Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, midway from South America to Africa, around 220 miles (354 km) away from the Brazilian coast. It is a dependency of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.
[edit]

Geography

The main islands of this archipelago are the visible parts of a range of submerged mountains . Consisting of 21 islands, islets and rocks of volcanic origin, the main island has an area of 7.1 square miles (18 km2), being 6.2 miles (10 km) long and 2.2 miles (3.5 km) at its maximum width. The base of this enormous volcanic formation is 2480 feet (756 m) below the surface. The main island, from which the group gets its name, makes up 91% of the total area; the islands of Rata, Sela Gineta, Cabeluda and São Jose, together with the islets of Leão and Viúva make up the rest.

The climate is tropical, with two well defined seasons: the rainy season from January to August, and the dry season for the rest of the year. The land vegetation of the islands is made up mostly of vines and bushes.

As occurs on other isolated ecosystems, the fauna of the Archipelago is as unique as it is exuberant. Among the common species on the islands, one can spot sea tortoises, dolphins, albatrosses, among many others.
[edit]

History

Many controversies mark the archipelago's discovery. It's original name, Ilha da Quaresma (Lent Island), it is known to have been sighted by expeditions from the years 1501, 1502 and 1503. The Viscount of Santarém, however, attributed the discovery to Gaspar de Lemos, captain of the supply ship of Pedro Alvares Cabral's fleet, sent back to Portugal with news of the discovery of Brazil. Modern historians, however, attribut the discovery of the archipelago to the 1501-1502 expedition led by Fernão de Loronha.

The first to actually describe the island was Amerigo Vespucci, who travelled with a Portuguese expedition to Brazil in the year 1503. In 1534, the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago was invaded by the English, and from 1556 until 1612, it was held by the French. In 1628, it was invaded by the Dutch, who were displaced two years later by a Spanish-Portuguese military expedition led by Rui Calaza Borges. The Dutch occupied the island once again in 1635, making it a hospital for its troops which occupied Northeastern Brazil. The island became known as Pavonia, in honor of Michiel de Pauw, one of the directors of the Dutch West Indies Company. It would remain under Dutch control for nearly twenty years, when it was reconquered by Portugal.

Finding it uninhabited and completely abandoned in 1736, the French East Indies Company took the island and renamed it Isle Dauphine. It was retaken one year later. The first major military outposts were set-up on the archipelago on the following years. Around 1770, the first permanent settlement, Vila dos Remédios, was founded.

As Brazil became independent, very little changed for Fernando de Noronha.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the English arrived to provide technical cooperation in telegraphy (The South American Company). Later the French came with the French Cable and the Italians with Intalcable. In 1942, during World War II, the archipelago was made a Federal Territory, and political and ordinary prisoners were sent to the local prison. In 1988 approximately 70% of the archipelago was declared a national park, with the goal of preserving the land and sea environment.

Nowadays, Fernando de Noronha's economy depends on tourism, restricted by the limitations of its delicate ecosystem. In addition to the historical interest noted above, the archipelago has been the subject of the attention of various scientists dedicated to the study of its flora, fauna, geology, etc.

Source: http://www.fernandodenoronha.com.br/
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_de_Noronha"

Ascension Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, a dependency of Saint Helena. The capital is Georgetown.

The United States maintains missile tracking sites on the island. The island served as a refueling station for the British fleet during the Falklands War.

It is famous as a nesting site for Atlantic sea turtles.

It is home to Wideawake Field, built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers during World War II, as a refueling and staging station for aircraft flying between the Americas and Africa. Wideawake is also used by the RAF as a bridge to the Falkland Islands.

In 1982 when Argentine forces invaded the Falklands, Ascension Island proved essential to British forces in their efforts to retake the islands from Argentina. Wideawake airfield became the busiest airport in the world as the RAF flew in supplies to aid the Task Force. A squadron of RAF Harriers was based on the island to repel any possible Argentine attack. The British bombers flew a series of long-range bombing attacks from Ascension Island, against the Falkland Islands (operation Black Buck).

There is no native population in Ascension Island.

It is likely the island was named after the day of its discovery.

External link

* Ascension Island Government (http://www.ascension-island.gov.ac/)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascension_Island"

For alternate uses, see Saint Helena (disambiguation).

Saint Helena is an island in the Atlantic Ocean 2,800 km off the west coast of Africa belonging to the United Kingdom. It is also the name of this island together with Ascension, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, Nightingale Island, and Tristan da Cunha Island.

290
Saint Helena
coat of arms
(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: ?
Official language English
Political status Overseas territory of the UK
Capital Jamestown
Governor and
Commander-in-Chief David Hollamby
Area 410 km2
Population

 - Total (2003 E)
 - Density

7,367
18/km2
Currency Saint Helenian pound (SHP)
Time zone UTC +0
National anthem God Save the Queen, My St. Helena Island (unofficial)
Internet TLD .sh
Calling Code

The island served as a strategic island for ships on their way to the Indian Ocean before the Suez Canal was built.

St. Helena has a small population that remains loyal to Britain. However, the island's dimunitive size and geopolitical insignificance has led many Islanders to accuse the British government of ignoring the island. The island's economy was a one crop economy for many years, but is now very weak, and is almost entirely sustained solely on aid from London.

Napoleon Bonaparte ended his life in exile on St. Helena, and the St. Helena tourist industry is heavily based around the promotion of this particular aspect of the island's history. Prominent Anglo-Boer War prisoners, including General Piet Cronje were detained on St. Helena

* History of Saint Helena
* Geography of Saint Helena
* Demographics of Saint Helena
* Politics of Saint Helena
* Economy of Saint Helena
* Communications on Saint Helena
* Transportation on Saint Helena
* Military of Saint Helena

External links

* Saint Helena - The Official Government Website (http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh)
* Saint Helena (http://www.sthelena.se) -- St. Helena Foundation

(http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Template:Africa&action=edit) Countries in

The Falkland Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic consisting of two main islands known as East Falkland and West Falkland and a number of smaller islands. Sovereignty of the islands is also claimed by Argentina where the islands are known as Malvinas. The capital Port Stanley is on East Falkland.
The Falkland Islands
(In Detail) (In Detail)
Motto: Desire the right
Official language English
Capital Port Stanley
Governor Howard Pearce
Chief Executive Chris Simpkins
Area
 - Total
 - % water not ranked
12,173 km2
-
Population
 - Total (2003 E)
 - Density not ranked
2,967
0.24/km2
Currency Falkland pound (FKP; fixed to GBP)
Time zone UTC -4 (DST -3)
National anthem God Save the Queen
Internet TLD .FK
Calling Code 500
Contents [showhide]
1 History
2 Politics
3 Geography
4 Economy
5 Demographics
6 Culture
7 Miscellaneous topics
8 See also
9 External links

History

Main article: History of the Falkland Islands

Several claims have been made that numerous navigators have sighted the Falkland Islands for the first time but the Dutch sailor Sebald van Weert has been credited with the first sighting in 1600, though the British and Spanish maintain their own respective explorers discovered the islands earlier. They remained practically unsettled until the 19th century. Argentina set up a penal colony in the islands in 1820, and in 1829 named Luis Vernet as the islands' governor, in order to colonise them. The United Kingdom took the islands in 1833, but Argentina maintained its claim. Various tensions led to an Argentine invasion in 1982. The island was later retaken by the UK. See: Falklands War.

Politics

Main article: Politics of the Falkland Islands

Executive authority comes from the Queen and is exercised by the governor on her behalf. Defence is the responsibility of the UK. There is a constitution, which was put into force in 1985. Under the constitution, eight Legislative Councillors, five from Stanley and three from Camp, are elected every four years.

The Executive Council, which advises the governor, consists of the Chief Executive, Financial Secretary and three Legislative Councillors, which are elected by the other Legislative Councillors. The Legislative Council consists of Chief Executive, Financial Secretary and the eight Legislative Councillors. The Governor is ex officio the presiding officer or speaker of the Council.

The loss of the war against Britain over control of the islands led to the collapse of the Argentine military dictatorship in 1983. Disputes over control of the islands still continue. In 2001, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was the first to visit Argentina since the war. On the 22nd anniversary of the war, Argentina’s President Néstor Kirchner gave a speech insisting that the islands would once again be part of Argentina. Kirchner, since becoming president in 2003, has made the islands a top priority. In June 2003 the issue was brought before a United Nations committee, and attempts have been made to open talks with Britain to resolve the issue of the islands. Falkland Islanders themselves continue to view themselves as British, despite Argentine claims.

Map of the Falkland Islands[edit]

Geography

Main article: Geography of the Falkland Islands

The islands are 300 miles (483 km) from the South American mainland.There are two main islands, East Falkland (Soledad) and West Falkland (Gran Malvina) and 200 small islands. The total land area is 12,173 sq km.

