Valente and Juma fighting...
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest and most powerful feline in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Mexico across much of Central America and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. Apart from a known and possibly breeding population in Arizona (southeast of Tucson), the cat has largely been extirpated from the United States since the early 1900s.
This spotted cat most closely resembles the leopard physically, although it is usually larger and of sturdier build and its behavioral and habitat characteristics are closer to those of the tiger. While dense rainforest is its preferred habitat, the jaguar will range across a variety of forested and open terrain. It is strongly associated with the presence of water and is notable, along with the tiger, as a feline that enjoys swimming. The jaguar is a largely solitary, stalk-and-ambush predator, and is opportunistic in prey selection. It is also an apex and keystone predator, playing an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and regulating the populations of prey species. The jaguar has an exceptionally powerful bite, even relative to the other big cats.[3] This allows it to pierce the shells of armoured reptiles[4] and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directly through the skull of prey between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain.[5]
The jaguar is a near threatened species and its numbers are declining. Threats include habitat loss and fragmentation. While international trade in jaguars or their parts is prohibited, the cat is still regularly killed by humans, particularly in conflicts with ranchers and farmers in South America. Although reduced, its range remains large; given its historical distribution, the jaguar has featured prominently in the mythology of numerous indigenous American cultures, including that of the Maya and Aztec.
Etymology
A jaguar at the Milwaukee County Zoological GardensThe word jaguar is pronounced /ˈdʒæɡwɑr/ or, in British English, /ˈdʒæɡjuː.ər/. It comes to English from one of the Tupi-Guarani languages, presumably the Amazonian trade language Tupinambá, via Portuguese jaguar.[6] The Tupian word, yaguara "beast", sometimes translated as "dog",[7][8] is used for any carnivorous mammal.[9] The specific word for jaguar is yaguareté, with the suffix -eté meaning "real" or "true".[6][9][10]
The first component of its taxonomic designation, Panthera, is Latin, from the Greek word for leopard, πάνθηρ, the type species for the genus. This has been said to derive from the παν- "all" and θήρ from θηρευτής "predator", meaning "predator of all" (animals), though this may be a folk etymology[11]—it may instead be ultimately of Sanskrit origin, from pundarikam, the Sanskrit word for "tiger".[12]
Onca is the Portuguese onça, with the cedilla dropped for typographical reasons, found in English as ounce for the Snow Leopard, Uncia uncia. It derives from the Latin lyncea lynx, with the letter L confused with the definite article (Italian lonza, Old French l'once).[13]
In many Central and South American countries, the cat is referred to as el tigre ("the tiger")
Taxonomy
The jaguar, Panthera onca, is the only extant New World member of the Panthera genus. DNA evidence shows that the lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, snow leopard, and clouded leopard share a common ancestor and that this group is between six and ten million years old;[14] the fossil record points to the emergence of Panthera just two to 3.8 million years ago.[14][15] Phylogenetic studies generally have shown that the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is basal to this group.[14][16][17][18] The position of the remaining species varies between studies and is effectively unresolved.
Based on morphological evidence, British zoologist Reginald Pocock concluded that the jaguar is most closely related to the leopard.[18] However, DNA evidence is inconclusive and the position of the jaguar relative to the other species varies between studies.[14][16][17][18] Fossils of extinct Panthera species, such as the European Jaguar (Panthera gombaszoegensis) and the American Lion (Panthera atrox), show characteristics of both the lion and the jaguar.[18] Analysis of jaguar mitochondrial DNA has dated the species lineage to between 280,000 and 510,000 years ago, later than suggested by fossil records.[19Geographical variation
While numerous subspecies of the jaguar have been recognized, recent research suggests just three. Geographical barriers, such as the Amazon river, limit gene flow within the species.The last taxonomic delineation of the jaguar subspecies was performed by Pocock in 1939. Based on geographic origins and skull morphology, he recognized eight subspecies. However, he did not have access to sufficient specimens to critically evaluate all subspecies, and he expressed doubt about the status of several. Later consideration of his work suggested only three subspecies should be recognized.[20]
Recent studies have also failed to find evidence for well defined subspecies, and are no longer recognized.[21] Larson (1997) studied the morphological variation in the jaguar and showed that there is clinal north–south variation, but also that the differentiation within the supposed subspecies is larger than that between them and thus does not warrant subspecies subdivision.[22] A genetic study by Eizirik and coworkers in 2001 confirmed the absence of a clear geographical subspecies structure, although they found that major geographical barriers such as the Amazon River limited the exchange of genes between the different populations.[19] A subsequent, more detailed, study confirmed the predicted population structure within the Colombian jaguars.[23]
Pocock's subspecies divisions are still regularly listed in general descriptions of the cat.[24] Seymour grouped these in three subspecies.[20]
Panthera onca onca: Venezuela through the Amazon, including
P. onca peruviana (Peruvian Jaguar): Coastal Peru
P. onca hernandesii (Mexican Jaguar): Western Mexico – including
P. onca centralis (Central American Jaguar): El Salvador to Colombia
P. onca arizonensis (Arizonan Jaguar): Southern Arizona to Sonora, Mexico
P. onca veraecrucis: Central Texas to Southeastern Mexico
P. onca goldmani (Goldman's Jaguar): Yucatán Peninsula to Belize and Guatemala
P. onca palustris (the largest subspecies, weighing more than 135 kg or 300 lb):[25] The Pantanal regions of Mato Grosso & Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, along the Paraguay River into Paraguay and northeastern Argentina.
Physical characteristics
The jaguar is a compact and well-muscled animal. There are significant variations in size and weight: weights are normally in the range of 56–96 kilograms (124–211 lb). Larger males have been recorded at 160 kilograms (350 lb)[26] (roughly matching a tigress or lioness), and smaller ones have extremely low weights of 36 kilograms (80 lb). Females are typically 10–20% smaller than males. The length of the cat varies from 1.62–1.83 metres (5.3–6 ft), and its tail may add a further 75 centimeters (30 in). It stands about 67–76 centimeters (27–30 in) tall at the shoulders.[27]
The head of the jaguar is robust and the jaw extremely powerful. The size of jaguars tends to increase the farther south they are located.
Jaguar skull and jawboneFurther variations in size have been observed across regions and habitats, with size tending to increase from the north to south. A study of the jaguar in the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve on the Mexican Pacific coast, showed ranges of just 30–50 kilograms (66–110 lb), about the size of the cougar.[28] By contrast, a study of the Jaguar in the Brazilian Pantanal region found average weights of 100 kilograms (220 lb) and weights of 300 lb or more are not uncommon in old males.[29] Forest jaguars are frequently darker and considerably smaller than those found in open areas (the Pantanal is an open wetland basin), possibly due to the smaller numbers of large herbivorous prey in forest areas.[30]
A short and stocky limb structure makes the jaguar adept at climbing, crawling and swimming.[27] The head is robust and the jaw extremely powerful. The jaguar has the strongest bite of all felids capable of biting down with 2000 lbs of force twice the strength of a lion, and the second strongest of all mammals after the spotted hyena; this strength is an adaptation that allows the jaguar to pierce turtle shells.[4] A comparative study of bite force adjusted for body size ranked it as the top felid, alongside the clouded leopard and ahead of the lion and tiger.[31] It has been reported that "an individual jaguar can drag a 360 kg (800 lb) bull 8 m (25 ft) in its jaws and pulverize the heaviest bones".[32] The jaguar hunts wild animals weighing up to 300 kilograms (660 lb) in dense jungle, and its short and sturdy physique is thus an adaptation to its prey and environment.
