title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: Greenwood's Grand Boulevard was once named one of America's 10 most beautiful streets by the U.S. Chambers of Commerce and the Garden Clubs of America. Sally Humphreys Gwin, a charter member of the Greenwood Garden Club, planted the 1,000 oak trees that line Grand Boulevard. In 1950, Gwin received a citation from the National Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution in recognition of her work in the conservation of trees.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: Greenwood is located at (33.518719, -90.183883). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 14,490 people, 4,924 households, and 2,793 families residing in the city.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: At the 2010 census, there were 15,205 people and 6,022 households in the city. The population density was 1,237.7 per square mile (771.6/km). There were 6,759 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 30.4% White, 67.0% Black, 0.1% Native American, 0.9% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, <0.1% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.1% of the population.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: Among the 6,022 households, 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.8% were married couples living together, 29.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.6% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals living alone and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.16.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: Radio station WGRM on Howard Street was the location of B.B. King's first live broadcast in 1940. On Sunday nights, King performed live gospel music as part of a quartet. In memory of this event, the Mississippi Blues Trail has placed its third historic marker in this town at the site of the former radio station.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: Another Mississippi Blues Trail marker is placed near the grave of the blues singer Robert Johnson. A third Blues Trail marker notes the Elks Lodge in the city, which was an important black organization. A fourth Blues Trail marker was dedicated to Hubert Sumlin that is located along the Yazoo River on River Road.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: Greenwood is governed under a city council form of government, composed of council members elected from seven single-member wards and headed by a mayor, who is elected at-large.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: Greenwood is served by two major rail lines. Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Greenwood, connecting New Orleans to Chicago from Greenwood station.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: Greenwood is served by Greenwood–Leflore Airport (GWO) to the east, and is located midway between Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee. It is about halfway between Dallas, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District (GLCSD) operates public schools. Previously the majority of the city was in Greenwood Public School District while small portions were in the Leflore County School District. These two districts consolidated into GLCSD on July 1, 2019. Greenwood High School is the only public high school in Greenwood. As of 2014, the student body is 99% black. Amanda Elzy High School was formerly of the Leflore County district. It was recently taken over by the State of Mississippi for poor performance as a result of deficient leadership.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: Delta Streets Academy, a newly founded private school located in downtown Greenwood, has an enrollment of nearly 50 students. It has continued to increase enrollment.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: St. Francis Catholic School, run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson, provides classes from kindergarten through sixth grade.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: In addition, North New Summit School provides educational services for special-needs and at-risk children from kindergarten through high school.


title: Greenwood, Mississippi

text: "Nightmare in Badham County" (1976), "Ode to Billy Joe" (1976), and "The Help" (2011) were filmed in Greenwood. The 1991 movie "Mississippi Masala" was also set and filmed in Greenwood.


title: Canities subita

text: Canities subita, also called Marie Antoinette syndrome or Thomas More syndrome, is an alleged condition of hair turning white overnight due to stress or trauma. The trivial names come from specific cases in history including that of Queen Marie Antoinette of France whose hair was noted as having turned stark white overnight after her capture following the ill-fated flight to Varennes during the French Revolution. An older case of Sir Thomas More's hair turning white the night before his beheading has also been recorded. Although a number of cases of rapid hair greying have been documented, the underlying patho-physiological changes have not been sufficiently studied.


title: Canities subita

text: The syndrome has been hypothesized to be a variant of alopecia areata diffusa or autoimmune non-scarring hair loss that selectively affects all pigmented hairs, leaving only the white hair behind. Marie Antoinette syndrome is caused by high levels of emotional stress, which, in turn, causes less pigmentation of the hair. These form the basis of most uses of the idea in fictional works. It has been found that some hairs can become colored again when stress is reduced.


title: Canities subita

text: One study with experiments on mice found that stress caused white hair even if the immune system was suppressed (ruling out auto-immune response) and if the glands producing cortisol were removed. The study concluded that over-activation of the sympathetic nervous system was causing stem cells to stop producing pigment cells in hair follicles.


title: Canities subita

text: The earliest surviving recorded claim of sudden whitening of the hair is represented in the Talmud, by a story of a Jewish scholar who, at the age of 17 years, developed white hair locks due to overwork.


title: Canities subita

text: Contemporary cases of accelerated hair-whitening have been documented, as with bombing victims in the Second World War, and in a case covered in the medical journal "Archives of Dermatology" in 2009.


title: Zell am See

text: Zell am See is the administrative capital of the Zell am See District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Located in the Kitzbühel Alps, the town is an important tourist destination due to its ski resorts and shoreline on Lake Zell. While Zell am See has been a favored winter and summer resort for the European aristocracy since the 19th century, it is known as a hub of the international jet set today.


title: Zell am See

text: The Zell Valley is a corridor in the Kitzbühel Alps, connecting the Saalfelden Basin of the Saalach River in the north and the Salzach in the south. Zell am See is located approximately east of Innsbruck and north Austria's highest mountain, the Grossglockner. The historic centre of Zell am See is located on the western shore of the Lake Zell, with the villages of Thumersbach to the east, Erlberg to the southeast, and Schüttdorf directly to the south.


title: Zell am See

text: The original Lake Zell reached somewhat further to the north and extended south to the Salzach river. The dimensions of the lake, however, have changed over time into marsh areas. The lake has the shape of a peanut, with an area of .


title: Zell am See

text: The mountains of the area form a horseshoe shape, the slopes are mainly forested or covered with Alpine pastures. The "Hausberg" ("home mountain") of Zell am See is the Schmittenhöhe, , which together with the adjacent Salzburg Slate Alps range in the west is part of the Greywacke zone between Northern Limestone and Central Eastern Alps. Mt. Schmittenhöhe is a popular centre for skiing and winter sports. The nearby Mt. Hundstein ("Dog Stone") at is the highest peak of the Salzburg Greywacke Zone.


title: Zell am See

text: Zell am See provides winter skiing on the above Schmittenhöhe mountain. The skiable area is approximately 138 km, including the pistes on the Kitzsteinhorn and Kaprun Maiskogel. The ski pass covers the whole area including transport to and from the glacier which is open most of the year, dependent on snowfall. Zell am See is a low-altitude ski area and snow cover can suffer from higher temperatures, but the glacier has snow cover most of the year.