Economy

Main article: Economy of the Falkland Islands

The largest industries are fishing and agriculture. The islands have oil reserves that are believed to be quite substantial, but yet to be exploited

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the Falkland Islands

The population is 2,967 (July 2003 estimated).

Culture

Main article: Culture of the Falkland Islands

Miscellaneous topics

* Communications in the Falkland Islands
* Transportation in the Falkland Islands
* Military of the Falkland Islands
* Stamps and postal history of the Falkland Islands

* Battle of the Falkland Islands - naval engagement of the First World War
* Falklands War - conflict between Argentina and United Kingdom
* Major Samuel Stransham

External links

* Falkland Islands Government (http://www.falklands.gov.fk/)
* Penguin News (weekly newspaper) (http://www.penguin-news.com/)
* Falkland Islands News Network (http://www.falklandnews.com/)
* Falkland Islands Portal (http://www.falklandislands.com/)
* Falkland Islands Tourism (http://www.tourism.org.fk/)
* Jason Islands Banknotes (http://www.numismondo.com/pm/jas/)
* Falkland Islands detailed map (http://www.falklands.gov.fk/coastal-shipping/falkland-islands-map.jpg)
* Falkland Islands Information Portal (http://www.falklands.info/)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkland_Islands"

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by Argentina. They are administered from the Falkland Islands by UK civil commissioner Donald A. Lamont, representing Queen Elizabeth II. Defense is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. Since 1982, the territory celebrates Liberation Day on June 14. A constitution was adopted October 3, 1985. The legal system is based on English Common Law.

During World War II (Autumn 1943 - Autumn 1944) the island housed a small (14 people) Norwegian military garrison to protect the island from Japanese invasion.

The research station at King Edward Point, near the former Norwegian whaling station of Grytviken, became a small military garrison after the Falklands War. This returned to civilian use in 2001 and is operated by the British Antarctic Survey. The British Antarctic Survey also has a biological station on Bird Island, off the northwest end of South Georgia. The South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited.

NASA satellite image of South Georgia island covered with snow.

South Georgia lies in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 1390 km south by east of the Falkland Islands, in 54-55°S, 36-38°W. It has a land area of 4066 km2 (1600 sq. mi). It is mountainous, with 11 peaks over 2,000 m high, their slopes furrowed with deep gorges filled with glaciers. Geologically, it consists of gneiss and argillaceous schists, with no trace of fossils, showing that the island is, like the Falkland Islands, a surviving fragment of some greater land-mass now vanished, most probably indicating a former extension of the Andean system. At Royal Bay, on the south-east side, was stationed the German expedition sent out to observe the transit of Venus in 1882. The island would be well suited for cattle or sheep farming but for its damp, foggy climate.

The climate in the islands is variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow. Most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes. Mount Paget on South Georgia is 2,934 m high. The islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism. The north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 20th century, live on South Georgia.

Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting fin fish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK. The territory has revenues of less than $300,000 against expenditures of nearly $500,000. The territory uses data code SX, and has the Internet country code (top-level domain) GS.

The 11 smaller islands forming the South Sandwich archipelago are, from north to south:

* Zavodovski
* Leskov (the smallest)
* Visokoi
* Candlemas
* Vindication
* Saunders
* Montagu (the largest)
* Bristol
* Bellingshausen
* Cook
* Thule

See also

* Sub-antarctic islands

External links

* King Edward Point research station (http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/Living_and_Working/Stations/King_Edward_Point/index.html)
* Bird Island research station (http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/Living_and_Working/Stations/Bird_Island/)
* CIA World Factbook entry (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sx.html)
* South Georgia official website (http://www.sgisland.org/pages/sghome.htm)

Overseas territories of the United Kingdom
Anguilla | Bermuda | British Antarctic Territory | British Indian Ocean Territory | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Falkland Islands | Gibraltar | Montserrat | Pitcairn Islands | Saint Helena | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | Turks and Caicos Islands
Sovereign Base Areas

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Georgia_and_the_South_Sandwich_Islands"

The Gulf Stream is a powerful warm, swift Atlantic ocean current that flows along the coast of the Eastern United States and makes Ireland, Great Britain, and the Scandinavian countries warmer than they would be otherwise. It originates in the Gulf of Mexico and runs past the east coast of the United States towards Newfoundland. Its extension toward Europe is called the North Atlantic drift. The Gulf Stream is one of the strongest ocean currents known. It transports 1.4 Petawatts of power.

The term "Gulf Stream" is sometimes used about the sum of what is described above and the North Atlantic drift.

As it travels north, some of the warm water transported by the Gulf Stream evaporates. This increases the salinity of the water in the stream, and in the North Atlantic Ocean the water is so cold and heavy with salt that it begins to sink. It then becomes a part of the North Atlantic Deep Water, a southgoing stream.

The effect of the Gulf Stream is sufficient to cause certain parts of the west of Britain and Ireland to be an average of several degrees warmer than most other parts of those countries. Indeed, in Cornwall, and particularly the Isles of Scilly, its effects are such that plants associated with much warmer climes, such as palm trees are able to survive the rigours of northern winters. Logan Botanic Garden in Scotland benefits strongly from the Gulf Stream, allowing their specimens of Gunnera Manicata to grow to over 3 metres tall.

With the recent phenomenon of global warming, some scientists have expressed concern about the sink mechanism outlined above. Specifically, fresh water resulting from the melting of the Arctic polar cap could dilute the Gulf Stream and make it light enough not to sink. The result would be a huge climate change in northern Europe, with unknown consequences. Some fossil remnants hint at the possibility that a similar event has already happened several times in the past, but fossil evidence is questioned. After an initial rejection, the scientific community is evaluating this theory more seriously, as data about historic climate show sudden changes between cold and warm periods.

References

* Corona Magazine Issue 124: Science (http://www.corona-magazine.de/archiv/corona124.html#wissenschaft) (German, Transported amount of power)

This article is about the weather phenomenon. For other uses see Hurricane (disambiguation) or Typhoon (disambiguation).

Hurricane Anita approaching landfall on the coast of Mexico, September 1977

In meteorology, a tropical cyclone (informally, a typhoon or hurricane) is a type of low-pressure system which generally forms in the tropics.

Structurally, a tropical cyclone is a large, rotating area of clouds, wind, and thunderstorm activity. The primary energy source of a tropical cyclone is the release of heat of condensation from water condensing at high altitudes. Because of this, a tropical cyclone can be thought of as a giant vertical heat engine.

This use of condensation as a driving force is the primary difference setting tropical cyclones apart from other meteorological phenomena, such as mid-latitude cyclones, which draw energy mostly from pre-existing temperature gradients in the atmosphere. To drive its heat engine, a tropical cyclone must stay over warm water, which provides the atmospheric moisture needed. The evaporation of this moisture is driven by the high winds and reduced atmospheric pressure present in the storm, resulting in a sustaining cycle.

Tropical cyclones are classified into three main groups: tropical depressions, tropical storms, and a third group whose name depends on the region.

A tropical depression is an organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of less than 17 metres per second (33 knots or 38 mi/h or 62 km/h).

Eye of Typhoon Odessa, Pacific Ocean, August 1985

A tropical storm is an organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds between 17 and 33 metres per second (34-63 knots or 39-73 mi/h or 62-117 km/h ).

The term used to describe tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds exceeding 33 metres per second, varies depending on region, as follows:

* hurricane in the North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, and the South Pacific Ocean east of 160°E
* typhoon in the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline
* severe tropical cyclone in the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160°E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90°E
* severe cyclonic storm in the North Indian Ocean
* tropical cyclone in the Southwest Indian Ocean

(This terminology is defined in WMO/TC-No. 560, Report No. TCP-31, World Meteorological Organization; Geneva, Switzerland; available online from http://www.bom.gov.au/bmrc/pubs/tcguide/ch1/ch1_3.htm).

In the UK and Europe some severe north-east Atlantic cyclonic depressions are referred to as "hurricanes," even although they rarely originate in the tropics. These European windstorms can generate hurricane-force windspeeds but are not given individual names.

In other places in the world, hurricanes have been called Willy-Willies (singular Willy-Willy) in Australia, Baguio in the Philippines, Chubasco in Mexico, and Taino in Haiti.

Hurricanes are categorized on a 1-to-5 scale according to the strength of their winds using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. A Category 1 storm has the lowest wind speeds, while a Category 5 hurricane has the strongest. These are relative terms, because lower category storms can sometimes inflict greater damage than higher category storms, depending on where they strike and the particular hazards they bring. In fact, tropical storms can also produce significant damage and loss of life, mainly due to flooding.

National Hurricane Center classifies hurricanes of Category 3 or above as Major Hurricanes. Joint Typhoon Warning Center classifies typhoons with wind speeds of at least 150 mph (241 km/hr) as Super Typhoons.

The definition of sustained winds recommended by the WMO is that of a ten-minute average, and that definition is adopted by most countries. However, a few countries use different definitions: the United States, for example, defines sustained winds based on a 1-minute average wind measured at about 10 metres (33 ft) above the surface.