A melanistic jaguar. Melanism is the result of a dominant allele but remains relatively rare in jaguars.The base coat of the jaguar is generally a tawny yellow, but can range to reddish-brown and black. The cat is covered in rosettes for camouflage in its jungle habitat. The spots vary over individual coats and between individual Jaguars: rosettes may include one or several dots, and the shape of the dots varies. The spots on the head and neck are generally solid, as are those on the tail, where they may merge to form a band. The underbelly, throat and outer surface of the legs and lower flanks are white.[27]
A condition known as melanism occurs in the species. The melanistic form is less common than the spotted form (it occurs at about six percent of the population)[33] of jaguars and is the result of a dominant allele.[34] Jaguars with melanism appear entirely black, although their spots are still visible on close examination. Melanistic Jaguars are informally known as black panthers, but do not form a separate species. Rare albino individuals, sometimes called white panthers, also occur among jaguars, as with the other big cats.[30]
While the jaguar closely resembles the leopard, it is sturdier and heavier, and the two animals can be distinguished by their rosettes: the rosettes on a jaguar's coat are larger, fewer in number, usually darker, and have thicker lines and small spots in the middle that the leopard lacks. Jaguars also have rounder heads and shorter, stockier limbs compared to leopards.[35
[edit] Reproduction and life cycle
Jaguar females reach sexual maturity at about two years of age, and males at three or four. The cat is believed to mate throughout the year in the wild, although births may increase when prey is plentiful.[36] Research on captive male jaguars supports the year-round mating hypothesis, with no seasonal variation in semen traits and ejaculatory quality; low reproductive success has also been observed in captivity.[37] Female estrous is 6–17 days out of a full 37-day cycle, and females will advertise fertility with urinary scent marks and increased vocalization.[36] Both sexes will range more widely than usual during courtship.
Mother about to pick up a cub by the neckMating pairs separate after the act, and females provide all parenting. The gestation period lasts 93–105 days; females give birth to up to four cubs, and most commonly to two. The mother will not tolerate the presence of males after the birth of cubs, given a risk of infanticide; this behaviour is also found in the tiger.[38]
The young are born blind, gaining sight after two weeks. Cubs are weaned at three months but remain in the birth den for six months before leaving to accompany their mother on hunts.[39] They will continue in their mother's company for one to two years before leaving to establish a territory for themselves. Young males are at first nomadic, jostling with their older counterparts until they succeed in claiming a territory. Typical lifespan in the wild is estimated at around 12–15 years; in captivity, the jaguar lives up to 23 years, placing it among the longest-lived cats.[29]
Social activity
Like most cats, the jaguar is solitary outside mother-cub groups. Adults generally meet only to court and mate (though limited non-courting socialization has been observed anecdotally[38]) and carve out large territories for themselves. Female territories, which range from 25 to 40 square kilometers in size, may overlap, but the animals generally avoid one another. Male ranges cover roughly twice as much area, varying in size with the availability of game and space, and do not overlap.[38][40] The jaguar uses scrape marks, urine, and feces to mark its territory.[41]
Like the other big cats, the jaguar is capable of roaring (the male more powerfully) and does so to warn territorial and mating competitors away; intensive bouts of counter-calling between individuals have been observed in the wild.[42] Their roar often resembles a repetitive cough, and they may also vocalize mews and grunts.[29] Mating fights between males occur, but are rare, and aggression avoidance behaviour has been observed in the wild.[41] When it occurs, conflict is typically over territory: a male's range may encompass that of two or three females, and he will not tolerate intrusions by other adult males.[38]
The jaguar is often described as nocturnal, but is more specifically crepuscular (peak activity around dawn and dusk). Both sexes hunt, but males travel further each day than females, befitting their larger territories. The jaguar may hunt during the day if game is available and is a relatively energetic feline, spending as much as 50–60% of its time active.[30] The jaguar's elusive nature and the inaccessibility of much of its preferred habitat make it a difficult animal to sight, let alone study.
Hunting and diet
Illustration of a jaguar battling a boa constrictor
Illustration of a jaguar killing a tapirLike all cats, the jaguar is an obligate carnivore, feeding only on meat. It is an opportunistic hunter and its diet encompasses 87 species.[30] The jaguar prefers large prey and will take adult caiman, deer, capybara, tapirs, peccaries, dogs, foxes, and sometimes even anacondas . However, the cat will eat any small species that can be caught, including frogs, mice, birds, fish, sloths, monkeys, and turtles; a study conducted in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize, for example, revealed that jaguars there had a diet that consisted primarily of armadillos and pacas.[41] Some jaguars will also take domestic livestock, including adult cattle and horses.[43]
The jaguar has an exceptionally powerful bite, even relative to the other big cats. It is an adaptation that allows it to pierce the shells of armoured reptiles.While the jaguar employs the deep-throat bite-and-suffocation technique typical among Panthera, it prefers a killing method unique amongst cats: it pierces directly through the temporal bones of the skull between the ears of prey (especially the Capybara) with its canine teeth, piercing the brain.[44] This may be an adaptation to "cracking open" turtle shells; following the late Pleistocene extinctions, armoured reptiles such as turtles would have formed an abundant prey base for the jaguar.[30][42] The skull bite is employed with mammals in particular; with reptiles such as caiman, the jaguar may leap on to the back of the prey and sever the cervical vertebrae, immobilizing the target. While capable of cracking turtle shells, the jaguar may simply reach into the shell and scoop out the flesh.[38] With prey such as smaller dogs, a paw swipe to the skull may be sufficient in killing it.
The jaguar is a stalk-and-ambush rather than a chase predator. The cat will walk slowly down forest paths, listening for and stalking prey before rushing or ambushing. The jaguar attacks from cover and usually from a target's blind spot with a quick pounce; the species' ambushing abilities are considered nearly peerless in the animal kingdom by both indigenous people and field researchers, and are probably a product of its role as an apex predator in several different environments. The ambush may include leaping into water after prey, as a jaguar is quite capable of carrying a large kill while swimming; its strength is such that carcasses as large as a heifer can be hauled up a tree to avoid flood levels.[38]
On killing prey, the jaguar will drag the carcass to a thicket or other secluded spot. It begins eating at the neck and chest, rather than the midsection. The heart and lungs are consumed, followed by the shoulders.[38] The daily food requirement of a 34 kilogram animal, at the extreme low end of the species' weight range, has been estimated at 1.4 kilograms.[45] For captive animals in the 50–60 kilogram range, more than 2 kilograms of meat daily is recommended.[46] In the wild, consumption is naturally more erratic; wild cats expend considerable energy in the capture and kill of prey, and may consume up to 25 kilograms of meat at one feeding, followed by periods of famine.[47] Unlike all other species in the Panthera genus, jaguars very rarely attack humans. Most of the scant cases where jaguars turn to taking a human show that the animal is either old with damaged teeth or is wounded.[48] Sometimes, if scared, jaguars in captivity may lash out at zookeepers.[49]
[edit] Ecology
[edit] Distribution and habitat
The jaguar has been attested in the fossil record for two million years[24] and it has been an American cat since crossing the Bering Land Bridge during the Pleistocene epoch; the immediate ancestor of modern animals is Panthera onca augusta, which was larger than the contemporary cat.[23] Its present range extends from Mexico, through Central America and into South America, including much of Amazonian Brazil.[50] The countries included in this range are Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica (particularly on the Osa Peninsula), Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, United States and Venezuela. The jaguar is now extinct in El Salvador and Uruguay.[2] It occurs in the 400 km² Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize, the 5,300 km² Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, the approximately 15,000 km² Manú National Park in Peru, the approximately 26,000 km² Xingu National Park in Brazil, and numerous other reserves throughout its range.