title: Zell am See

text: In 2017 Zell am See announced a potential merger with Saalbach-Hinterglemm ski resort. In the 2019-2020 ski season the Zell am See Express 1 gondola was opened which allows access to the Zell am See Express 2 gondola at the base of piste 21 from Viehofen.


title: Zell am See

text: Notable ski pistes in the resort include: The Trassabfahrt (14) which is the steepest piste in the region reaching an incline gradient of up to 75%, the Standardabfahrt (13) which is another valley run reaching an incline gradient of 60%, and the recently reopened Tannwaldabfahrt (21), a ski racing piste in the 1930s, and is well known for being consistently icy, and having a high steepness-width ratio in some sections of the piste.


title: Zell am See

text: In the 19th century, Zell am See became known as a summer and winter resort for the Austrian and European aristocracy, such as the Empress Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, Emperor Franz Joseph or the von Trapp family.


title: Zell am See

text: Zell am See is the seat of the Porsche family, which has significantly contributed to the town's international standing. Since 2001, the family operates the local airport, and in 2007 the "Ferry Porsche Congress Center" for conventions was completed. In cooperation with the municipality, the Porsche family annually hosts the "International Porsche Days" in summer and the "Greger Porsche Ice Race" (since 1952) in winter. The family also owns the "Schloss Prielau" hotel, situated in a historic castle formerly owned by Hugo von Hoffmansthal on the shore of Lake Zell. The family's private estate is located in the district of Zell am See-Süd.


title: Zell am See

text: In the 21st century, Zell am See became a popular summer vacation spot for wealthy Russians and Arabs, many of whom spend their whole summer in one of the luxury lakefront hotels.


title: Zell am See

text: The area of Zell am See was continuously populated at least since Roman times. About 740 AD, by order of Bishop Johannes (John) I of Salzburg, monks founded the village within the stem duchy of Bavaria, which was mentioned as "Cella in Bisonzio" in a 743 deed. The denotation "Cella" or German: "Zelle" refers to a monk's cell in the sense of a monastery, "Bisonzio" is the name of the Pinzgau region. Zell received the rights of a market town in 1357. During the German Peasants' War in 1526, the area was a site of heavy fighting against the troops of Swabian League. The Zell am See citizens had not participated in the uprising, nevertheless 200 years later, numerous Protestant inhabitants were expelled from Salzburg by order of Prince-Archbishop Count Leopold Anton von Firmian.


title: Zell am See

text: From 1800, the town was occupied by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars. After the secularisation of the Salzburg Archbishopric, "Zell am See" finally passed to the Austrian Empire by resolution of the Vienna Congress in 1816. When in 1850 neighbouring Saalfelden became the capital of the Pinzgau district, the town's mayor successfully strived for relocating the administrative seat to Zell. The town's development was decisively promoted by the opening of the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway line ("Giselabahn") on 30 July 1875, starting the annual summer tourism season. Zell am See received city rights on 24 January 24, 1928.


title: Zell am See

text: Within St Hippolyte's Church are the oldest known building remnants of the Pinzgau region. The church is built in a mostly Romanesque style and consists of three naves. Before 1794, the central nave was crowned with a Gothic vault, but in that year it was replaced with another vault, which in turn was replaced by a flat wooden roof in 1898. Four steps lead up to the main altar, but the crypt has been filled in. The narthex and aisles are still Gothic, but some of the other Gothic objects (like the neogothic altars by Josef Bachlehner) were added during the renovation in 1898, when also the baroque furnishings of preceding centuries were removed.


title: Zell am See

text: The highpoint of the church is its elevated walkway with its ornate parapet, built in 1514. The walkway rests on four carved columns of precious marble, in between which an intricate net-vault is spun. The three pointed arches are crowned with crockets, and end in pointed towers. Between the arches are Gothic baldachins with cut-out figures of St Hippolyte and St Florian, originating from 1520.


title: Zell am See

text: The tower is the main focus of the Zell am See skyline. It has a height of . The strong walls have a limestone exterior.


title: Zell am See

text: From 1660 until 1670, the main altar was replaced by a Baroque one, which was removed again in 1760. Almost none of the Baroque furnishings of the church remain apart from some adornments. Two Baroque statues ended up in the church of Prielau. Next to the main altar are two statues dating from 1480: St Rupert and St Vigilius. The side altar contains an image of the Virgin Mary from the now non-existent Church of Maria Wald, which dates from 1540. The left nave has a small altar dedicated to St Sebastian in its apsis.


title: Zell am See

text: The Grand Hotel Zell am See is situated in a unique position on a private peninsula right at the shore of Lake Zell, this large chalet is surrounded by water with a panoramic view of the mountains.


title: Zell am See

text: The Porsche family farm is located in Zell am See, having been obtained in 1939 by the senior Ferdinand Porsche in anticipation of the war. During the war, he transferred some of his business operations here and to Gmünd, away from Stuttgart where, notwithstanding the heavy bombing, his son Ferry Porsche remained to oversee plant operations.


title: Zell am See

text: In Zell am See there are three elementary schools, one high school, one special school, one vocational school, one grammar school, one commercial academy and a commercial school:


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia () is a 1980 book by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze and the French psychoanalyst Félix Guattari. It is the second and final volume of their collaborative work "Capitalism and Schizophrenia". While the first volume, "Anti-Oedipus" (1972), was a critique of contemporary uses of psychoanalysis and Marxism, "A Thousand Plateaus" was developed as an experimental work of philosophy covering a far wider range of topics, serving as a "positive exercise" in what Deleuze and Guattari refer to as rhizomatic thought.


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: Like the first volume of Deleuze and Guattari's "Capitalism and Schizophrenia", "Anti-Oedipus" (1972), "A Thousand Plateaus" is politically and terminologically provocative and is intended as a work of schizoanalysis, but focuses more on what could be considered systematic, environmental and spatial philosophy, often dealing with the natural world, popular culture, measurements and mathematics. A "plateau", borrowed from ideas in Gregory Bateson's research on Balinese culture, is "a continuous, self-vibrating region of intensities"; the chapters in the book are described as plateaus, while their respective dates also signify a level of intensity, where "each plateau can be read starting anywhere and can be related to any other plateau." Deleuze and Guattari describe the book itself as a rhizome due to how it was written and produced. "A Thousand Plateaus" has been described as dealing with their ideas of the rhizome, as well as the body without organs, the plane of immanence, abstract machines, becoming, lines of flight, assemblages, smooth and striated space, state apparatuses, faciality, performativity in language, binary branching structures in language, deterritorialization and reterritorialization, arborescence, pragmatics, strata, stratification and destratification, the war machine, the signified, signifier and sign, and coding/recoding.