The ingredients for a tropical cyclone include a pre-existing weather disturbance, warm tropical oceans, moisture, and relatively light winds aloft. If the right conditions persist long enough, they can combine to produce the violent winds, incredible waves, torrential rains, and floods associated with this phenomenon.

There is also a polar counterpart to the tropical cyclone, called an arctic cyclone.

Location

Almost all tropical cyclones form within 30 degrees of the equator and 87% form within 20 degrees of it. Since the Coriolis effect initiates tropical cyclone rotation, such cyclones almost never form within about 10 degrees of the equator (where the Coriolis effect is weakest). However it is possible for tropical cyclones to form within this boundary if another source of initial rotation is provided. These conditions are extremely rare and such storms are believed to form at a rate of less than one a century.

Most tropical cyclones form in a worldwide band of thunderstorm activity known as the Inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ).

Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer when water temperatures are warmest. However, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns.

In the north Atlantic, a distinct hurricane season occurs from June 1 to November 30, sharply peaking in early September. The northeast Pacific has a broader period of activity, but in a similar timeframe to the Atlantic. The northwest Pacific sees tropical cyclones year-round, with a minimum in February and a peak in early September. In the north Indian basin, storms are most common from April to December, with peaks in May and November.

In the southern hemisphere, tropical cyclone activity begins in late October, and ends in May. Southern hemisphere activity peaks in mid-February to early March.

Structure

A strong tropical cyclone consists of the following components.

* Surface low: All tropical cyclones rotate around an area of low atmospheric pressure near the earth's surface. The pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest that occur on Earth's surface at sea level.
* Central Dense Overcast (CDO): The Central Dense Overcast is a dense shield of rain bands and thunderstorm activity surrounding the central low. Tropical cyclones with symmetrical CDO tend to be strong and well developed.
* Eye: A strong tropical cyclone will harbor an area of sinking air at the center of circulation. Weather in the eye is normally calm and free of clouds (however, the sea may be extremely violent). Eyes are home to the coldest temperatures of the storm at the surface, and the warmest temperatures at the upper levels. The eye is normally circular in shape, and may range in size from 8 km to 200 km in diameter. In weaker cyclones, the CDO covers the circulation center, resulting in no visible eye.
* Eyewall: The eyewall is a circular band of intense convection and winds immediately surrounding the eye. It is home to the most severe conditions in a tropical cyclone. Intense cyclones show eye-wall replacement cycles, in which outer eye walls form to replace inner ones. The mechanisms which make this occur are still not fully understood.
* Outflow: the upper levels of a tropical cyclone feature winds headed away from the center of the storm with an anticyclonic rotation. Winds at the surface are strongly cyclonic, weaken with height, and eventually reverse themselves - a characteristic unique to tropical cyclones.

Formation and development

The formation of tropical cyclone is still the topic of extensive research, and is still not fully understood. Five factors are necessary to make tropical cyclone formation possible:

1. Sea surface temperatures above 26.5 degrees Celsius to at least a depth of 50 meters. Warm waters are the energy source for tropical cyclones. When these storms move over land or cooler areas of water they weaken rapidly.
2. Upper level conditions must be conducive to thunderstorm formation. Temperatures in the atmosphere must decrease quickly with height, and the mid-troposphere must be relatively moist.
3. A source of convergence. This is most frequently provided by tropical waves - non rotating areas of thunderstorms which move through the world's tropical oceans.
4. A distance of more than 10 degrees from the Equator. The Coriolis Effect initiates and helps maintain the rotation of a tropical cyclone. The absence of this effect at and near the equator prohibits development.
5. Lack of vertical wind shear (change in wind velocity over height). High levels of wind shear can break apart the vertical structure of a tropical cyclone, prohibiting development.

Tropical cyclones can occasionally form despite not meeting these conditions. A combination of a pre-existing disturbance, upper level divergence, and a monsoon related cold spell lead to the creation of Typhoon Vamei at only 1.5 degrees north of the equator in 2001. It is estimated that the factors leading to the formation of this typhoon repeat themselves only once every 400 years.

When a tropical cyclone of the Atlantic reaches higher latitudes and takes an eastward course, it may develop into a frontal cyclone. Such tropical-derived cyclones of higher latitudes are often violent and may occasionally remain at hurricane-force wind speeds when they reach Europe as an European windstorm.

Effects

The aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, the costliest tropical cyclone in American history.

A mature tropical cyclone can release heat at a rate upwards of 2x1019 watts. This two hundred times the total rate of human electrical production, and is equivalent to detonating a 10 megaton nuclear bomb every 20 minutes. Tropical cyclones on the open sea cause large waves, heavy rain, and high winds, disrupting international shipping and sometimes sinking ships. However, the most devastating effects of a tropical cyclone occur when they cross coastlines, making landfall. A tropical cyclone moving over land can do direct damage in 4 ways.

* High winds - Hurricane strength winds can damage or destroy vehicles, buildings, bridges, etc. High winds also turn loose debris into flying projectiles, making the outdoor environment even more dangerous.
* Storm surge - Tropical cyclones cause an increase in sea level which can flood coastal communities.
* Heavy rain - The thunderstorm activity in a tropical cyclone causes intense rainfall. Rivers and streams flood, roads become impassable, and landslides can occur.
* Tornado activity - The broad rotation of a hurricane often spawns tornadoes. While these tornadoes are normally not as strong as their non-tropical counterparts, they can still cause tremendous damage.

Often, the secondary effects of a tropical cyclone are equally damaging. They include:

* Disease - The wet environment in the aftermath of a tropical cyclone, combined with the destruction of sanitation facilities and a warm tropical climate can induce epidemics of disease which claim lives long after the storm passes.
* Power outages - Tropical cyclones often knock out power to tens of thousands of people, prohibiting vital communication and hampering rescue efforts.
* Transportation difficulties - Tropical cyclones often destroy key bridges, overpasses, and roads, complicating efforts to transport food, clean water, and medicine to the areas that need it.

Hurricanes in the Atlantic

Each year, an average of ten tropical storms develop over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Many of these remain over the ocean. On average, six of these storms become hurricanes each year. In an average 3-year period, roughly five hurricanes strike the United States coastline, killing approximately 50 to 100 people anywhere from Texas to Maine. Of these, two are typically "major" or "intense" hurricanes (winds greater than 175 km/h or 110 mi/h). Hurricane season officially runs from June 1st through November 30th.

Hurricanes also strike Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean island nations, often doing intense damage: they are deadlier when over warmer water, and the United States is better able to evacuate people from threatened areas than many other nations.

In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch caused severe flooding and mudslides in Honduras, killing at least 10,000 people and changing the landscape enough that entirely new maps of the nation were needed.

In August, 1992, Hurricane Andrew became the most destructive hurricane in the history of the United States of America.

The first recorded South Atlantic hurricane

On March 26, 2004, Cyclone Catarina became the first-ever hurricane observed in the south Atlantic Ocean. Previous South Atlantic cyclones in 1991 and 2004 reached only tropical storm strength. Hurricanes may have formed there prior to 1960 but were not observed until weather satellites began monitoring the

Notable cyclones

On Christmas Day 1974, Tropical cyclone Tracy hit Darwin, Australia. It was the most devastating natural disaster to have ever hit an Australian city. Around 90% of the homes in Darwin were destroyed. Fifty people died in Darwin, and sixteen at sea. Authorities managed to evacuate most of Darwin. Although cyclone Tracy was quite small, it was very severe, with winds of up to 217 kilometres per hour. The damage was estimated to be close to $A 400 million, which (at current exchange rates) is approximately equal to $US 280 million.

A 100-mph tropical cyclone hit the densely populated Ganges Delta region of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) on November 13, 1970, which killed an estimated 500,000 people (this is regarded as the 20th century's worst cyclone disaster).

The Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which made landfall at Galveston, Texas as an estimated category 4 storm, killed 6,000-12,000 people. It remains the United States' deadliest natural disaster.

Naming of tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclones with winds exceeding 33 metres per second are given names. These names are taken from lists which vary from region to region. The lists are decided upon either by national meteorological organizations, or by committees of the World Meteorological Organization.

To help in their identification, in the early 1950's the practice of naming tropical storms and hurricanes was initiated by the United States National Hurricane Center and are now maintained by the WMO. In keeping with the common English language practice of referring to inanimate objects such as boats, trains, etc., using the female pronoun "she", names used were exclusively female. The first storm of the year was assigned a name beginning with the letter "A", the second with the letter "B", etc. However, since tropical storms and hurricanes are primarily destructive, some considered this practice sexist. The National Weather Service responded to these concerns in 1979 with the introduction of male names to the nomenclature. Currently, female and male names during a given season are assigned alternately, still in alphabetic order. The "gender" of the first storm of the season also alternates year to year. The lists of names is prepared in advance, and reused periodically, except that the names of particularly destructive storms are "retired".