The jaguar can range across a variety of forested and open habitat, but is strongly associated with presence of water.The inclusion of the United States in the list is based on occasional sightings in the southwest, particularly in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. In the early 1900s, the jaguar's range extended as far north as the Grand Canyon, and as far west as Southern California.[45] The jaguar is a protected species in the United States under the Endangered Species Act, which has stopped the shooting of the animal for its pelt. In 2004, wildlife officials in Arizona photographed and documented jaguars in the southern part of the state. For any permanent population to thrive, protection from killing, an adequate prey base, and connectivity with Mexican populations are essential.[51] On February 25, 2009 a 118 lb Jaguar was caught, radio-collared and released in an area southwest of Tucson, Arizona; this is farther north than had previously been expected and represents a sign that there may be a permanent breeding population of Jaguars within southern Arizona. It was later confirmed that the animal is indeed the same male individual (known as 'Macho B') that was photographed in 2004 and is now the oldest known Jaguar in the wild (approximately 15 years old.)[52] On Monday March 2, 2009, Macho B, which is the only jaguar spotted in the U.S. in more than a decade, was recaptured and euthanized after he was found to be suffering from kidney failure.[53]
Completion of the United States–Mexico barrier as currently proposed will reduce the viability of any population currently residing in the United States, by reducing gene flow with Mexican populations, and prevent any further northward expansion for the species.[54]
The historic range of the species included much of the southern half of the United States, and in the south extended much farther to cover most of the South American continent. In total, its northern range has receded 1,000 kilometers southward and its southern range 2,000 km northward. Ice age fossils of the jaguar, dated between 40,000 and 11,500 years ago, have been discovered in the United States, including some at an important site as far north as Missouri. Fossil evidence shows jaguars of up to 190 kg (420 lb), much larger than the contemporary average for the animal.[55]
The habitat of the cat includes the rain forests of South and Central America, open, seasonally flooded wetlands, and dry grassland terrain. Of these habitats, the jaguar much prefers dense forest;[30] the cat has lost range most rapidly in regions of drier habitat, such as the Argentinian pampas, the arid grasslands of Mexico, and the southwestern United States.[2] The cat will range across tropical, subtropical, and dry deciduous forests (including, historically, oak forests in the United States). The jaguar is strongly associated with water and it often prefers to live by rivers, swamps, and in dense rainforest with thick cover for stalking prey. Jaguars have been found at elevations as high as 3,800 m, but they typically avoid montane forest and are not found in the high plateau of central Mexico or in the Andes.[30]
Substantial evidence exists that there is also a colony of non-native melanistic leopards or jaguars inhabiting the rainforests around Sydney, Australia. A local report compiled statements from over 450 individuals recounting their stories of sighting large black cats in the area and confidential NSW Government documents regarding the matter proved wildlife authorities were so concerned about the big cats and the danger to humans, they commissioned an expert to catch it. The three-day hunt later failed, but ecologist Johannes J. Bauer warned: "Difficult as it seems to accept, the most likely explanation is the presence of a large, feline predator. In this area, [it is] most likely a leopard, less likely a jaguar."[56]
Ecological role
The adult jaguar is an apex predator, meaning that it exists at the top of its food chain and is not preyed on in the wild. The jaguar has also been termed a keystone species, as it is assumed, through controlling the population levels of prey such as herbivorous and granivorous mammals, apex felids maintain the structural integrity of forest systems.[28][57] However, accurately determining what effect species like the jaguar have on ecosystems is difficult, because data must be compared from regions where the species is absent as well as its current habitats, while controlling for the effects of human activity. It is accepted that mid-sized prey species undergo population increases in the absence of the keystone predators and it has been hypothesized that this has cascading negative effects.[58] However, field work has shown this may be natural variability and that the population increases may not be sustained. Thus, the keystone predator hypothesis is not favoured by all scientists.[59]
The jaguar also has an effect on other predators. The jaguar and the cougar, the next largest feline of the Americas, are often sympatric (related species sharing overlapping territory) and have often been studied in conjunction. Where sympatric with the jaguar, the cougar is smaller than normal and is smaller than the local jaguars. The jaguar tends to take larger prey and the cougar smaller, reducing the latter's size.[60] This situation may be advantageous to the cougar. Its broader prey niche, including its ability to take smaller prey, may give it an advantage over the jaguar in human-altered landscapes;[28] while both are classified as near-threatened species, the cougar has a significantly larger current distribution.
[edit] Conservation status
Jaguar populations are rapidly declining. The animal is considered Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources,[2] meaning it may be threatened with extinction in the near future. The loss of parts of its range, including its virtual elimination from its historic northern areas and the increasing fragmentation of the remaining range, have contributed to this status. The 1960s saw particularly significant declines, with more than 15,000 jaguar skins brought out of the Brazilian Amazon yearly; the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of 1973 brought about a sharp decline in the pelt trade.[61] Detailed work performed under the auspices of the Wildlife Conservation Society reveal that the animal has lost 37% of its historic range, with its status unknown in an additional 18%. More encouragingly, the probability of long-term survival was considered high in 70% of its remaining range, particularly in the Amazon basin and the adjoining Gran Chaco and Pantanal.[50]
The major risks to the jaguar include deforestation across its habitat, increasing competition for food with human beings,[2] poaching, hurricanes in northern parts of its range, and the behaviour of ranchers who will often kill the cat where it preys on livestock. When adapted to the prey, the jaguar has been shown to take cattle as a large portion of its diet; while land clearance for grazing is a problem for the species, the jaguar population may have increased when cattle were first introduced to South America as the animals took advantage of the new prey base. This willingness to take livestock has induced ranch owners to hire full-time jaguar hunters, and the cat is often shot on sight.[29]
The Pantanal, Brazil, seen here in flood condition, is a critical jaguar range area.The jaguar is regulated as an Appendix I species under CITES: all international trade in jaguars or their parts is prohibited. All hunting of jaguars is prohibited in Argentina, Belize, Colombia, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, the United States (where it is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act), Uruguay and Venezuela. Hunting of jaguars is restricted to "problem animals" in Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru, while trophy hunting is still permitted in Bolivia. The species has no legal protection in Ecuador or Guyana.[24]
Current conservation efforts often focus on educating ranch owners and promoting ecotourism.[62] The jaguar is generally defined as an umbrella species — a species whose home range and habitat requirements are sufficiently broad that, if protected, numerous other species of smaller range will also be protected.[63] Umbrella species serve as "mobile links" at the landscape scale, in the jaguar's case through predation. Conservation organizations may thus focus on providing viable, connected habitat for the jaguar, with the knowledge that other species will also benefit.[62]
Given the inaccessibility of much of the species' range—particularly the central Amazon—estimating jaguar numbers is difficult. Researchers typically focus on particular bioregions, and thus species-wide analysis is scant. In 1991, 600–1,000 (the highest total) were estimated to be living in Belize. A year earlier, 125–180 jaguars were estimated to be living in Mexico's 4,000 square kilometer (2400 mi²) Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, with another 350 in the state of Chiapas. The adjoining Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala, with an area measuring 15,000 square kilometers (9,000 mi²), may have 465–550 animals.[64] Work employing GPS–telemetry in 2003 and 2004 found densities of only six to seven jaguars per 100 square kilometers in the critical Pantanal region, compared with 10 to 11 using traditional methods; this suggests that widely used sampling methods may inflate the actual numbers of cats.[65]
On 7 January 2008 United States Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall approved a decision by the George W. Bush Administration to abandon jaguar recovery as a federal goal under the Endangered Species Act. Some critics of the decision said that the jaguar is being sacrificed for the government's new border fence, which is to be built along many of the cat's typical crossings between the United States and Mexico.[66]
In the past, conservation of jaguars sometimes occurred through the protection of jaguar "hotspots". These hotspots were described as Jaguar Conservation Units, and were large areas populated by about 50 jaguars. However, some researchers recently determined that, in order to maintain a robust sharing of the jaguar gene pool necessary for maintaining the species, it is important that the jaguars be interconnected. To effect this, a new project, the Paseo del Jaguar, as been established to connect the jaguar hotspots.[67]
Fonte-Wikipedia.