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: In the plateaus (chapters) of the book, they discuss psychoanalysts (Freud, Jung, Lacan—who trained Guattari, and Melanie Klein), composers (Chopin, Debussy, Mozart, Pierre Boulez, and Olivier Messiaen), artists (Klee, Kandinsky, and Pollock), philosophers (Husserl, Foucault, Bergson, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and Gilbert Simondon), historians (Ibn Khaldun, Georges Dumézil, and Fernand Braudel), and linguists (Chomsky, Labov, Benveniste, Guillaume, Austin, Hjelmslev, and Voloshinov). Deleuze and Guattari highly favor and criticize these figures, sometimes overlapping or "plugging" their statements, works, research, studies and fragments "into each other".


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: The book starts with an introduction titled "Rhizome" that explains rhizomatic philosophy (addressing not just the book itself but all books as rhizomes), and ends with a conclusion, "Concrete Rules and Abstract Machines", that fully elaborates on and intertwines all of the major concepts in the book, as well as "Anti-Oedipus", with a numbering system representing plateaus. In between are thirteen chapters, each dated non-linearly, sometimes precisely ("November 28, 1947: How Do You Make Yourself a Body Without Organs?"), sometimes less so ("10,000 B.C.: The Geology of Morals (Who Does the Earth Think It Is?)"). In the sixth chapter, "Year Zero: Faciality" ("visagéité"), the notion of face is discussed as an "overcoding" of body, but also as being in dialectical tension with landscape ("paysagéité"). Faciality, the essence of the face, is ultimately a dominating and dangerously compelling trait of bodies, and Deleuze and Guattari remark that the face "is a whole body unto itself: it is like the body of the center of significance to which all of the deterritorialized signs affix themselves, and it marks the limit of their deterritorialization."


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: Like "Anti-Oedipus", Deleuze and Guattari evaluate and criticize psychoanalysis: in the first two chapters, they discuss the work of Sigmund Freud, especially referring to the case histories of the Wolf Man and Little Hans. Their schizoanalysis of Freud's cases refuses the Oedipalization they were previously given, and aims to exercise the content of their fantasies instead; "Look at what happened to Little Hans already [...] they kept on breaking his rhizome and blotching his map, setting it straight for him, blocking his every way out, until he began to desire his own shame and guilt, until they had rooted shame and guilt in him". In particular, focusing on child psychoanalysis, they remark that "children are Spinozists." Meanwhile, owing to their mode of literary analysis, "A Thousand Plateaus" also frequently discusses novels. In "1874: Three Novellas, or "What Happened?"", they discuss Henry James' "In the Cage" (1898) and "The Story of the Abyss and the Spyglass" by Pierrette Fleutiaux, but they also evoke F. Scott Fitzgerald's essay "The Crack-Up" (1945) (which Deleuze previously discussed in "The Logic of Sense"), because his depression and frustration in the essay is dramatized, and Deleuze's idea of the crack constitutes a narrativized breakdown. The works of Franz Kafka, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, Henry Miller, D. H. Lawrence, Carlos Castaneda, H. P. Lovecraft, Herman Melville and Chrétien de Troyes are also discussed, often in conjunction with the rhizome, becoming, faciality, and the regimes of signs.


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: "A Thousand Plateaus" has been considered a major statement of post-structuralism and postmodernism. Mark Poster writes that the work "contains promising elaborations of a postmodern theory of the social and political." Writing in the foreword to his translation, Massumi comments that the work "is less a critique than a positive exercise in the affirmative 'nomad' thought called for in "Anti-Oedipus"." Massumi contrasts "nomad thought" with the "state philosophy... that has characterized Western metaphysics since Plato".


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: Deleuze critic Eugene Holland suggests that the work complicates the slogans and oppositions developed in its predecessor. Whereas "Anti-Oedipus" created binaries such as molar/molecular, paranoid/schizophrenic, and deterritorialization/reterritorialization, "A Thousand Plateaus" shows how such distinctions are operations on the surface of a deeper field with more complicated and multidimensional dynamics. In so doing, the book is less engaged with history than with topics like biology and geology. Massumi writes that "A Thousand Plateaus" differs drastically in tone, content, and composition from "Anti-Oedipus". In his view, the schizoanalysis the authors practice is not so much a study of their "pathological condition", but a "positive process" that involves "inventive connection".


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: Bill Readings appropriates the term "singularity" from "A Thousand Plateaus", "to indicate that there is no longer a subject-position available to function as the site of the conscious synthesis of sense-impressions." The sociologist Nikolas Rose writes that Deleuze and Guattari articulate "the most radical alternative to the conventional image of subjectivity as coherent, enduring, and individualized".


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: In 1997, the physicists Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont asserted that the book contains many passages in which Deleuze and Guattari use "pseudo-scientific language". Writing about this "science wars critique," Daniel Smith and John Protevi contend that "much of their chapter on Deleuze consists of exasperated exclamations of incomprehension." Similarly, in a 2015 interview, British philosopher Roger Scruton characterized "A Thousand Plateaus" as "[a] huge, totally unreadable tome by somebody who can't write French." At the beginning of a short essay on postmodernism, Jean-François Lyotard lists examples of what he describes as a desire "to put an end to experimentation", including a displeased reaction to "A Thousand Plateaus" that he had read in a weekly literary magazine, which said that readers of philosophy "expect [...] to be "gratified with a little sense". Behind this "slackening" desire to constrain language use, Lyotard identifies a "desire for a return to terror."


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: Gaming and electronic literature expert Espen Aarseth draws parallels between Deleuze and Guattari's idea of the rhizome and semiotician Umberto Eco's idea of the net.