Other sets of names are used in the Eastern North Pacific, Central North Pacific, and the Western North Pacific, maintained by the WMO Typhoon Committee. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology maintains three lists of names, one for each of the Western, Northern and Eastern Australian regions. There are also Fiji region and Papua New Guinea region names. The Seychelles Meteorological Service maintains a list for the Southwest Indian Ocean.

See also

* arctic cyclone
* Beaufort scale
* list of Atlantic hurricane seasons.
* list of notable tropical cyclones
* lists of tropical cyclone names

External links

An excellent hurricane FAQ (http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/tcfaqHED.html)

* Global climatology of tropical cyclones (http://www.bom.gov.au/bmrc/pubs/tcguide/ch1/ch1_3.htm)
* List of available tropical cyclone names (http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/B2.html)
* List of retired tropical cyclone names (http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/B3.html)
* Naming hurricanes (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/basics/naming.shtml)
* Unisys historical and contemporary hurricane track data (http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/) e.g. Atlantic 1968 (http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/1968/index.html)
* Worldwide tropical cyclone tracks, 1979-1988 (http://www.bom.gov.au/bmrc/pubs/tcguide/ch1/figures_ch1/figure1.9.htm)
* Worldwide tropical cyclone basins (http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/6RSMCs.jpg)
* 1995 Mediterranean "Hurricane" (http://www.mindspring.com/~jbeven/intr0008.htm)
* Tropical cyclone peak activity rates for different basins (http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G1.html)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane

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A word of caution: their is a pretty robust Atlantis community out there who circulate there own stories of submerged cities and issue there own press releases. Those releases can be picked up as fact and are endlessly repeated. It's nice to have objective sources when possible.

In some cases, structures found near current land masses could have been submerged due to purely local floods, but even in those cases, the problem remains; who built them? Certainly not the “primitive” peoples that the current time line claims were living in these locales.

For instance, in the Americas a short time ago men were not thought to have been here before 5,000 years ago. To date, scientists fight to try not to have the date pushed out beyond 15,000 years. Those people were not thought to have been responsible for these advanced structures.

On the other hand, the presumed megalithic structures off the coast of Cuba are 2,500 feet (1/2 mile) below the ocean. Other megalithic structures are being located miles from current shorelines. Here are a couple of shorts about even more anomalous finds deep in the ocean.

“In 1966, an oceanographic research expedition led by Dr. Robert J. Menzies of Duke University aboard the vessel Anton Brunn photographed what appeared to be carved rock columns under 6,000 feet of ocean in the Milne-Edward Deep, a depression that reaches a depth of 19,000 feet.

A cautious Dr. Menzies admitted that the discovery of what may be the ruins of an ancient city could be “one of the most exciting discoveries of this century, insofar as ruins go.

Some of the columns are half buried in mud while others stand upright. Many of them appear to have a kind of writing on them.””

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"In 1973 a U.S. deep sea submersible craft photographed Roman Columns that seemed part of a temple structure at the bottom of one of the deepest parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Click and drag photo to on the right to resize.Photo: Roman, Greek and Egyptian-style Columns 6000 Feet Under The Sea!

Rather than ending up in some scientific journal or being debated on a university campus, the photo was published in an obscure book about the supposed lost continent of Atlantis.
While the photo may have certainly served the purpose of the book’s author, would it not have served history and archeology even more if published and debated in those circles?"..Source Unexplained:News

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RESEARCHES BY THE SOVIETS

Ancient remains in the Atlantic, in 1979

Announcement of the discovery of the sunken Amber mountain, in 1984

The discovery of a smooth marble plate in 1985.

  During the end of March in 1979, some Soviet researchers announced the success of their research in the Atlantic Ocean by saying “Plato showed us the way to the lost Atlantis”. The soviet boat of underwater researches, named “Vityaz”, anchored to the river Tagus of Portugal. Dr. Andrey Aksenov, assistant manager of the Institute of Oceanography of Soviet Academy, called reporters on the boat and announced a discovery:

"In the sea area, 900 km from the Portugal coasts, there have been found, on a sunken mountain, a plateau in strange formations. After a close examination with our scientific instruments, we discovered that in this area there are remains, probably of a sunken city. We spotted almost clearly half-demolished walls and giant stairs, even if they were covered with seaweed and other sea plants. We took many photos, by which eight of them show the huge symmetrical escalation, and they will be sent to Moscow for special elaboration...."

The Soviets of “Vityaz” told to Mr Vaskonselo, manager of the National Fishing Institute of Portugal, that they are certain they have discovered a sunken part of the lost Atlantis. Dr. Aksenov also mentioned that this discovery is only the beginning of a whole research which will be centered to this place of the Atlantic. Besides, this is the place that Plato defined the existence and disappearance of Atlantis.

The research boat “Vityaz” continued its mission by scanning the bottom of the Atlantic, westward of Madera. In this area, under the surface of the sea, it is extended the mountain Amber. It is a strange mountain in the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and due to its shape attracts all those Atlantologists, who study Atlantis by Plato scripts.

In 1984 the Soviets of “Vityaz” finished their long researches and gave the information that the mountain Amber, found beneath water, has once been a large island above the surface of the sea.

Unfortunately, they did not announce the details and evidence on which they had been based...

In September 1985, there has been announced by the soviet and foreign tabloids that the Russians pulled out of 4500 meters in the Atlantic, a strange piece of marble. The research was carried out by the oceanographers of the soviet boat “Academic Boris Petrov”.

This discovery has troubled a lot the research group of the boat.

From the very early studies on this object, it has been found out that it was a smooth plate of marble colored from both sides in white-yellowish. Its shape proves that it had been smoothed by a man. They estimated that this object exists in the ocean for many thousand years. Leon Hitrov, scientist of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and chief of the mission pointed out:

“This finding is of great importance. I will personally take on its analysis in the Laboratory of Analytic Chemistry and Geochemistry of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. This scientific test will show if the plate was a part of a structure of an unknown civilization or if according to all evidence, it comes from the legendary and powerful nation of the Atlantians”.

Unfortunately, the Soviet Academy of Sciences, from all we know, has not announced something officially. There are rumors that the “secret” researches continue in the Atlantic Ocean, not only by Russians but by Americans.

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City on the Bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off Spain

Dr. Maxine Asher's Expedition in 1973

UPI Report

Pyramid explored by Dr. Ray Brown on the sea floor off the Bahamas in 1970. Brown was accompanied by 4 divers who also found roads, domes, rectangular buildings, unidentified metallic instruments, and a statue holding a "mysterious" crystal containing miniature pyramids. The metal devices and crystals were taken to Florida for analysis at a university there. What was discovered was that the crystal amplified energy that passed through it.

It is made in a method unknown to the scientists who analyzed it. It was found in a mysteriously lit up chamber inside the underwater pyramid with some kind of ray gun like instrument pointed at it. Kirlian photographs, which record impressions beyond our limited range of vision, showed an eye inside the crystal not visible to the naked eye.

What technology could build a long blacktop paved road for hundreds of miles that was still in good condition over 10,000 years later! This road was found underwater off the East Coast by the deep diving submarine Aluminaut and contained magnesium oxide.

In 1977, a mysterious discovery was made on the floor of the Atlantic concerning an unknown technology. A 650-foot pyramid was mysteriously lit up, with sparkling white water surrounding it that turned deep green, a shocking contrast to the dark black waters at that depth. The discovery was photographed by Arl Marahall's expedition off Cay Sal.

Dr. William Bell's 1958 photos taken on the bottom of the Atlantic showed a six-foot spire protruding from a couple of circular gear-like bases with peculiar light emanations from the bottom of the shaft. Were these the remnants of the Eternal Flame spoken of by the ancients, powered by an inter-dimensional cosmic energy taken out of the atmosphere by a form of crystal conductor at the apex of pyramids or towers?

Pyramids larger than any building in the world made in our modern times have been found on the bottom the Atlantic Ocean and in China, and one in Egypt that our own technology has failed to match.

These Pyramids have cement that our scientists admit is superior to what we use today. The writings of the ancients describe pyramids as Time Capsules containing the history and technology of the Empire of the Sun and latter day Atlantis.

A huge pyramid, in 10,000 feet of Atlantic water, was reported to have been found with a pulsating crystal on top of it, by Tony Benik's expedition. The group also found an opaque crystal tablet there, and reported that when a light was beamed through it, mysterious inscriptions became visible.

More underwater pyramids were found off Central America, Yucatan, and Louisiana, where domes were found in the Straits of Florida. A marble Greek style building was found between Florida and Cuba. And what about the column that radiated energy Dr. Zink found in the Bahamas and Zink also brought up other artifacts from his dives over Atlantis, and he was interviewed by Mind International agent Steve Forsberg.