Le Forgeron de Louisbourg
Louisbourg, NS
The town's name was given by French military forces who founded the Fortress of Louisbourg and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, in honour of Louis XV. The French fortress was demolished after its final capture in 1758 and the site was abandoned by British forces in 1768.
Subsequent English settlers built a small fishing village across the harbour from the abandoned site of the fortress. The village grew slowly with additional Loyalists settlers in the 1780s. The harbour grew more accessible with the construction of the second Louisbourg Lighthouse in 1842 on the site of the original French lighthouse destroyed in 1758. A railway first reached Louisbourg in 1877, but it was poorly built and abandoned after a forest fire. However the arrival of Sydney and Louisburg Railway in 1894 brought heavy volumes of winter coal exports to Louisbourg Harbour's ice-free waters as a winter coal port. The harbour was used by the Canadian government ship Montmagny in 1912 to land bodies from the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
Incorporated in 1901, the Town of Louisbourg was disincorporated when all municipal units in Cape Breton County were merged into a single tier regional municipality in 1995.
-Wikipedia
Dee Why, Long Reef, Collaroy, Northern Beaches, Sydney, NSW
© All Rights Reserved - Black Diamond Images
Innovations Park
The brutalist-style Innovations Park Studios building in the Sydney suburb of Frenchs Forest, New South Wales, Australia.
Shot on Ilford FP4 125 black-and-white film.
Frenchs Forest & Allambie Heights Reservoir 1986 - Sydney aerial photo looking west
Aerial photo taken in 1986 over the Sydney suburb of Frenchs Forest looking west over the Frenchs Forest commercial estate. Warringah Road is at the right. The Allambie Heights reservoir is in foreground.
Recent view from Google maps: maps.google.com.au/maps?q=google+maps+rodborough+rd&i...
White Fire - Sunset. Bantry Bay Explosive Stores
White Fire. Striking vivid orange blue and white sunset over water through cloud with a tree studded silhouetted horizon..
Photographed at Bantry Bay near the old explosives stores building, Middle Harbour, Sydney, Australia..
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The Bantry Bay Explosives Magazine Complex is located in Garigal National Park and managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. The Complex occupies an area of around 14 hectares on both the eastern and western shores of the bay and consists of numerous buildings, seawalls, tram lines, wharves, slipways, tracks, dams, and other above-surface remains as well as a number of archaeological sites. It is an important but little known part of the cultural, and natural, heritage of Sydney..
Bantry Bay is part of the traditional lands of the Guringai/Gai-Mariagal Aboriginal people. The Guringai/Gai-Mariagal people made extensive use of the area for tens of thousands of years prior to the arrival of European settlers. Numerous rock engraving sites and shell middens, some dated to at least 4,600 years old, can still be seen in the area today as tangible evidence of this Aboriginal past. It is likely that Aboriginal people continued to use the area for fishing and shellfish collecting until they were gradually dispossessed by European settlement and disease..
European use of this area in the early 1800s initially focussed on lime burning, fishing, oyster gathering and wood cutting. The pioneer of the area, Constable and Crown Lands Ranger James French (after whom Frenchs Forest is named), started the first local timber industry around 1856. He located his sawmill on the hill above Bantry Bay, and made a track for his bullock team to drag the wood down to a wharf, from where it was shipped to Sydney. This “Old Bullock Track” remains today, with cobbles, culverts and the remains of a stone bridge visible amongst the bushland..
Namaqua Dove / Laughing Dove / Eurasian Collared Dove perches on iconic metalic crescent moon shaped finial on top of mosque minaret
The crescent shape is the symbol of Holy Month of Ramadan. It was put on top of the minaret to distinguished it a place for prayer for a Muslims who practices Islam. The symbol is not mandatory. Infact, grant mosques dont have such symbol on top of it. It is not a Moon God as what other people believed or interpreted. There is no known basis in Islam for putting a crescent on top of the minaret. Some scholars forbid doing so and consider it to be something that is newly-innovated in the religion. The practice may also contain some element of imitating the kuffaar, especially if it is proven that the crescent is a symbol used by those who worship heavenly bodies. People who are not well taught about Islam will be confused and thought Muslims will worshiped the moon. The moon is used for timing in the Muslim calender and that it has no further position as a Deity or an object of worship. Muslims anticipate the crescent moon as a sign for Ramadan and the crescent is also a symbol of the religion like the cross for Christianity. Therefore it is an Islamic Architecture design incorporated in the design of the structure or known as "Bida" or innovation. Such innovation or iconic incorporation in the design is not sinful or haram if incorporated in the design.
Ref#: DSCF0099
Related:
Islamic Mosque Architecture
Mosque is a place of worship.
Why does a Mosque has a Crescent shape moon?
Part of the Mosque
The untold story of Crescent moon and stars
[ Photograph by © ROMMEL BANGIT | All rights reserved ]
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Resolution in Mega pixels:
Camera: Fuji X-S1
12.3 Mega pixels
ALL Original Image Dimension: (14.293 x 9.493 inch)
(4288 x 2848 px) unless cropped
Resolution: 300 pixels/inch
Royal Poinciana tree
Although not an Australian native tree it is grown a lot in our Queensland State because of the wonderful shade from the sun it gives plus every year it produces a Beautiful floral display of colour.
The tree in the photo is at the end of my street where i live but are grown just about every where in Hervey bay.
Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It is noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of flowers. In many tropical parts of the world it is grown as an ornamental tree and in English it is given the name Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant. It is also one of several trees known as Flame tree.
In Nepal, India and Pakistan it is known as Gulmohar گل مور or گلمور in Hindi and Urdu. It is also known there as Krishnachura or Krusnachuda (Bengali/Oriya: crown of the Krishna) and Krishnasura (in Assamese and Bengali). In Kerala, it is known as Kaalvaripoo (കാൽവരിപ്പൂവ്). In Vietnam, it is known as Phượng vĩ (means "Phoenix's Tail) (Vietnamese), Malinche, and Tabachine.[1] In Khmer, the tree and the flower is known collectively as "Peacock" or ដើម (tree) or ផ្កា (flower) «ក្ងោក»។ . In Guatemala, Antigua Guatemala, it is known as llama del bosque and in Paraguay as chivato, in Cuba as flamboyán (taken from the French flamboyant).
This species was previously placed in the genus Poinciana, named for Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy, the 17th century governor of Saint Christophe (Saint Kitts). It is a non nodulating legume.
The tree's vivid red/vermilion/orange/yellow flowers and bright green foliage make it an exceptionally striking sight.
The Royal Poinciana is found in Madagascar's dry deciduous forests. In the wild it is endangered, but it is widely cultivated elsewhere. In addition to its ornamental value, it is also a useful shade tree in tropical conditions, because it usually grows to a modest height (mostly 5 meters, but it can reach an maximum height of 12 meters) but spreads widely, and its dense foliage provides full shade. In areas with a marked dry season, it sheds its leaves during the drought, but in other areas it is virtually evergreen. Flowers appear in corymbs along and at the ends of branches. Pods are green and flaccid when young and turn dark-brown and woody.[3]
The Royal Poinciana (Island of Mauritius)
The flowers are large, with four spreading scarlet or orange-red petals up to 8 cm long, and a fifth upright petal called the standard, which is slightly larger and spotted with yellow and white. The naturally occurring variety flavida has yellow flowers.[2] Seed pods are dark brown and can be up to 60 cm long and 5 cm wide; the individual seeds, however, are small, weighing around 0.4 g on average. The compound leaves have a feathery appearance and are a characteristic light, bright green. They are doubly pinnate: Each leaf is 30–50 cm long and has 20 to 40 pairs of primary leaflets or pinnae on it, and each of these is further divided into 10-20 pairs of secondary leaflets or pinnules.