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: Christopher Miller criticizes Deleuze and Guattari's use of "second-hand" anthropological sources without providing the reader with contextualization of the colonialist "mission" that led to their writing. Timothy Laurie says that this claim is inaccurate, but that Deleuze & Guattari should extend that same "rigor" to uncovering the political and economic entanglements which contextualize academic philosophy.


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: "A Thousand Plateaus" was an influence on the political philosophers Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri's book "Empire" (2000).


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: The sociologist John Urry sees Deleuze and Guattari's metaphor of the nomad as having "infected contemporary social thought."


title: A Thousand Plateaus

text: The philosopher Manuel DeLanda, in "A New Philosophy of Society" (2006), adopts Deleuze's theory of assemblages, taken from "A Thousand Plateaus".


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra (literally "shed of 2½ days") is a historical mosque in the city of Ajmer in Rajasthan, India. It is one of the oldest mosques in India, and the oldest surviving monument in Ajmer.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: Commissioned by Qutb-ud-Din-Aibak in 1192 CE and designed by Abu Bakr of Herat, the mosque is an example of early Indo-Islamic architecture. The structure was completed in 1199 CE and was further enhanced by Iltutmish of Delhi in 1213 CE. An early example of the Indo-Islamic architecture, most of the building was constructed by Hindu masons, under the supervision of Afghan managers. The mosque retained most of the original Indian features, especially on the ornate pillars.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The structure was used as a mosque up to 1947. After the independence of India, the structure was turned over to the Jaipur circle of ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) and is today visited by people of all religions, as a fine example of a mix of Indian, Hindu, Muslim and Jain architectures.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: "Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra" literally means "shed of two-and-a-half days". Alternative transliterations and names include "Arhai Din ka Jhompra" or "Dhai Din ki Masjid". A legend states that a part of the mosque was built in two-and-a-half days (see #Conversion into a mosque below). Some Sufis claim that the name signifies a human's temporary life on the earth.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: According to the ASI, the name probably comes from a two-and-a-half-day-long fair that used to be held at the site. Indian academic Har Bilas Sarda points out that the name "Adhai-Din-ka-Jhonpra" is not mentioned in any historical source. Before the 18th century, the mosque was simply known as a "Masjid" ("mosque"), since it had been the only mosque in Ajmer for centuries. It came to be known as a "jhonpra" ("shed" or "hut") when fakirs started gathering here to celebrate urs (death anniversary fair) of their leader Panjaba Shah. This happened during the Maratha era, in the second half of the 18th century. The "urs" lasted for two-and-a-half days, resulting in the modern name of the mosque.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The site of the mosque originally had another structure. According to Jain tradition, this structure was constructed by Seth Viramdeva Kala in 660 CE as a Jain shrine to celebrate Panch Kalyanaka. Epigraphic evidence suggests that the site had a Sanskrit college building commissioned by Vigraharaja IV (alias Visaladeva), a king of the Shakambhari Chahamana (Chauhan) dynasty. The original building was square-shaped, with a tower-chhatri (dome-shaped pavilion) at each corner. A temple dedicated to Sarasvati was located on the western side. A tablet dated to 1153 CE was found at the site in the 19th century; based on this, it can be inferred that the original building must have been constructed sometime before 1153 CE.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The relics in the modern building show both Hindu and Jain features. According to KDL Khan, the building materials were taken from Hindu and Jain temples. According to Caterina Mercone Maxwell and Marijke Rijsberman, the Sanskrit college was a Jain institution, and the building materials were taken from Hindu temples. ASI Director-General Alexander Cunningham hypothesized that the pillars used in the building were probably taken from 20–30 demolished Hindu temples, which featured at least 700 pillars in total. Based on the pillar inscriptions, he concluded that these original temples dated to 11th or 12th century CE. Alexander Cunningham further attributed Lieutenant-Colonel of the British empire James Tod, who had visited the mosque, in the report. Tod had said that the whole building could have been originally a Jain Temple.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The original building was partially destroyed and converted into a mosque by Qutb-ud-Din-Aibak of Delhi in the late 12th century. According to a local legend, after defeating Vigraharaja's nephew Prithviraja III in the Second Battle of Tarain, Muhammad of Ghor passed through Ajmer. There, he saw the magnificent temples, and ordered his slave general Qutb-ud-Din-Aibak to destroy them, and construct a mosque – all within 60 hours (that is, days). The artisans could not build a complete mosque in 60 hours time, but constructed a brick screen wall where Ghori could offer prayers. By the end of the century, a complete mosque was built.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The central mihrab in the mosque contains an inscription indicating the completion date of the mosque. It is dated Jumada II 595 AH (April 1199 CE). This makes the mosque one of the oldest in India, and the second mosque to be built by the Mamluks of Delhi (the first being the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque). Another inscription, dated Dhu al-Hijjah 596 AH (September–October 1200 CE), names Abu Bakr ibn Ahmed Khalu Al-Hirawi as the supervisor of construction. This makes Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra one of the oldest mosques in India, and the oldest surviving monument in Ajmer.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: Iltutmish, the successor of Qutb-ud-Din-Aibak, subsequently beautified the mosque in 1213 CE, with a screen wall pierced by corbelled engrailed arches — a first in India. An inscription on the central arch of the screen as well as two inscriptions of the northern minaret contain his name. The second arch from the south names one Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Arid as the construction supervisor.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The mosque seems to have been ignored by the later kings. It does not find a mention in "Taj-ul-Maasir", the earliest history of the Mamluk dynasty. It is not mentioned in Khalji, Tughlaq Lodi and Mughal chronicles either. The Maratha leader Daulat Rao Sindhia (1779–1827) restored the central dome of the building and imposed a ban on the removal of stones from the structure. An inscription dated Saavan 1866 VS (1809 CE) exhorts Hindus and Muslims not to remove stones from the ancient building.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: In 1818, Ajmer came under the Company rule. James Tod visited the mosque in 1819, and described it in his "Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan" as "one of the most perfect as well as the most ancient monuments of Hindu architecture." Subsequently, Alexander Cunningham, the Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) inspected the building in 1864, and described it in the ASI report of that year. Tod believed the earlier structure to be a Jain temple. However, Cunningham pointed out that this could not be correct, since the pillars in the building feature several four-armed figures (characteristic of Hindu gods) besides a figure of the Hindu goddess Kali.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: During an 1875–76 archaeological survey, inscriptions referring to a Sanskrit college were unearthed in the mosque premises. Several sculptures and 6 Devanagari basalt tablets (slabs) were recovered from the site. These artifacts are now exhibited at the Ajmer Museum. The tablets are as follows:


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The tablets containing the plays were engraved by Bhaskar, son of Mahipati and grandson of Govinda, hailing from a family of Huna chiefs.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: Another Devanagari inscription is located on a marble pillar in the balcony of an entrance gate. It records the visit of Dharma, a mason of Bundi in the Jyeshtha 1462 VS (1405 CE), during the reign of Rana Mokal.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: During the tenure of Viceroy Lord Mayo, between 1875 and 1878 CE, repairs to the structure were carried out at a cost of 23,128. Another restoration, costing 7,538 was carried out in 1900–1903, under the supervision of Ajmer-Merwara commissioner ALP Tucker. ASI archaeologists Alexander Cunningham and D. R. Bhandarkar carried out a restoration of the building in the first half of the 20th century. Cunningham remarked that no other building of historical or archaeological importance in India was more worthy of preservation.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The mosque is among the earliest examples of the Indo-Islamic architecture. It was designed by Abu Bakr of Herat, an architect who accompanied by Muhammad Ghori. The mosque was built almost entirely by Hindu masons, under the supervision of Afghan managers.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The mosque is much larger than the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque of Delhi. The exterior of the building is square-shaped, with each side measuring 259 feet. There are two entrances, one at the south, and another at the east. The prayer area (the actual mosque) is located in the west, while the north side faces a hill rock. The actual mosque building on the western side has 10 domes and 124 pillars; there are 92 pillars on the eastern side; and 64 pillars on each of the remaining sides. Thus, there are 344 pillars in the entire building. Out of these, only 70 pillars remain standing now. It has a square dimension measuring . The tall and slender pillars are not overcrowded and the ones in the courtyard are symmetrically placed. The sanctuary measures by . The "mihrab" is built with white marbles. It is believed that Iltumish added the seven arch screens by 1230, which is considered to be an architecturally most notable feature of the mosque. The large central arch is accompanied by two small fluted minarets.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The front facade of the structure features a huge screen with yellow limestone arches, built during the reign of Iltutmish. The main arch is nearly 60 feet high and is flanked by six smaller arches. The arches have small rectangular panels for passage of daylight, similar to the ones found in early Arabian mosques. The archway features Kufic and Tughra inscriptions and quotations from the Koran, and is reminiscent of Islamic architecture from Ghazni and Turkistan. Some of the carvings feature Arabesque floral and foliate patterns; their geometric symmetry is reminiscent of Persian tilework. Their filigree sets them apart from Hindu-style carvings in the same building. The Hindu patterns are similar to the ones seen in the 10th-century structures at Nagda and the 11th century Sas-Bahu Temple at Gwalior. The 19th century American traveler John Fletcher Hurst described the screen as "a gem of great renown throughout the Mohammedan world."


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The interior of the building is a quadrangle measuring 200 × 175 feet. It comprises the main hall (248 × 40 feet) supported by cloisters of pillars. The pillars feature varying designs and are heavily decorated, similar to the ones in Hindu and Jain rock temples. They have large bases and taper as they rise in height. According to K.D.L. Khan, the pillars and roofs are from the pre-Islamic structure, but the original carvings were destroyed by Muslims. Michael W. Meister believes that some of the pillars were newly created by Hindu masons for their Muslim masters; these were combined with the older, plundered pillars (whose images were defaced). Similarly, he states that the ceilings combine newer and older work by Hindu workers.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: The muazzin's towers are located in two small minarets (10.5 in diameter). These minarets are located at the top of an 11.5 feet thick screen wall. The minarets are now ruined, but their remnants show that they were sloping hollow towers with 24 alternately angular and circular flutes, just like the ones in the Qutb Minar of Delhi.


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: Alexander Cunningham praised the architecture of Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra and Quwwat-ul-Islam mosques in the following words:


title: Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra

text: Today, the site is visited by people of all religions, as a fine example of a mix of Indian, Hindu, Muslim and Jain architectures.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide range of transport links. According to the 2011 Census, the town has a total population of 22,834. The town itself consists mostly of affluent suburban streets, with a historic town centre of Celtic origin. It is one of the largest towns in the Elmbridge borough, alongside Weybridge.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The name "Walton" is Anglo-Saxon in origin and is cognate with the common phonetic combination meaning "Briton settlement" (literally, "Welsh Town" – weal(as) tun). Before the Romans and the Saxons were present, a Celtic settlement was here. The most common Old English word for the Celtic inhabitants was the "Wealas", originally meaning "foreigners" or "strangers". William Camden identified Cowey Stakes or Sale, Walton as the place where Julius Caesar forded the River Thames on his second invasion of Britain. A fisherman removed several wooden stakes about thigh-width and high that were very black and hard enough to turn an axe, and shod with iron. He sold these to John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich, who used to come to the neighbouring Shepperton bank to fish, for half a guinea apiece. Elmbridge Museum requires definitive evidence of these stakes, the evidence at present limited to pre 20th-century secondary sources that conflict as to detail.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton lay within the Anglo-Saxon district of Elmbridge hundred, in the shire (later county) of Surrey.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton appears in the "Domesday Book" of 1086 as "Waletona". The settlement was held jointly as overlords in the feudal system by Edward de Sarisber (Salisbury) and Richard de Tonbrige. Its "Domesday" assets were: 6 hides; 1 church (St. Mary's), 2 mills worth £1 5s 0d, 1 fishery worth 5s, 14 ploughs, of meadow, supporting 50 hogs. It rendered £28.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The nucleus of the village is in the north, while later development took place in the southern manors on all sides of the railway station. About half of the land was south of the South Western Main Line. This included, from west to east, Walton Heath, Burwood manor and Hersham manor; these together became the civil parish of Hersham in the 19th century. On a smaller scale, the majority of Oatlands village, to the south-west, formed part of the town. St. Mary's Parish Church has some Saxon material and an architectural structure of the 12th century, with later additions. The square flint tower, supported by a 19th-century brick buttress, has a working ring of eight bells, the oldest bearing the date 1606. In the north aisle is a large monument (1755) by the French rococo sculptor and bust maker Roubiliac to Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, commander-in-chief in Ireland, who lived at the former manor and house of Ashley Park in the parish; this was demolished and its many acres subdivided in 1920. Also in the north aisle is a brass to John Selwyn (1587), keeper of Oatlands Park, with figures of himself, his wife and eleven children. An unusual relic kept in the church is a copy of a scold's bridle presented to the parish in the 17th century, which is mentioned in Jerome K. Jerome's classic "Three Men in a Boat". The royal palace of Oatlands, built by Henry VIII in 1538, was a mile upstream to the west.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: John Bradshaw lived in the Tudor manor house in the 17th century. He presided at Charles I's trial. Under the Inclosure Act 1800 there were enclosed (privatised from common land or manorial land subjected to agrarian rights of others) of the Walton manors, which included holdings at Chertsey and of arable common fields.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: A School Board was formed in 1878. A previously existing school was enlarged in 1881. The infant school was built in 1884. The Methodist Church, with a spire taller than the tower of the Anglican Church, was built in 1887. The Baptist Church was built in 1901.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: A Public Hall, in High Street, was built in 1879 by Mrs Sassoon, who resided at Ashley Park House. This is still in existence and is visible behind the present shopfront. Ashley Park Golf Club was laid out in the 1890s, but ceased to exist prior to 1918.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: During World War I, troops from New Zealand were hospitalised in the No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital at Mount Felix House, which is now demolished except for its stable block and clock tower. They are remembered by a memorial in the cemetery, where those who died at Mount Felix are buried, and one in St Mary's Church where an annual service of remembrance is held. They are also remembered in the street name New Zealand Avenue, the Wellington Pub (formerly The Kiwi), and a small memorial in the Homebase car park.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton upon Thames Urban District merged with Weybridge Urban District to form Walton and Weybridge Urban District in 1933.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: In World War II, owing largely to the proximity of important aircraft factories at nearby Brooklands, the town was bombed on various occasions by the Luftwaffe. On 27 September 1940, fighter pilot F/Sgt. Charles Sydney, who was based with 92 Squadron at RAF Biggin Hill, died when his Spitfire (R6767) crashed in Station Avenue. He was buried in Orpington and was commemorated by a memorial plaque adjacent to the former Birds Eye HQ close to the crash site although this has recently disappeared with current major redevelopment of the Birds Eye site with new apartments. Hopefully the memorial will be re-erected and re-dedicated later.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Hersham and Walton Motors (HWM) constructed its own racing car in the early 1950s. Stirling Moss competed in his first Formula One Grand Prix in an HWM. HWM was the world's first Aston Martin dealership that diversified into Alfa Romeo in 2009.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton Town hall, which was commissioned to serve as the offices of Weybridge Urban District Council, was designed by Sir John Brown Henson and Partners in the modernist style, featured a curved structure built from concrete with stone cladding and was completed in 1966. It became surplus to requirements and was subsequently demolished after Walton on Thames was absorbed into the Borough of Elmbridge in 1974.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The proportion of households in the town who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free).