One of the most amazing finds on the bottom of the Atlantic was reported by Captain Reyes Miraga's crew on the salvage ship Talia from Spain. They video-taped miles of pillared temples, buildings, and statues and wide curving boulevards, with smaller avenues branching out from the center like spokes in a wheel, with majestic temples and pyramids. Much of this city, as well as the city found off Spain by Dr. Maxine Asher's expedition and later by Professor Akayonove's expedition (all photographed), show a startling similarity to Plato's description of Atlantis!

An urn brought to the surface by Dr. Asher's expedition.

More than 30 separate ruins have been found on the bottom of the Atlantic since 1956, and in ancient libraries, several old maps showing Atlantis and its island chain have been found. The islands are known as Aryan, Og. Poseid, and Antigua and the nation was Atlan. Garden City, or Poseid, was reportedly the capital of a continent stretching from off of North Africa and Europe to off Florida with a tropical climate on the western and southern shores, and a cool climate on the north and east.

Ruins of roads and buildings found off Bimini Island in the 1960's by the photographed and published expeditions of Dr. Mansan Valentine. Steven Forsberg, co-founder of the Lahaina Times newspaper dove into these ruins in 1982 to witness them first hand. Similar ruins were also photographed off Cay Sal in the Bahamas. The ruins are of the same construction as the oldest city ever found on land, according; to archaeologists, in Tiajuanaco, Bolivia, where a calendar was uncovered that shows the exact position of the stars and planets 27,000 years ago. This is more than 20,000 years BEFORE the oldest civilizations in school history books!

Similar underwater ruins found off Morocco and photographed 50 to 60 feet underwater.

Dr. David Zink found in 1957, off the Bahamas coast, a stylized marble head, building block cast in a mold and a construction piece drilled by a bit, as well as a stone column that he reported radiated energy. Forsberg of M.I.N.D. interviewed Dr. Zink and obtained the photographs.

A ruined harbor like complex discovered on the sea floor off Bimini Captain John Alexander.

The deep sea diving submarine Aluminaut discovered a well preserved paved road on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean make of blacktop magnesium oxide, running along the sea floor from Florida to South Carolina.

Temple pillars, buildings, statues, wide curving boulevards with smaller avenues branching out like spokes in a wheel, majestic temples and pyramids videotaped by Captain Reyes Miraga on the Spanish named salvage ship "Talia".

A huge 11 room pyramid found 10,000 feet under water in the mid Atlantic Ocean with a huge crystal top, as reported by Tony Benlk.

Several acres of white marble-like ruins found on tile ocean floor off Cuba reported by Lieceser Hemingway.

Mysterious dome structures reportedly seen in clear water by several pilots in the Straits of Florida.

Soviet expeditions to the Atlantic Ampere Seamount resulted in photographs of ruins destroyed by lava (like the Aztecs and Mayans wrote Atlan was destroyed by). This discovery was in the New York Times May 21, 1978. The photos were developed by the Academy's Petrovsky Marakuyev and reported by the deputy Director of the Soviet Academy of Science's Institute of Oceanography, Professor Aksyonove, who also reported ruins found off Cadiz, Spain in the same area as Dr., Maxine Asher's previous discovery.

1981 expedition of P. Cappellano discovered mysterious ruins with strange symbols on them on the sea floor off the Canary Islands.

1977 report of a huge pyramid found off Cay Sal in the Bahamas, photographed by Ari Marshall's expedition, about 150 feet underwater. The pyramid was about 650 feet high. Mysteriously, the surrounding water was lit by sparkling white water flowing out of the openings in the pyramid and surrounded by green water, instead of the black water everywhere else at that depth.

The foundations of a 100 by 75 foot structure photographed on the sea bottom off Andros Island.

A sunken city about 400 miles off Portugal found by Soviet expeditions led by Boris Asturua, with buildings made of extremely strong concrete and plastics. He said "the remains of streets suggests the use of monorails for transportation". He added that he brought up a statue.

Pillars found on the Atlantic floor in 1969 by Robert Fero and Michael Grumley, a chunk of which was carved from rock NOT found anywhere in that part of the world. 20. A road off the Bahamas explored by Dr. Manson Valentine.

Dimitri Rebikoff, using his underwater platform and a special collecting lens, reported ruins found encircling an underwater freshwater spring.

Marble Acropolis underwater across five acres of fluted columns raised on pillars.

Twenty researchers, including archaeologists, a marine biologist, geologist, and cartographer dove onto ruins on the sea floor off Bimini in 1975 and brought back artifacts from which they concluded that the walls and roads were made of materials not found in that part of the world.

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In later studies, evidence was found for the remnants of a [B]"sunken block of continent" in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. An articlein New Scientist 1975 summarizes the result. (Anonymous, New Scientist,66:540, 1975)[/B]

(from Unknown Earth: A Handbook of Geological Enigmas by William R. Corliss.) http://www.atlantissource.com/home/forgotten_article.htm

Geological structure of the Strakhov fracture zone (equatorial segment of the Mid-Atlantic ridge)

G. B. Udintsev, A. F. Beresnev, V. M. Golod, A. V. Kol'tsova, N. A. Kurentsova, and M. V. Zakharov

Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

G. V. Agapova

Institute of Geology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

L. P. Volokitina

P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

V. G. Udintsev

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The underwater film footage which appears on the website was taken from 1993 to1995 by Spanish diver Francisco Salazar Casero. More film from the same underwater area has been taken and will be placed on the website in 2003.  In addition to this footage, Dr. Asher owns underwater film from the Bahamas believed to be Atlantis, videos of television shows she has made on Atlantis, other film taken over time in Spain,5000 color slides connected to Atlantis, 15 computer disks filled with scientific reports about Atlantis and countless other visuals.  This film repository will contribute greatly to the enormous success of any feature film on Atlantis, since it lends credibility to the Atlantis' story.  The ruins presented here are 120 feet down, lying on the continental shelf off the coast of Spain and are believed to be vestiges of the city of Atlantis. The dating is approximately 9,000 B.C.

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I haven't even got into the Mid-Atlantic Ridge yet, but there is geological evidence that that area was above water in the time period places Atlantis, even if no cities have been discovered there.

The old saying: There is no evidence of a sunken landmass in the Atlantic.

To which I give this information by the geologist Christopher O'Brien:

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With a knowledge of ancient river systems, the O'Briens were able to reconstruct a land profile which revealed an Azorean landmass 'about the size and shape of Spain', with high mountain ranges rising over 3655 metres above sea-level, as well as impressive rivers that run 'in curving valley systems'. [QUOTE]

There is the LAND MASS..!

[QUOTE]Furthermore, they have pointed out that:
 
In the southeast, a feature which we have called 'The Great Plain' covered an area in excess of 3500 square miles [9065 square kilometres], and was watered by a river comparable in size to the River Thames in England. It has, as we shall see, points in common with a great plain described by Plato in his Critias, as being a feature of the island of Atlantis.

The conclusion drawn from these findings is that the Azores once formed part of a much greater landmass which sank beneath the waves and is now situated 'many thousands of feet' below the current sea-level.

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As mentioned earliuer, mastodon and mammoth bones have been dredged up from the sea along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the "elephants" that Plato spoke of.

As for the ruins, both Asher and the Russians have suggested that there are ruins in the eastern Atlantic, stretching towards Gibraltar. Both the Russians and Asher have pictures (even if we still can't find the Russians...)

It would be unreasonable to suggest we'll find pristine underwater cities along the lines of Jules Verne. If it was destroyed in earthquakes and tsunsamis, then there might not be a lot left, especially after 12,000 years. The pictures I've seen of the ruins of the Ampere Seamounts are about what we might expect - dark and covered in lava and ocean silt.

Much has been made of Cadiz and other underwater cities near Spain, the coast of Morocco has similar ruins that no one speaks about. These might be Atlantis, but more likely were settlements.

The only way to reach Atlantis in the depths it might be located is in a submarine, one cannot dive there. Russian submarines have been there, and, more to the point, they keep coming back - 1974, 1979, 1984, throughout the 1990's. For all we know, American submarines have been there. too.

The list I've given of ruins doubtless has some red herrings on it, but if even one of those account is true, the pyramid in the middle of the Atlantic, for instance, it might rewrite history as we know it. Civilization began in the Mediterranean..? Not if we find evidence of it first in the Atlantic!~

The pieces are all there, in the middle of the ocean, waiting to be put together, as I've always maintained, as of this year, we are simply not digging deeply enough...

Riven and I aren't the only ones looking for it out there, everyone is looking for it out there. Having supplied the dates of the Russian and Asher expeditions, I don't know what else to tell you.

To quote James Bramwell:

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"Either Atlantis is an island in the Atlantic or it's not Atlantis at all." -James Bramwell, Lost Atlantis, 1937

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Divers Find Ancient Skeleton in Mexico (AP)
  Posted Thursday, September 9, 2004, 9:00 pm

By JOHN RICE, Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY - Divers making dangerous probes through underwater caves near the Caribbean coast have discovered what appears to be one of oldest human skeletons in the Americas, archaeologists announced at a seminar that was ending on Friday.