Environmental requirements
The Royal Poinciana requires a tropical or near-tropical climate, but can tolerate drought and salty conditions. The Poinciana prefers an open, free-draining sandy or loamy soil enriched with organic matter. The tree does not like heavy or clay soils and flowers more profusely when kept slightly dry. The Poinciana is very widely grown in the Caribbean, Africa, Northern Australia (the southern extremes previously limited to South East Queensland, although it now grows and blooms successfully in Sydney with flowering trees identified in the suburbs of Petersham, Parramatta, Guildford, Warwick Farm and Kurmond), Hong Kong, the Canary Islands, Mexico, Paraguay, Cyprus, Malta, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, southern China. It is the official tree in Vietnam Tainan, Taiwan; Xiamen, Fujian Province, People's Republic of China; and Shantou, Canton Province, People's Republic of China. National Cheng Kung University, a university located in Tainan, put Royal Poinciana on its emblem. It also grows throughout southern Brazil, with ornamental trees in Rio Grande do Sul (Canoas and Porto Alegre).[4] [5]
Gordonvale, Queensland. Seed pods visible on upper branches.
Delonix regia is endemic to the western forests of Madagascar, but has been introduced into tropical and sub-tropical regions worldwide. In the continental United States, it grows in South Florida, Central Florida,[6] the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, ranging from the low deserts of Southern Arizona (to as high as Tucson), and Southern California. It also grows in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, Hawaii, Mexico (especially in the Yucatan peninsula), Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, where it is the official tree of the islands, and in Israel. It is much loved in the Caribbean; many Dominican & Puerto Rican paintings feature Flamboyant Trees. It can also be found in The Bahamas. The Poinciana is the national flower of St. Kitts and Nevis. The islands of Mauritius and La Réunion have widespread distribution of the Royal Poinciana where it announces the coming of the new year.
Royal Poinciana seeds after soaking them in water for 6 days
The Royal Poinciana is regarded as naturalised in many of the locations where it is grown. It is a popular street tree in the suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The tree is also found in India and Pakistan, where it is referred to as the Gulmohar, or Gul Mohr.[In West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh it is called Krishnachura.
The town of Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, located about 12 miles west of Ponce, is nicknamed "El Valle de los Flamboyanes" ("The Valley of the Poinciana Trees"), as many Flamboyant trees are found along the surrounding Río Guyanes, Río Macana, and Río Tallaboa Rivers.
In Vietnam, this tree is called "Phượng vỹ", or phoenix's tail, and is a popular urban tree in much of Vietnam. Its flowering season is May - July, which coincides with the end of the school year in Vietnam. Because of this timing, the flower of Poinciana is sometimes called the "flower of pupil". Hai Phong city is nicknamed "Thành phố hoa phượng đỏ" ("City of red Poinciana").
Cultural significance[edit]
In the Indian state of Kerala, Royal Poinciana is called Kaalvarippoo which means the flower of Calvary. There is a popular belief among Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala that when Jesus was crucified, there was a small Royal Poinciana tree nearby his Cross. It is believed that the blood of Jesus Christ was shed over the flowers of the tree and this is how the flowers of Royal Poinciana got a sharp red color.
wikipedia
Les Demoiselles
Louisbourg, NS
The town's name was given by French military forces who founded the Fortress of Louisbourg and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, in honour of Louis XV. The French fortress was demolished after its final capture in 1758 and the site was abandoned by British forces in 1768.
Subsequent English settlers built a small fishing village across the harbour from the abandoned site of the fortress. The village grew slowly with additional Loyalists settlers in the 1780s. The harbour grew more accessible with the construction of the second Louisbourg Lighthouse in 1842 on the site of the original French lighthouse destroyed in 1758. A railway first reached Louisbourg in 1877, but it was poorly built and abandoned after a forest fire. However the arrival of Sydney and Louisburg Railway in 1894 brought heavy volumes of winter coal exports to Louisbourg Harbour's ice-free waters as a winter coal port. The harbour was used by the Canadian government ship Montmagny in 1912 to land bodies from the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
Incorporated in 1901, the Town of Louisbourg was disincorporated when all municipal units in Cape Breton County were merged into a single tier regional municipality in 1995.
-Wikipedia
sydney
french forest
India - Flamboyant Tree (Delonix Regia) - 1bb
Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It is noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of flowers. In many tropical parts of the world it is grown as an ornamental tree and in English it is given the name Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant. It is also one of several trees known as Flame tree.
In India it is known as Gulmohar in Hindi. It is also known there as Krishnachura or Krusnachuda (Bengali/Oriya: crown of the Krishna) and Krishnasura (in Assamese and Bengali). In Kerala, it is known as Alasippoo (അലസിപ്പൂ) or Vaaka (വാക) or Kaalvaripoo (കാൽവരിപ്പൂവ്). In Vietnam, it is known as Phượng vĩ (means "Phoenix's Tail) (Vietnamese), Malinche, and Tabachine. In Khmer, the tree and the flower is known collectively as "Peacock" or ដើម (tree) or ផ្កា (flower) «ក្ងោក»។ . In Guatemala, Antigua Guatemala, it is known as llama del bosque, in Paraguay as chivato, and in Cuba as flamboyán (taken from the French flamboyant).
This species was previously placed in the genus Poinciana, named for Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy, the 17th century governor of Saint Christophe (Saint Kitts). It is a non nodulating legume.
DESCRIPTION
The tree's vivid red/vermilion/orange/yellow flowers and bright green foliage make it an exceptionally striking sight.The Delonix Regia is found in Madagascar's dry deciduous forests. In the wild it is endangered, but it is widely cultivated elsewhere. In addition to its ornamental value, it is also a useful shade tree in tropical conditions, because it usually grows to a modest height (mostly 5 meters, but it can reach an maximum height of 12 meters) but spreads widely, and its dense foliage provides full shade. In areas with a marked dry season, it sheds its leaves during the drought, but in other areas it is virtually evergreen. Flowers appear in corymbs along and at the ends of branches. Pods are green and flaccid when young and turn dark-brown and woody.The flowers are large, with four spreading scarlet or orange-red petals up to 8 cm long, and a fifth upright petal called the standard, which is slightly larger and spotted with yellow and white. The naturally occurring variety flavida (Bengali: Radhachura) has yellow flowers. Seed pods are dark brown and can be up to 60 cm long and 5 cm wide; the individual seeds, however, are small, weighing around 0.4 g on average. The compound leaves have a feathery appearance and are a characteristic light, bright green. They are doubly pinnate: Each leaf is 30–50 cm long and has 20 to 40 pairs of primary leaflets or pinnae on it, and each of these is further divided into 10-20 pairs of secondary leaflets or pinnules.
ENVIROMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
The Royal Poinciana requires a tropical or near-tropical climate, but can tolerate drought and salty conditions. The Poinciana prefers an open, free-draining sandy or loamy soil enriched with organic matter. The tree does not like heavy or clay soils and flowers more profusely when kept slightly dry. The Poinciana is very widely grown in the Caribbean, Africa, Northern Australia (the southern extremes previously limited to South East Queensland, although it now grows and blooms successfully in Sydney with flowering trees identified in the suburbs of Petersham, Parramatta, Guildford, Warwick Farm and Kurmond), Hong Kong, the Canary Islands, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Cyprus, Malta, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, southern China. It is the official tree in Vietnam Tainan, Taiwan; Xiamen, Fujian Province, People's Republic of China; and Shantou, Canton Province, People's Republic of China. National Cheng Kung University, a university located in Tainan, put Royal Poinciana on its emblem. It also grows throughout southern Brazil, with ornamental trees in Rio Grande do Sul (Canoas and Porto Alegre).
