index to Current Urban Documents and the BRB Public Record Research System. Whether researching census records, looking up local laws and regulations, or determining eligibility for government assistance, this reference offers indispensable assistance.
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