The report by a team from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History exploits a new way of investigating the past. Most coastal settlements by early Americans now lie deep beneath the sea, which during the Ice Age was hundreds of feet lower than now.

Researchers at the international "Early Man in America" seminar here also reported other ancient finds — including a California bone that is a rival for the title of the oldest in the Americas.

The discoveries fall close to the start of the time that traditional theories say a so-called Clovis culture could have moved from Asia to Alaska over a temporary land corridor that began to open about 13,500 years ago.

Many academics argue that new discoveries, especially in South America, prove the Clovis people found existing inhabitants, who may have arrived by hopscotching past the northern ice fields in small boats.

Arturo Gonzalez said his team discovered at least three skeletons in caves along the Caribbean coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in 2001 and 2002. Photos showed two remarkably well preserved.

"It's something that I had been dreaming of for many years," said Gonzalez, 39, who has combined diving and research since he was a teenager. "To find a person who had walked those caves was like a treasure."

Gonzalez said the bones must date from before the time that waters gradually seeped through the caves 8,000 to 9,000 years ago as Ice Age glaciers melted and sea level rose by about 400 feet worldwide.

Tests on charcoal found beside one female skeleton would place it at least 10,000 years ago. An expert at the University of California, Riverside, dated it as 11,670 radiocarbon years old — which would translate to well over 13,000 calendar years.

If confirmed, "that would be the oldest" radio carbon date in the Americas obtained from a human bone, said archaeology textbook author Stuart Fiedel.

Fiedel, a defender of the "Clovis first" school, said the oldest estimate for the cave find still fits the Clovis time frame, though narrowly.

Larry Murphy, chief of the Submerged Resources Center for the U.S. National Park Service, said in a telephone interview that the Mexican exploration was "one of the first systematic studies of human materials associated with a submarine cave."

The discovery helps prove that humans inhabited the Yucatan at least 5,000 years before the famed Maya culture began building monuments at sites such as nearby Tulum.

Gonzalez said the skeleton did not appear to be Mayan, but with no tools yet found, almost nothing is known of those first inhabitants.

Gonzalez said cave divers had sometimes mentioned seeing skeletons and he convinced skeptical officials to finance a survey of the water holes that dot the Yucatan, a limestone shelf.

Extensive, flooded caves wind off from some of those holes. Many were above ground during the Ice Age and Gonzalez speculated people may have used them as paths down to fresh water.

Gonzalez said the oldest find was made 404 yards into a cave, more than 65 feet below sea level, during expeditions that can be extremely dangerous.
 

It took repeated trips to record the sites and excavate the bones, which then required two years of preservation.
Team co-director Carmen Rojas said the divers had 40 minutes to wind their way through the cave to the site, 20 minutes to work there and 40 minutes to swim back, followed by 20 to 60 minutes of decompression time.
"You train five years for those 20 minutes," she said.
Meanwhile, John Johnson of the University of California, Santa Barbara, said an elaborate restudy of a woman's femur found on Santa Rosa Island in California's Channel Islands established a calendar-year age of 13,200 to 13,500 years. It had been calculated at about 1,000 years less when found in 1959.
Both discoveries would be significantly older than the skeleton known Kennewick Man — 9,300-year-old paleoindian remains found by teenagers along a Washington state riverbank in 1996.
Until now, the Americas have produced only 25 bones or skeletons dated as more than 8,000 years old, said Silvia Gonzalez of John Moores University in Liverpool, England. But she told the conference that she would soon publish a paper establishing that humans occupied a site near Puebla east of Mexico City 21,000 to 28,000 years ago.

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Sacred Texts  Atlantis 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

p. 46

CHAPTER. V.

THE TESTIMONY OF THE SEA.

SUPPOSE we were to find in mid-Atlantic, in front of the Mediterranean, in the neighborhood of the Azores, the remains of an immense island, sunk beneath the sea--one thousand miles in width, and two or three thousand miles long--would it not go far to confirm the statement of Plato that, "beyond the strait where you place the Pillars of Hercules, there was an island larger than Asia (Minor) and Libya combined," called Atlantis? And suppose we found that the Azores were the mountain peaks of this drowned island, and were torn and rent by tremendous volcanic convulsions; while around them, descending into the sea, were found great strata of lava; and the whole face of the sunken land was covered for thousands of miles with volcanic débris, would we not be obliged to confess that these facts furnished strong corroborative proofs of the truth of Plato's statement, that "in one day and one fatal night there came mighty earthquakes and inundations which ingulfed that mighty people? Atlantis disappeared beneath the sea; and then that sea became inaccessible on account of the quantity of mud which the ingulfed island left in its place."

And all these things recent investigation has proved conclusively. Deep-sea soundings have been made by ships of different nations; the United States ship Dolphin, the German frigate Gazelle, and the British ships Hydra, Porcupine, and Challenger have mapped out the bottom of the Atlantic, and the result is the revelation of a great elevation, reaching from a point on the coast of the British Islands southwardly to the coast of South America, at Cape Orange, thence south-eastwardly

p. 47

 

Click to view
MAP OF ATLANTIS, WITH ITS ISLANDS AND CONNECTING RIDGES, FROM DEEP-SEA SOUNDINGS.

 

p. 49

to the coast of Africa, and thence southwardly to Tristan d'Acunha. I give one map showing the profile of this elevation in the frontispiece, and another map, showing the outlines of the submerged land, on page 47. It rises about 9000 feet above the great Atlantic depths around it, and in the Azores, St. Paul's Rocks, Ascension, and Tristan d'Acunha it reaches the surface of the ocean.

Evidence that this elevation was once dry land is found in the fact that "the inequalities, the mountains and valleys of its surface, could never have been produced in accordance with any laws for the deposition of sediment, nor by submarine elevation; but, on the contrary, must have been carved by agencies acting above the water level." (Scientific American, July 28th, 1877.)

Mr. J. Starke Gardner, the eminent English geologist, is of the opinion that in the Eocene Period a great extension of land existed to the west of Cornwall. Referring to the location of the "Dolphin" and "Challenger" ridges, he asserts that "a great tract of land formerly existed where the sea now is, and that Cornwall, the Scilly and Channel Islands, Ireland and Brittany, are the remains of its highest summits." (Popular Science Review, July, 1878.)

Here, then, we have the backbone of the ancient continent which once occupied the whole of the Atlantic Ocean, and from whose washings Europe and America were constructed; the deepest parts of the ocean, 3500 fathoms deep, represent those portions which sunk first, to wit, the plains to the east and west of the central mountain range; some of the loftiest peaks of this range--the Azores, St. Paul's, Ascension, Tristan d'Acunba--are still above the ocean level; while the great body of Atlantis lies a few hundred fathoms beneath the sea. In these "connecting ridges" we see the pathway which once extended between the New World and the Old, and by means of which the plants and animals of one continent travelled to the other; and by the same avenues black men found their

p. 50

way, as we will show hereafter, from Africa to America, and red men from America to Africa.

And, as I have shown, the same great law which gradually depressed the Atlantic continent, and raised the lands east and west of it, is still at work: the coast of Greenland, which may be regarded as the northern extremity of the Atlantic continent, is still sinking "so rapidly that ancient buildings on low rock-islands are now submerged, and the Greenlander has learned by experience never to build near the water's edge," ("North Amer. of Antiq.," p. 504.) The same subsidence is going on along the shore of South Carolina and Georgia, while the north of Europe and the Atlantic coast of South America are rising rapidly. Along the latter raised beaches, 1180 miles long and from 100 to 1300 feet high, have been traced.

When these connecting ridges extended from America to Europe and Africa, they shut off the flow of the tropical waters of the ocean to the north: there was then no "Gulf Stream;" the land-locked ocean that laved the shores of Northern Europe was then intensely cold; and the result was the Glacial Period. When the barriers of Atlantis sunk sufficiently to permit the natural expansion of the heated water of the tropics to the north, the ice and snow which covered Europe gradually disappeared; the Gulf Stream flowed around Atlantis, and it still retains the circular motion first imparted to it by the presence of that island.

The officers of the Challenger found the entire ridge of Atlantis covered with volcanic deposits; these are the subsided mud which, as Plato tells us, rendered the sea impassable after the destruction of the island.

It does not follow that, at the time Atlantis was finally ingulfed, the ridges connecting it with America and Africa rose above the water-level; these may have gradually subsided into the sea, or have gone down in cataclysms such as are described in the Central American books. The Atlantis of Plato may have been confined to the "Dolphin Ridge" of our map.

p. 51

 

Click to view
ANCIENT ISLANDS BETWEEN ATLANTIS AND THE MEDITERRANIAN, FROM DEEP-SEA SOUNINGS.