GEOGRAPHICAL GROWTH RANGE
Delonix regia is endemic to the western forests of Madagascar, but has been introduced into tropical and sub-tropical regions worldwide. In the continental United States, it grows in South Florida, Central Florida, the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, ranging from the low deserts of Southern Arizona (to as high as Tucson), and Southern California. It also grows in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, Hawaii, Mexico (especially in the Yucatan peninsula), Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, where it is the official tree of the islands, and in Israel. It is much loved in the Caribbean; many Dominican & Puerto Rican paintings feature Flamboyant Trees. It can also be found in The Bahamas. The Poinciana is the national flower of St. Kitts and Nevis. The islands of Mauritius and La Réunion have widespread distribution of the Royal Poinciana where it announces the coming of the new year.
The Royal Poinciana is regarded as naturalised in many of the locations where it is grown. It is a popular street tree in the suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The tree is also found in India, where it is referred to as the Gulmohar, or Gul Mohr. In West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh it is called Krishnachura.
The town of Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, located about 12 miles west of Ponce, is nicknamed "El Valle de los Flamboyanes" ("The Valley of the Poinciana Trees"), as many Flamboyant trees are found along the surrounding Río Guyanes, Río Macana, and Río Tallaboa Rivers.
In Vietnam, this tree is called "Phượng vỹ", or phoenix's tail, and is a popular urban tree in much of Vietnam. Its flowering season is May - July, which coincides with the end of the school year in Vietnam. Because of this timing, the flower of Poinciana is sometimes called the "flower of pupil". Hai Phong city is nicknamed "Thành phố hoa phượng đỏ" ("City of red Poinciana").
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
In the Indian state of Kerala, Royal Poinciana is called Kaalvarippoo which means the flower of Calvary. There is a popular belief among Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala that when Jesus was crucified, there was a small Royal Poinciana tree nearby his Cross. It is believed that the blood of Jesus Christ was shed over the flowers of the tree and this is how the flowers of Royal Poinciana got a sharp red color.
PROPAGATION
The Royal Poinciana is most commonly propagated by seeds. Seeds are collected, soaked in warm water for at least 24 hours, and planted in warm, moist soil in a semi-shaded, sheltered position. In lieu of soaking, the seeds can also be 'nicked' or 'pinched' (with a small scissors or nail clipper) and planted immediately. These two methods allow moisture to penetrate the tough outer casing, stimulating germination. The seedlings grow rapidly and can reach 30 cm in a few weeks under ideal conditions.
Less common, but just as effective, is propagation by semi-hardwood cuttings. Branches consisting of the current or last season's growth can be cut into 30 cm sections and planted in a moist potting mixture. This method is slower than seed propagation (cuttings take a few months to root) but is the preferred method for ensuring new trees are true to form. As such, cuttings are a particularly common method of propagation for the rarer yellow-flowering variety of the tree.
WIKIPEDIA
Bantry Bay - Bushfire smoke yesterday 17th. October.
Bantry Bay near sunset with heavy bushfire smoke blocking out the sun yesterday 17th. October.4:39 pm..
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Bantry Bay Middle Harbour, Sydney. Looking south from the boat moorings..
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The Bantry Bay Explosives Magazine Complex is located in Garigal National Park and managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. The Complex occupies an area of around 14 hectares on both the eastern and western shores of the bay and consists of numerous buildings, seawalls, tram lines, wharves, slipways, tracks, dams, and other above-surface remains as well as a number of archaeological sites. It is an important but little known part of the cultural, and natural, heritage of Sydney..
Bantry Bay is part of the traditional lands of the Guringai/Gai-Mariagal Aboriginal people. The Guringai/Gai-Mariagal people made extensive use of the area for tens of thousands of years prior to the arrival of European settlers. Numerous rock engraving sites and shell middens, some dated to at least 4,600 years old, can still be seen in the area today as tangible evidence of this Aboriginal past. It is likely that Aboriginal people continued to use the area for fishing and shellfish collecting until they were gradually dispossessed by European settlement and disease..
European use of this area in the early 1800s initially focussed on lime burning, fishing, oyster gathering and wood cutting. The pioneer of the area, Constable and Crown Lands Ranger James French (after whom Frenchs Forest is named), started the first local timber industry around 1856. He located his sawmill on the hill above Bantry Bay, and made a track for his bullock team to drag the wood down to a wharf, from where it was shipped to Sydney. This “Old Bullock Track” remains today, with cobbles, culverts and the remains of a stone bridge visible amongst the bushland.
Thank you for visiting our Nautical and Nature Images. .
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Australian Residents please visit... www.sunnypicsoz.com AND fineartdownunder.com/profiles/geoff-childs.html... AND If you are an East Australian BOAT OWNER you may want to click sunnypicsoz.com/categories/your-boat
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Photography by Geoff Childs for sunnypicsoz.com. Copyright 2013 Geoff Childs..
Belrose, Frenchs Forest & Forestville 1951 - Sydney aerial photo
Historic aerial photo, taken in 1951, of the Sydney suburbs of Belrose at top left, Frenchs Forest at top right and Forestville at bottom left.
The Wakehurst Parkway crosses the photo right of centre.
[Image: 6745 x 7190 px].
Google Maps today: www.google.com.au/maps/place/Belrose+NSW+2085/@-33.753694...
(Corr'n: The photo is 1951 not 1953)
Frenchs Forest
Sydney Guide Photos. See more at www.emeraldcitytooz.com/sydney-guide.html .
Photo by Emmett Anderson
Frenchs Forest
3793406266_bff367dbc9_b
iPhone Project 365: Day 39: Storm Cell
Taken with Pano at Frenchs Forest, Sydney
David Jones Christmas 2006 - the 12 days scene far left - also Smith and Caughey Auckland Christmas 2008
Recycled and presented again at Smith and Caughey department store in Auckland for Christmas 2008, this was the scene StudioM designed and created in our small workshop for use in the David Jones' 2006 Christmas windows in Sydney. StudioM was contracted by a Promotions company to design and produce a presentation for the 6 windows in line with David Jones brief. Once the design was won, StudioM was contracted by this Promotions company to create the scenes for each window for them to later put into motion. We also provided working drawings and templates for other components within the scenes to be made by others, mainly the dollmaker, Juanita at her home in Clifton. We made each scene in our small workshop at Tinbeerwah. The scene boxes were delivered to StudioM as just steel frame sections with white undercoated plywood sides and floors. There are photos in our DJ's construction set that show these bare canvasses being droppped off at StudioM off the back of a ute and then the after shots of finished sections of the scenes, just as you see here, being picked up by the company's director and put onto a truck. It was an odd juxtaposition to see some of these scenes with backdrops of the natural forest trees and bushland setting at StudioM's home studio. Once each scene was finished, it was transported to the factory of the Promotions company where the animation and lighting was added so that the VM staff of DJ's could inspect them, before their transportation to Sydney for installation. This is the far left of the '12 days of Christmas' scene which StudioM made and painted in their workshop. I also drew up full scale templates of all the pieces for the maids, cows, pipers and drummers, which Greg, a casual worker, cut out in the promotion company's factory. I painted the drummers and pipers while Juanita in Clifton painted the maids and cows to my drawings and instructions. I made the two turtle doves, one feeding a worm in the shape of a '2' into the other's beak. The '8' for the milkmaids is in the barn window, the '3' for the French hens is on the Citroen 2CV number plate and the '11' for the pipers is shown as the gateposts beside the major piper. In Clifton, Juanita made the french hens to our drawings inc garlic necklace, french nails on one hen, as drawn and specified, and then posted them to StudioM for modifications and placement and fixing into the scenes. All original presentation drawings/ working drawings/ design sketches/ templates/ instructions and specifications etc for all components remain with StudioM as the designers and creators of these scenes.