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: For information on the 1851–1901 change in population see Transport below. In 2001 and after boundary changes the population was just over 1,500 lower at 22,834. According to the 2001 census, the population of central Walton was 5,862, with Elmbridge's population being 121,936. Central Walton had a male population of 2,791 against Elmbridge's male population of 58,867, and the female population of central Walton was 3,071 against Elmbridge's 63,069.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The GSS (ONS specifically) identifies a Built-up Area of its name generally cited for other articles of this work as to their populations e.g. Guildford, Salisbury, which has a population of 66,566 and extends to Hersham, Sunbury-on-Thames and Shepperton.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The Heart of Walton is the name given to the re-development of Walton town centre alongside the relatively short High Street. This main area of the town centre was built in the 1960s and had become run down owing to poor maintenance. The redevelopment includes a shopping mall and 279 one- and two-bedroom apartments, many with views over the private gardens, avenues and public section of Ashley Park. The main part of the centre, a covered walkway, has several brand retailers including Next, Waterstone's, River Island and Desire by Debenhams. The public library was moved here. Further redevelopment has upgraded or built new shops, widening the scope high-end fashion, jewellery, bakery and supermarkets. Restaurants along the New Zealand Avenue side of The Heart include three independents, Nando's, Pizza Express, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Wagamama. Further restaurants exist along the High Street axis and at the far north-eastern and southern parades within the town boundaries. Around the periphery automotive, construction and landscaping businesses have a large presence and the Walton station area has a number of headquarters sized office buildings, including Kia Motors. As well as this, the long-awaited redevelopment of Walton bridge finished in 2013.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton-on-Thames is served by Walton-on-Thames railway station, which provides 4 trains per hour to London Waterloo, consisting of 2 semi-fast services and 2 stopping services, with the semi-fast services taking only 25 minutes to reach the terminus. This has proven pivotal to the demographics and to the nature and degree of the town's development – in 1851 its population was 4,106 which more than quadrupled in the 60 years to 1911, when its population reached 19,142.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton has regular bus services supported by Surrey County Council to nearby towns Weybridge, Shepperton, Hersham, Molesey and Kingston-upon-Thames. A pleasure boat service runs regularly on a stretch of the river that includes a loop around Desborough Island.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Local taxis: there is taxi rank at the Walton-on-Thames Station for approximately 12 taxi cars, which is served between 6:30am and 1:00am.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Six versions of Walton Bridge have crossed the Thames, each westward, to Shepperton. Before the first bridge there was a ferry which went back at least to the early 17th century.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The first bridge, constructed between 1748 and 1750, was a timber structure that stood until 1783. Canaletto painted a picture of this bridge in 1754. The painting, which shows the rococo-style of this bridge, may be seen in the Dulwich Picture Gallery.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The second bridge was constructed in 1788 and stood until 1859. Constructed of brick and stone, it lasted much longer than its predecessor. This bridge was painted by J. M. W. Turner in 1805 following his sketching tour of the River Thames and River Wey.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: After the second bridge collapsed a ferry crossing resumed until the construction of the third bridge in 1864. This was a girder bridge on stone piers. At the same time, a brick viaduct was constructed to span the flood plain to the south of the river. The viaduct is still standing.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The third bridge was damaged during World War II in 1940, leading to a permanent weight restriction. To alleviate this a fourth temporary bridge was constructed in 1953 on the downstream side of the old bridge; this was relegated to use by cyclists and pedestrians only until finally demolished in 1985.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The fourth bridge was constructed from prefabricated sections designed by A. M. Hamilton in 1930; built by Callender Cables Ltd, it was called the Callender-Hamilton Bridge. In 1999, the fourth bridge was replaced by yet another temporary, fifth bridge occupying the line of the original bridges. This initially had several problems and had to be resurfaced a number of times causing huge traffic disruptions. The fourth bridge was restricted for use by cyclists and pedestrians only once the fifth bridge was completed.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Building a sixth bridge began in 2011 and was completed in summer 2013, being opened to traffic on 22 July. The two previous bridges were removed. The supplemental brick viaduct to the east remains for cycle and pedestrian use. The £32.4 million bridge is single span (has no piers in the river, which increases views from upstream and downstream and particularly navigation for boats – the first such bridge heading up the River Thames. This is also the only parabolic tied-arch bridge without piers across this river.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre is to the east of the town, near the Thames. The centre includes two swimming pools, an extensive gym, indoor courts and a climbing wall.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The River Thames offers extensive opportunities for water-based sports, including rowing, canoeing, kayaking, skiffing, punting and sailing. Walton Rowing Club, Thames Valley Skiff Club and St George's College, are on the river towpath between the town centre and the Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre. Weybridge Rowing Club is further upstream in Weybridge.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton Athletics Club was founded in 1942 and is based at the new Waterside Drive Athletic Arena. The club has around 200 members ranging in age from 9 years to over 60 years old. The club provides qualified coaching in all athletics disciplines and participates in a number of different leagues to provide appropriate competition for all age groups in track and field, cross country and road running.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton-on-Thames Cricket Club are based in Ashley Park with the first team captained by Daniel Roberts. They will play in the Surrey Championship Division two in 2020, having previously won Division Two in 2015 & 2018. Over the years, Walton have had a host of players who have gone on to further honours including Mark Bainbridge (Surrey CCC & England Under-19s), Stephen Murdoch (Wellington), Anthony Alleyne (West Indies Under-19s) and Greg Lamb (Hampshire CCC & Zimbabwe). The club has four Saturday league senior sides and enjoyed a successful 2015 with three of the four sides gaining promotion. The club's training is run by Brian Berthoud.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton Casuals are a football club who are currently in the Isthmian League Division One South, a level above their neighbours Walton & Hersham. Nicknamed the Stags, they play at Church Road in a ground share with Whyteleafe while developments take place at the Waterside Drive Sports Hub. They previously played at the Waterside Stadium, just off Waterside Drive and adjacent to the modern Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Centre. They are expected to move into their new home ahead of the 2017–18 season. The club play in a tangerine orange and black home kit and a blue and white away kit.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton & Hersham are a football club who are currently in the Combined Counties League Premier Division. Nicknamed the Swans, they play at the Elmbridge Xcel Sports Hub. The club play in a red and white home kit and a yellow away kit. In 1973, they won the FA Amateur Cup in its penultimate year, beating Slough Town 1–0 in front of 41,000 spectators (the third largest crowd of the day) at Wembley. Later that year, they achieved a shock 4–0 win over Brian Clough's Brighton & Hove Albion (then a Football League Third Division side) in the FA Cup.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Motor cycle racing was staged at Walton Bridge in October 1938. An event was staged on October 30 records that Walton Bridge raced a team from Hounslow at a venue described as Walton Bridge Speedway (on the programme). It is not clear if the event was a grass track meeting or a speedway meeting.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Walton-on-Thames is part of the parliamentary constituency of Esher and Walton, which is a marginal Conservative seat. The current MP is Dominic Raab.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: In local elections, recent contests for seats on Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council have been between the local Conservatives and the local Residents Association, the Walton Society.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The Walton Society was founded in 1975 by the writer and intellectual Ronald Segal, and entered local politics in 1980 with Gordon Chubb who served until his death in 2006. At one point there were nine Society councillors in all four Walton wards during the period of Residents Groups' control of Elmbridge from the 1990s to 2006. Following the 2012 elections, the Society holds all three Walton Central seats, with the Conservatives holding all eight seats in the Ambleside, North and South wards. Walton's most recent Labour councillor was defeated in 2000.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: From 2005 to 2013 the Walton division of Surrey County Council was held by the Walton Society's Tom Phelps-Penry. Upon his retirement at the 2013 elections, the seat was gained by Conservative Rachael Lake who had previously held the seat from 1997 to 2005. The Walton South & Oatlands division has been Conservative held since it was created in 1973.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: In 1909, composer Jerome Kern took a boat trip on the Thames with some friends and when the boat stopped at Walton, Kern went to the old inn, the Swan, to have a drink. The proprietor's daughter, Eva Leale, was working behind the bar and on 25 October 1910, the two were married at the traditional parish church.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Some of the sketches for Monty Python were filmed in Walton. Walton Town Hall could be seen in one sketch. Another sketch shows an Admiral Nelson dummy being thrown from one of the flats in Wellington Close.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Location scenes for the cinema film "Psychomania" (1973) were shot in Walton, including the town's centre.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: ITV sitcom "Is It Legal?" was shot in Walton. "The Adventures of Robin Hood" was filmed at Nettlefold Studios in Walton.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: "Find the Lady" (1956 film) was filmed in Walton. A restaurant called The Hovel appears in some scenes. Though now gone the sign for the restaurant is available as a poster and jigsaw puzzle.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: The Walton Hop was a teen disco started by Deniz Corday in 1958, and ran until 1990. It is reputed to have been the first public disco in the UK, enjoyed by thousands from surrounding areas. Musician Luke Haines, born in Walton, released a record titled "The Walton Hop" in 2006. During the 1970s and 1980s, it was frequented by now-convicted child sex offenders such as former Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning, Tam Paton (manager of the Bay City Rollers) and Jonathan King.