 

p. 53

The United States sloop Gettysburg has also made some remarkable discoveries in a neighboring field. I quote from John James Wild (in Nature, March 1st, 1877, p. 377):

"The recently announced discovery by Commander Gorringe, of the United States sloop Gettysburg, of a bank of soundings bearing N. 85° W., and distant 130 miles from Cape St. Vincent, during the last voyage of the vessel across the Atlantic, taken in connection with previous soundings obtained in the same region of the North Atlantic, suggests the probable existence of a submarine ridge or plateau connecting the island of Madeira with the coast of Portugal, and the probable subaerial connection in prehistoric times of that island with the south-western extremity of Europe." . . . "These soundings reveal the existence of a channel of an average depth of from 2000 to 3000 fathoms, extending in a northeasterly direction from its entrance between Madeira and the Canary Islands toward Cape St. Vincent. . . . Commander Gorringe, when about 150 miles from the Strait of Gibraltar, found that the soundings decreased from 2700 fathoms to 1600 fathoms in the distance of a few miles. The subsequent soundings (five miles apart) gave 900, 500, 400, and 100 fathoms; and eventually a depth of 32 fathoms was obtained, in which the vessel anchored. The bottom was found to consist of live pink coral, and the position of the bank in lat. 36° 29' N., long. 11° 33' W."

The map on page 51 shows the position of these elevations. They must have been originally islands;--stepping-stones, as it were, between Atlantis and the coast of Europe.

Sir C. Wyville Thomson found that the specimens of the fauna of the coast of Brazil, brought up in his dredging-machine, are similar to those of the western coast of Southern Europe. This is accounted for by the connecting ridges reaching from Europe to South America.

A member of the Challenger staff, in a lecture delivered in London, soon after the termination of the expedition, gave it as his opinion that the great submarine plateau is the remains of "the lost Atlantis."

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Did the First Americans Come From, Er, Australia?

EXETER, England (Reuters) - Anthropologists stepped into a hornets' nest on Monday, revealing research that suggests the original inhabitants of America may in fact have come from what is now known as Australia.

The claim will be extremely unwelcome to today's native Americans who came overland from Siberia and say they were there first.

But Silvia Gonzalez from John Moores University in Liverpool said skeletal evidence pointed strongly to this unpalatable truth and hinted that recovered DNA would corroborate it.

"This is very contentious," Gonzalez, a Mexican, said with a smile at the annual meeting of the British association for the Advancement of Science. "They (native Americans) cannot claim to have been the first people there."

She said there was very strong evidence that the first migration came from Australia via Japan and Polynesia and down the Pacific Coast of America.

Skulls of a people with distinctively long and narrow heads discovered in Mexico and California predated by several thousand years the more rounded features of the skulls of native Americans.

One particularly well preserved skull of a long-face woman had been carbon dated to 12,700 years ago, whereas the oldest accurately dated native American skull was only about 9,000 years old.

"We have extracted her DNA. It is going to be a bomb," she said, declining to give details but adding that the tests carried out so far were being replicated to make sure they were accurate.

She said there were tales from Spanish missionaries of an isolated coastal community of long-face people in Baja California of a completely different race and rituals from other communities in America at the time.

These last survivors were wiped out by diseases imported by the Spanish conquerors, Gonzalez said.

The research is one of 11 different projects in America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East being funded over a four-year period by Britain's Natural Environment Research Council.

The projects, focusing on diet, dating and dispersal of people down the millennia in the face of climate change, aim to rewrite anthropology.

http://urantiabook.org/newbook/ppr078_5.html

P872:8,Ê78:5.4 By 12,000 B.C. three quarters of the Andite stock of the world was resident in northern and eastern Europe, and when the later and final exodus from Mesopotamia took place, sixty-five per cent of these last waves of emigration entered Europe.

P873:1,Ê78:5.5 The Andites not only migrated to Europe but to northern China and India, while many groups penetrated to the ends of the earth as missionaries, teachers, and traders. They contributed considerably to the northern groups of the Saharan Sangik peoples. But only a few teachers and traders ever penetrated farther south in Africa than the headwaters of the Nile. Later on, mixed Andites and Egyptians followed down both the east and west coasts of Africa well below the equator, but they did not reach Madagascar.

P873:2,Ê78:5.6 These Andites were the so-called Dravidian and later Aryan conquerors of India; and their presence in central Asia greatly upstepped the ancestors of the Turanians. Many of this race journeyed to China by way of both Sinkiang and Tibet and added desirable qualities to the later Chinese stocks. From time to time small groups made their way into Japan, Formosa, the East Indies, and southern China, though very few entered southern China by the coastal route.

P873:3,Ê78:5.7 One hundred and thirty-two of this race, embarking in a fleet of small boats from Japan, eventually reached South America and by intermarriage with the natives of the Andes established the ancestry of the later rulers of the Incas. They crossed the Pacific by easy stages, tarrying on the many islands they found along the way. The islands of the Polynesian group were both more numerous and larger then than now, and these Andite sailors, together with some who followed them, biologically modified the native groups in transit. Many flourishing centers of civilization grew up on these now submerged lands as a result of Andite penetration. Easter Island was long a religious and administrative center of one of these lost groups. But of the Andites who navigated the Pacific of long ago none but the one hundred and thirty-two ever reached the mainland of the Americas.

P873:4,Ê78:5.8 The migratory conquests of the Andites continued on down to their final dispersions, from 8000 to 6000 B.C. As they poured out of Mesopotamia, they continuously depleted the biologic reserves of their homelands while markedly strengthening the surrounding peoples. And to every nation to which they journeyed, they contributed humor, art, adventure, music, and manufacture. They were skillful domesticators of animals and expert agriculturists. For the time being, at least, their presence usually improved the religious beliefs and moral practices of the older races. And so the culture of Mesopotamia quietly spread out over Europe, India, China, northern Africa, and the Pacific Islands.

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P895:2,Ê80:7.2 About 12,000 B.C. a brilliant tribe of Andites migrated to Crete. This was the only island settled so early by such a superior group, and it was almost two thousand years before the descendants of these mariners spread to the neighboring isles. This group were the narrow-headed, smaller-statured Andites who had intermarried with the Vanite division of the northern Nodites. They were all under six feet in height and had been literally driven off the mainland by their larger and inferior fellows. These emigrants to Crete were highly skilled in textiles, metals, pottery, plumbing, and the use of stone for building material. They engaged in writing and carried on as herders and agriculturists.

P895:3,Ê80:7.3 Almost two thousand years after the settlement of Crete a group of the tall descendants of Adamson made their way over the northern islands to Greece, coming almost directly from their highland home north of Mesopotamia. These progenitors of the Greeks were led westward by Sato, a direct descendant of Adamson and Ratta.

P895:4,Ê80:7.4 The group which finally settled in Greece consisted of three hundred and seventy-five of the selected and superior people comprising the end of the second civilization of the Adamsonites. These later sons of Adamson carried the then most valuable strains of the emerging white races. They were of a high intellectual order and, physically regarded, the most beautiful of men since the days of the first Eden.

1934

The Urantia Book -- Part III. The History Of Urantia
PAPER 81: Section 4.
The Mixed Races
------------------------------------------------------------------------

P904:5,Ê81:4.1 As contact is made with the dawn of historic times, all of Eurasia, northern Africa, and the Pacific Islands is overspread with the composite races of mankind. And these races of today have resulted from a blending and reblending of the five basic human stocks of Urantia.

P904:6,Ê81:4.2 Each of the Urantia races was identified by certain distinguishing physical characteristics. The Adamites and Nodites were long-headed; the Andonites were broad-headed. The Sangik races were medium-headed, with the yellow and blue men tending to broad- headedness. The blue races, when mixed with the Andonite stock, were decidedly broad-headed. The secondary Sangiks were medium- to long-headed.

P904:7,Ê81:4.3 Although these skull dimensions are serviceable in deciphering racial origins, the skeleton as a whole is far more dependable. In the early development of the Urantia races there were originally five distinct types of skeletal structure:

1. Andonic, Urantia aborigines.
2. Primary Sangik, red, yellow, and blue.
3. Secondary Sangik, orange, green, and indigo.
4. Nodites, descendants of the Dalamatians.
5. Adamites, the violet race.

P904:13,Ê81:4.4 As these five great racial groups extensively intermingled, continual mixture tended to obscure the Andonite type by Sangik hereditary dominance. The Lapps and the Eskimos are blends of Andonite and Sangik-blue races. Their skeletal structures come the nearest to preserving the aboriginal Andonic type. But the Adamites and the Nodites have become so admixed with the other races that they can be detected only as a generalized Caucasoid order.

P905:1,Ê81:4.5 In general, therefore, as the human remains of the last twenty thousand years are unearthed, it will be impossible clearly to distinguish the five original types. Study of such skeletal structures will disclose that mankind is now divided into approximately three classes:

P905:2,Ê81:4.6 1. The Caucasoid -- the Andite blend of the Nodite and Adamic stocks, further modified by primary and (some) secondary Sangik admixture and by considerable Andonic crossing. The Occidental white races, together with some Indian and Turanian peoples, are included in this group. The unifying factor in this division is the greater or lesser proportion of Andite inheritance.