Click on www.flickr.com/photos/silverspot/sets/72157627374956322/ to see many humorous closeup shots of the six windows
"Vaulcuse Bay 2" - Rose Postcard view
This and the accompanying postcard create a panorama of Sydney Harbour at at about the turn of the 20th Century. The view takes in Middle and Dobroyd Heads (and the mouths of Middle and North Harbours) and in the distance the growing suburbs of Fairlight and Manly, Manly Cove and hills beyond. In the foreground we see a sparsely settled Watsons Bay.
From the family postcard collection of Sydney and environs.
Sainte-Lucie / Saint Lucia / Ilha de Santa Lucia
Is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. Its size is 620 km² with an estimated population of 160,000. Its capital is Castries. The island nation has been the home of two Nobel laureates, Arthur Lewis and Derek Walcott. It is the nation with the second most such honorees per capita after Faroe Islands.
One of the Windward Islands, it was named for Saint Lucy of Syracuse by the French, the first European colonizers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib peoples in 1660. Great Britain took control of the island from 1663 to 1667; in ensuing years, it was at war with France 14 times and rule of the island changed frequently. In 1814, Britain finally took control of the island. Because it switched so often between British and French control, St.Lucia was also known as the "Helen of the West Indies."
Saint Lucia has a legal system based on British common law. The judiciary is independent and conducts generally fair public trials. St Lucia is ranked as the 25th most-free economy in the world in 2010. Saint Lucia scores above the world average in seven economic freedoms, including business freedom, freedom from corruption, and monetary freedom. The entrepreneurial environment is efficient and transparent, and efforts to eliminate price controls have encouraged economic growth. The government implements penalties for corruption through the relatively efficient judicial system. The financial sector has weathered the global financial crisis, but the recession has hurt tourism.
Representative government came about in 1924 (with universal adult suffrage from 1953). From 1958 to 1962 the island was a member of the Federation of the West Indies. Finally, on February 22, 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations. The island nation celebrates this every year with a public holiday. It is also a member of La Francophonie.
History
Pleae go to
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Saint_Lucia
Geography
Saint Lucia is one of many small land masses composing the insular group known as the Windward Islands. Unlike large limestone areas such as Florida, Cuba, and the Yucatan Peninsula, or the Bahamas, which is a small island group composed of coral and sand, St. Lucia is a typical Windward Island formation of volcanic rock that came into existence long after much of the region had already been formed.
St. Lucia's physical features are strikingly beautiful. Dominated by high peaks and rain forests in the interior, the 616 square-kilometer island is known for the twin peaks of Gros Piton and Petit Piton on the southwestern coast, its soft sandy beaches, and its magnificent natural harbors. Mount Gimie, the highest peak, is located in the central mountain range and rises to 958 meters above sea level, a contrast that is also evident in the abrupt climatic transition from coastal to inland areas. The steep terrain also accentuates the many rivers that flow from central St. Lucia to the Caribbean. Fertile land holdings, which support banana farming, are scattered throughout the island.
St. Lucia has a tropical, humid climate moderated by northeast trade winds that allow for pleasant year-round conditions. Mean annual temperatures range from 26 to 32 °C at sea level and drop to an average of 13 °C in the mountain peaks. The abundant annual rainfall accumulates to approximately 200 centimeters, with most precipitation occurring during the June to December wet season. Hurricanes are the most severe climatic disturbance in this area and have been known to cause extensive damage. Although St. Lucia has historically been spared from serious hurricane destruction, Hurricane Allen decimated the agricultural sector and claimed nine lives in 1980.
Saint Lucia is in the Caribbean, an island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago. The capital city of Saint Lucia is Castries, where about one third of the population lives. Major towns include Gros Islet, Soufrière and Vieux Fort.
Other info
Oficial Name:
Saint Lucia
Independence:
22 February 1979
Area:
616km2
Inhabitants:
155.000
Languages:
English [eng] 1,600 in Saint Lucia (2004). Dialects: Saint Lucian English. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
More information.
Saint Lucian Creole French [acf] 158,178 in Saint Lucia (2001). Population total all countries: 357,128. Also spoken in Dominica, France, Grenada, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago. Alternate names: Patwa, Patois, Kwéyòl, Lesser Antillean Creole French. Dialects: Not intelligible with Standard French. Saint Lucia Creole French is close to Dominican Creole French (97% to 99% intelligibility). Goodman (1964) says all French creoles of the Caribbean are somewhat inherently intelligible to each other's speakers. The dialect of Dominica is virtually the same as Saint Lucia. Classification: Creole, French based
Capital city:
Castries
Meaning country name:
According to tradition, named after Saint Lucy by French sailors shipwrecked on the island on 13 December 1502 – the feast day of Saint Lucy.
Description Flag:
The flag of Saint Lucia was adopted on March 1, 1967. The exact design has varied. The current flag is blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border.
The blue color stands for the blue sky and blue ocean that surround the island, and for fidelity. Gold stands for sunshine and prosperity. The black and white portions symbolize racial harmony, although the majority of black shows the dominant influence of black culture over European culture. The triangle parts of the design are intended to evoke the Pitons, the island's two large peaks that rise from the ocean and are recognized symbols of the island.
Coat of arms:
The Saint Lucian Coat of Arms was designed by Sydney Bagshaw in 1967 and was adopted in the same year during pre-independence and at the time of Internal self-government. The national motto is found at the bottom.
This symbol represents the official seal of the Government of Saint Lucia. The following is a brief description of the Coat of Arms.
Tudor Rose - England
Fleur de lis - France
Stool - Africa
Torch - Beacon to light the path
Saint Lucia Parrot - Amazona versicolor, the national bird
Motto:
"The Land, The People, The Light"
National Anthem: Sons and Daughters of Saint Lucia
Sons and daughters of Saint Lucia,
love the land that gave us birth,
land of beaches, hills and valleys,
fairest isle of all the earth.
Wheresoever you may roam,
love, oh, love your island home.
Gone the times when nations battled
for this 'Helen of the West,
gone the days when strife and discord
Dimmed her children's toil and rest.
Dawns at last a brighter day,
stretches out a glad new way.
May the good Lord bless our island,
guard her sons from woe and harm!
May our people live united,
strong in soul and strong in arm!
Justice, Truth and Charity,
our ideal for ever be!
Internet Page: www.stlucia.gov.lc
www.stlucia.org
www.slucia.com
Saint Lucia in diferent languages
eng | dan | dsb | est | fin | hsb | hun | jav | lld | nor | pol | que | roh | sme | sqi | swa | swe | vor | wol | zza: Saint Lucia
acf | hat: Sent Lisi
afr | nld: Saint Lucia; Sint Lucia
eus | lin: Santa Luzia
fra | nrm: Sainte-Lucie
glg | spa: Santa Lucía
ind | msa: Saint Lucia / سينت لوسيا
ltz | nds: Saint Lucia / Saint Lucia
oci | por: Santa Lúcia
arg: Santa Luzía
ast: Santa Llucía
aze: Sent-Lüsiya / Сент-Лүсија
bam: Sɛnti-Lisi
bos: Sveta Lucija / Света Луција
bre: Saint-Lucia
cat: Santa Lucia
ces: Svatá Lucie
cor: Sen Lusia
crh: Seynt-Lusiya / Сейнт-Лусия
cym: Sant Lwsia
deu: Sankt Lucia / Sankt Lucia; Saint Lucia / Saint Lucia
epo: Sent-Lucio
fao: Saint Lusia
frp: Santa-Lucie
fry: Sint Lusia
fur: Sante Lucie
gla: Naomh Lùisia
gle: San Lúicia / San Lúicia
glv: Noo Lucia
hrv: Sveta Lucija
ibo: Sent Lusia
ina: Sancte Lucia
isl: Sankti Lúsía
ita: Santa Lucia; Saint Lusia
jnf: Sainte Lucie
kaa: Sent-Lyusiya / Сент-Люсия
kmr: Sênt-Lûsî / Сент-Луси / سێنت لووسی
kur: Sênt Lûsya / سێنت لووسیا
lat: Sancta Lucia
lav: Sentlūsija
lit: Sent Lusija
mlg: Sainta Lusia
mlt: Santa Luċija
mol: Sfânta Lucia / Сфынта Лучия
rmy: Svunto Lučiya / स्वुन्तो लुचिया
ron: Sfânta Lucia
rup: Ayia Lucia
scn: Santa Lucìa
slk: Svätá Lucia
slo: Sviatju Lucia / Свиатйу Луциа
slv: Saint Lucija
smg: Sent Liusėjė
srd: Santa Lughia
tet: Santa Lúsia
tuk: Sent-Lýusiýa / Сент-Люсия
tur: Sen Lucia; Saint Lucia
uzb: Sent-Lyusiya / Сент-Люсия; Avliyo Lyusiya / Авлиё Люсия; Muqaddas Lyusiya / Муқаддас Люсия
vie: Xan Lu-xi
vol: Saluda-Luseän
wln: Sinte Luceye
alt | che | kbd | kir | kjh | kom | krc | kum | tyv | udm: Сент-Люсия (Sent-Ljusija)
mon | oss: Сент-Люси (Sent-Ljusi)
abq: Сент-Люсия (Sent-Łjusija)
bak: Сент-Люсия / Sent-Lyusiya
bel: Святая Лусія / Sviataja Łusija; Сьвятая Люсія / Śviataja Lusija; Сент-Лусія / Sient-Łusija; Сэнт-Люсія / Sent-Lusija
bul: Сейнт Люсия (Sejnt Ljusija); Света Лусия (Sveta Lusija)
chm: Сент-Люсий (Sent-Ljusij)
chv: Сент-Люсийӑ (Sent-Ljusijă)
kaz: Сент-Люсия / Sent-Lywsïya / سەنت-ليۋسيا
mkd: Света Луција (Sveta Lucija)
rus: Сент-Люсия (Sent-Ljusija); Святая Люсия (Svjataja Ljusija)
srp: Света Луција / Sveta Lucija
tat: Сент-Люсия / Sent-Lüsiä
tgk: Сент-Люсия / سنت لوسیه / Sent-Ljusija; Люсияи Муқаддас / لوسیۀ مقدس / Ljusijai Muqaddas
ukr: Сент-Люсія (Sent-Ljusija)
ara: سان لوسيا (Sān Lūsiyā); سانت لوسيا (Sānt Lūsiyā)
fas: سنت لوسیا / Sent Lusiyâ; سنت لوشا / Sent Lušâ
prs: سینت لوسیا (Sēnt Lūsiyā)
pus: سېنټ لوسيا (Senṫ Lūsiyā)
uig: سېنت ليۇسىيە / Sént Lyusiye / Сент-Люсия
urd: سینٹ لوشیا (Senṫ Lūšiyā); سینٹ لوچیا (Senṫ Lūčiyā); سینٹ لوسیا (Senṫ Lūsiyā)
div: ސެންޓް ލޫސިއާ (Senṫ Lūsi'ā)
heb: סנט-לוצ׳יה (Senṭ-Lûčiyah); סנט-לוסיה (Senṭ-Lûsyah); סינט-לוסיה / סיינט-לוסיה (Seynṭ-Lûsyah); סנט-לושה (Senṭ-Lûšah); סינט-לושה / סיינט-לושה (Seynṭ-Lûšah); סנטה לוסיה (Sanṭah Lûsiyah)
lad: סאנטה לוסיה / Santa Lusia
yid: סײנט לוציאַ (Seynt Lutsya)
amh: ሴንት ሉሺያ (Sent Lušiya)
ell-dhi: Αγία Λουκία (Agía Loykía); Σάντα Λουτσία (Sánta Loytsía); Σάντα Λουσία (Sánta Loysía)
ell-kat: Ἁγία Λουκία (Hagía Loykía); Σάντα Λουτσία (Sánta Loytsía)
hye: Սենթ Լուչիա (Senṭ Louč̣ia)
kat: სენტ-ლუსია (Sent-Lusia)
hin: सेंट लूसिया (Seṁṭ Lūsiyā); सेंट लुसिया (Seṁṭ Lusiyā)
nep: सेन्ट लुसिया (Senṭ Lusiyā)
ben: সেন্ট লুসিয়া (Senṭ Lusiyā)
pan: ਸੇਂਟ ਲੂਸੀਆ (Sẽṭ Lūsīā)
kan: ಸೇಂಟ್ ಲೂಷಿಯ (Sēṁṭ Lūṣiya)
mal: സെന്റ് ലൂസിയ (Senṟ Lūsiya); സെയ്ന്റ് ലൂസിയ (Seynṟ Lūsiya)
tam: சென் லூசியா (Čeṉ Lūčiyā)
tel: సెయింట్ లూసియా (Seyiṁṭ Lūsiyā); సేంట్ లూసియా (Sēṁṭ Lūsiyā)
zho: 聖露西亞/圣露西亚 (Shèng Lùxīyà)
jpn: セント・ルシア (Sento Rushia); セントルシア (Sentorushia)
kor: 세인트루시아 (Seinteu Lusia)
mya: စိန့္လူစီယာ (Seĩ́ Lusiya)
tha: เซนต์ลูเซีย (Sēn[d] Lūsiya)
khm: សង់លូស៊ីយ៉ា (Săṅ Lūsīyā); សាំងលូស៊ី (Sāṁṅ Lūsī)
Wattle 3
Wattle, taken at Frenchs Forest, Sydney, Australia
Entering the Peaceful Bantry Bay.
Today the protected waters of Bantry Bay contains eight courtesy boat moorings and is a a very popular destination with the weekend boating public..
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The Bantry Bay Explosives Magazine Complex is located in Garigal National Park and managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. The Complex occupies an area of around 14 hectares on both the eastern and western shores of the bay and consists of numerous buildings, seawalls, tram lines, wharves, slipways, tracks, dams, and other above-surface remains as well as a number of archaeological sites. It is an important but little known part of the cultural, and natural, heritage of Sydney..
Bantry Bay is part of the traditional lands of the Guringai/Gai-Mariagal Aboriginal people. The Guringai/Gai-Mariagal people made extensive use of the area for tens of thousands of years prior to the arrival of European settlers. Numerous rock engraving sites and shell middens, some dated to at least 4,600 years old, can still be seen in the area today as tangible evidence of this Aboriginal past. It is likely that Aboriginal people continued to use the area for fishing and shellfish collecting until they were gradually dispossessed by European settlement and disease..
European use of this area in the early 1800s initially focussed on lime burning, fishing, oyster gathering and wood cutting. The pioneer of the area, Constable and Crown Lands Ranger James French (after whom Frenchs Forest is named), started the first local timber industry around 1856. He located his sawmill on the hill above Bantry Bay, and made a track for his bullock team to drag the wood down to a wharf, from where it was shipped to Sydney. This “Old Bullock Track” remains today, with cobbles, culverts and the remains of a stone bridge visible amongst the bushland..
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Iris flower October 2014
Photo taken at Frenchs Forest,
Sydney, Oct., 5th, 2014
Rainbow Lorikeet
Frenchs Forest, Sydney
Roses Jan 07C.jpg
Roses at Frenchs Forest, Sydney
Organic Markets, Frenchs Forest, Sydney NSW
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