P905:3,Ê81:4.7 2. The Mongoloid -- the primary Sangik type, including the original red, yellow, and blue races. The Chinese and Amerinds belong to this group. In Europe the Mongoloid type has been modified by secondary Sangik and Andonic mixture; still more by Andite infusion. The Malayan and other Indonesian peoples are included in this classification, though they contain a high percentage of secondary Sangik blood.

P905:4,Ê81:4.8 3. The Negroid -- the secondary Sangik type, which originally included the orange, green, and indigo races. This is the type best illustrated by the Negro, and it will be found through Africa, India, and Indonesia wherever the secondary Sangik races located.

P905:5,Ê81:4.9 In North China there is a certain blending of Caucasoid and Mongoloid types; in the Levant the Caucasoid and Negroid have intermingled; in India, as in South America, all three types are represented. And the skeletal characteristics of the three surviving types still persist and help to identify the later ancestry of present-day human races.

..........

By 5000 B.C. the evolving white races were dominant throughout all of northern Europe, including northern Germany, northern France, and the British Isles. Central Europe was for some time controlled by the blue man and the round-headed Andonites. The latter were mainly situated in the Danube valley and were never entirely displaced by the Andites.

It shows, among other things, that modern Humans first reached the Americas ca 26K-34K years ago. And haplogroup X may have been crossing the Atlantic Ocean, travelling from Northern Europe to Canada, about 15000 years ago.
http://www.testsymptomsathome.com/GTIB1_map.asp

A personÕs maternal ancestry is traced by mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA for short. Both men and women possess mtDNA, but only women pass it on to their children.

So we all inherit our mtDNAs from our mothers, but not from our fathers. Your mother inherited it from her mother, who inherited it from hers, and so on back through time. Therefore, mtDNA traces an unbroken maternal line back through time for generation upon generation far further back than any written record.

Research at Oxford University and elsewhere over many years has shown that all of our maternal lines are connected at some time in the past and that these connections can be traced by reading mtDNA. One striking finding was that people tended to cluster into a small number of groups, which could be defined by the precise sequence of their mtDNA. In native Europeans, for example, there were seven such groups, among Native Americans there were four, among Japanese people there were nine, and so on. Each of these groups, by an astounding yet inescapable logic, traced back to just one woman, the common maternal ancestor of everyone in her group, or clan.

For our MatriLineª service, we read a section of your mtDNA, about 400 base pairs long, and compare its precise sequence to the many thousands of others from all over the world that we have in our database. That way we can not only give you an exact readout of your DNA sequence, but also discover to which of the clans you belong, and from which ancestral mother you are descended. For many of the ancestral mothers, and there are about 36 world-wide, we know whereabouts they lived and how many ten of thousands of years ago. DNA changes very slowly over time and this is what we use to calculate how long ago the clan mothers lived. By studying features of the geographical distribution of their present-day descendants, we can work out where they lived as well. To emphasise that they were real individuals, we have given them all names and, using archaeological and other evidence, we have reconstructed their imagined lives.

Everyone in the same clan is a direct maternal descendant of one of these clan mothers and carries her DNA within every cell of their body. Your mtDNA actually helps cells use oxygen Ð so you are using your clan motherÕs mtDNA every time you breathe. However, not everyone in the same clan has exactly the same mtDNA, because DNA changes gradually over the generations. From your precise DNA result, we are able to assign you a place within the genealogy of the clan, which will be shown on your ÒSeven Daughters of EveÓ or ÒWorld ClansÓ certificate.

The clan mothers were not the only people alive at the time, of course, but they were the only ones to have direct maternal descendants living right through to the present day. The other women around, or their descendants, either had no children at all or had only sons, who could not pass on their mtDNA. And, of course, the clan mothers had ancestors themselves. Amazingly, their genealogies have also been discovered. They show how everyone alive on the planet today can trace their maternal ancestry back to just one woman. By all accounts, she lived in Africa about 150,000 Ð 200,000 years ago and is known as ÒMitochondrial EveÓ. On your ÒWorld ClansÓ certificate you will see how you and your clan mother relate to all the others in the human family and to ÒMitochondrial EveÓ herself.

THE EUROPEAN CLANS Ð The Seven Daughters of Eve

The clan of Ursula (Latin for she-bear) is the oldest of the seven native European clans. It was founded around 45,000 years ago by the first modern humans, Homo sapiens, as they established themselves in Europe. Today, about 11% of modern Europeans are the direct maternal descendants of Ursula. They come from all parts of Europe, but the clan is particularly well represented in western Britain and Scandinavia.

The clan of Xenia (Greek for hospitable) is the second oldest of the seven native European clans. It was founded 25,000 years ago by the second wave of modern humans, Homo sapiens, who established themselves in Europe, just prior to the coldest part of the last Ice Age. Today around 7% of native Europeans are in the clan of Xenia. Within the clan, three distinct branches fan out over Europe. One is still largely confined to Eastern Europe while the other two have spread further to the West into central Europe and as far as France and Britain. About 1% of Native Americans are also in the clan of Xenia.

The clan of Helena (Greek for light) is by far the largest and most successful of the seven native clans with 41% of Europeans belonging to one of its many branches. It began 20,000 years ago with the birth of Helena somewhere in the valleys of the Dordogne and the Vezere, in south-central France. The clan is widespread throughout all parts of Europe, but reaches its highest frequency among the Basque people of northern Spain and southern France.

The clan of Velda (Scandinavian for ruler) is the smallest of the seven clans containing only about 4% of native Europeans. Velda lived 17,000 years ago in the limestone hills of Cantabria in northwest Spain. Her descendants are found nowadays mainly in western and northern Europe and are surprisingly frequent among the Saami people of Finland and Northern Norway.

The clan of Tara (Gaelic for rocky hill) includes slightly fewer than 10% of modern Europeans. Its many branches are widely distributed throughout southern and western Europe with particularly high concentrations in Ireland and the west of Britain. Tara herself lived 17,000 years ago in the northwest of Italy among the hills of Tuscany and along the estuary of the river Arno.

The clan of Katrine (Greek for pure) is a medium sized clan with 10% of Europeans among its membership. Katrine herself lived 15,000 years ago in the wooded plains of northeast Italy, now flooded by the Adriatic, and among the southern foothills of the Alps. Her descendants are still there in numbers, but have also spread throughout central and northern Europe.

The clan of Jasmine (Persian for flower) is the second largest of the seven European clans after Helena and is the only one to have its origins outside Europe. Jasmine and her descendants, who now make up 12% of Europeans, were among the first farmers and brought the agricultural revolution to Europe from the Middle East around 8,500 years ago.

The clan of Ulrike (German for Mistress of All) is not among the original ÒSeven Daughters of EveÓ clans, but with just under 2% of Europeans among its members, it has a claim to being included among the numerically important clans. Ulrike lived about 18,000 years ago in the cold refuges of the Ukraine at the northern limits of human habitation. Though UlrikeÕs descendants are nowhere common, the clan is found today mainly in the east and north of Europe with particularly high concentrations in Scandinavia and the Baltic states.

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A personÕs paternal ancestry can be traced by DNA on the Y-Chromosome or yDNA for short. Only men have a Y-Chromosome, which they inherited from their fathers and will pass on to their sons.

However, women can easily find out about their paternal ancestry from the yDNA of a male relative, their father or brother, for instance. The yDNA traces a manÕs unbroken paternal line back way into the past in the same manner that your maternal ancestry is traced by mtDNA.

Scientific research throughout the world has shown that all our paternal lines are connected somewhere in the past and that these connections can be traced by reading the yDNA. As with maternal genealogies defined by mtDNA, men tend to cluster into a small number of groups, 18 in total, which can be defined by the genetic fingerprints of their yDNA. In native Europeans, for example, there are 5 such groups, among Native Americans there are 4, among Japanese people there are 5, and so on. The men within each of these groups are all ultimately descended from just one man, their clan father. Obviously, these ancestral clan fathers were not the only men around at the time, but they were the only ones to have direct male descendants living today. The other men around, or their descendants, had either no children at all or only daughters. These clan fathers also had male ancestral lines and these ultimately converge on the common paternal ancestor of every man alive today. This man, know as ÒY-Chromosome AdamÓ, lived in Africa 60,000 Ð 80,000 years ago.

For our Y-Clanª service, we read ten elements of your yDNA fingerprint and build up a signature. By comparing it to thousands of others in our database, obtained from throughout the world, we are able, in most cases, to deduce your paternal clan and your ancient ancestral father. Not only will we be able to tell you from which ancient clan father you are descended, we will also give you some information as to when and where he lived. The genetic elements of your signature also change over the generations and by comparing your genetic signature with those of others it is possible to tell, on the balance of probability, how closely you are related.