title: Walton-on-Thames

text: Amanda "Milly" Dowler, a murder victim, was born in Walton in June 1988 and was still living there when last seen alive on 21 March 2002. Her body was found away in Hampshire six months later.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: The second city of the United Kingdom is an unofficial claim made at various times by several cities since the establishment of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 (the United Kingdom was formed in January 1801). Commonly a country's "second city" is the city that is thought to be the second-most important, according to criteria such as population size, economic importance and cultural contribution. The UK adheres to the primate city rule, meaning that its largest city is disproportionately larger than all the others. London, the UK's capital, is by far its largest city, with the UK's other major cities generally more like each other in population and economy than any one of them is to London. As the title is unofficial and there is no agreed set of criteria, the 'second city' debate is ultimately a subjective one.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: No one city has consistently held claim to the 'second city' title over the course of British history. In the middle ages, Norwich was the second-largest city in England, being gradually superseded by Bristol from the seventeenth century onwards. During the latter half of the Georgian era ( 1750–1830), Dublin was widely considered to be the second city of the British Empire, although by the turn of the 20th century the city had been eclipsed by several rapidly industrialising cities in Britain. This included Glasgow, which by Victorian times was sometimes described as the second city of the Empire.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: Today, Birmingham is typically described as the UK's second city. In recent decades, Manchester has come to be regarded as a contender for the title.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: There are alternative claims for Edinburgh, by virtue of being the capital of Scotland, and for Cardiff and Belfast due to their status as the respective capital cities of Wales and Northern Ireland.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: The title Second City of the Empire or Second City of the British Empire was claimed by a number of cities in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Commercial trading city Liverpool was regarded as holding this title with its massive port, merchant fleet and world-wide trading links. Liverpool was constantly referred to as the New York of Europe. Others included Dublin, Glasgow (which continues to use the title as a marketing slogan), and (outside the UK) Kolkata and Philadelphia.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: Prior to the union with Scotland in 1707, from the English Civil War until the 18th century, Norwich was the second-largest city of the Kingdom of England, being a major trading centre, Britain's richest provincial city and county town of Norfolk, at that time the most populous county of England. Bristol was the second-wealthiest city in England in the 16th century; and by the 18th century, Bristol was often described as the second city of England. During the 19th century, claims were made for Manchester, Liverpool and York. York had also been named as the second city in earlier centuries, by virtue of its prominence in Roman times as the northern capital, Eboracum, of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: By the early 19th century, Glasgow was frequently referred to as the second city; and during much of the 20th century it had a population of over one million, larger than that of Birmingham until the 1951 census. For example, the Official Census population for Glasgow was 0.784 million in April 1911; 1.034 million in April 1921; 1.088 million in April 1931 and 1.090 million in April 1951. However, slum clearance in the 1960s led to displacement of residents from the city centre to new communities located outside the city boundaries. This, together with local government reorganisation, resulted in the official population of Glasgow falling sharply. The Glasgow City Council area currently has a population of 600,000 although the surrounding conurbation of Greater Glasgow has a population of 1,199,629. In contrast, the population of the city of Birmingham has remained steady around the one million mark; its central population fell like Glasgow's, but the city boundaries were extended several times in the early 20th century. Occasional claims were made for Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: Birmingham has generally been considered to be the second city of the United Kingdom since the time of World War I. However, in recent years Manchester has been pitched as a contender for the title.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: Birmingham is the more populous city and is recognised as such by His Majesty's Government. However, confusion surrounding the correct way to define the two cities' populations, along with the publication of outdated, inaccurate or estimated population statistics, has sometimes led to erroneous comparisons between them.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, the City of Birmingham is the most populous local government district in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million — substantially larger than the City of Manchester, which at 552,000 is only the fifth largest, behind Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow and Sheffield.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: However, municipal boundaries are problematic for comparing modern cities: many suburbs of Birmingham and Manchester fall outside city limits largely drawn up in Victorian times, and the surrounding conurbations and areas that can be considered part of each city are hard to define. Manchester is regarded as a particularly 'under-bounded' city, whose archaic boundaries no longer accurately reflect its true size. To reflect this, the City of Manchester is sometimes conflated with Greater Manchester, the metropolitan county and combined authority which includes the neighbouring City of Salford and eight other metropolitan boroughs that broadly define the conurbation. According to the 2021 census, Greater Manchester had a total population of 2.868 million. This is nonetheless marginally smaller than the equivalent metropolitan county and combined authority of the West Midlands, which comprises the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton, and four other metropolitan boroughs, with a total combined population of 2.92 million.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: There are several drawbacks to this approach. The first is the arbitrary nature of the metropolitan county boundaries, which were drawn up in the early-1970s as administrative divisions and do not necessarily reflect the present state of either conurbation. A second drawback is the implication that each county is, in itself, homogeneous, thus ignoring the sensitivities of the distinct settlements which fall within the boundaries of the county but may not identify strongly with its principal city, for example the Black Country in the West Midlands, or Bolton in Greater Manchester. Relatedly, a third drawback is in the names of the counties themselves: Manchester has been able to leverage the name of its metropolitan county to build a cohesive "place brand", whereas Birmingham's comparative sphere of influence tends to be hidden within the West Midlands moniker.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: In an attempt to circumvent the first of these drawbacks, the population of each city is sometimes taken to be the contiguous built-up urban area of their respective conurbations. According to a methodology defined by the Office for National Statistics in 2011, the Greater Manchester Built-up Area's population of 2.55 million is marginally bigger than that of the West Midlands conurbation, at 2.44 million. This disparity is explained by the area of green belt known as the Meriden Gap, which separates the City of Coventry from the rest of the West Midlands built-up area. However, these statistics must also be treated with caution, firstly because they are based on ONS data from the 2011 census, which is now outdated, and secondly because the ONS tends to alter its methodology from one census to the next, meaning the urban fabric of each conurbation has the potential to be redefined when data from the 2021 census is published sometime in 2023. Furthermore, this methodology does not address the aforementioned issues associated with homogeneity or place branding.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: An alternative methodology, based around the concept of primary urban areas, is used by Centre for Cities to publish urban policy research. Primary urban areas are intended to allow economic and social comparisons between cities, using definitions less arbitrary than the administrative boundaries of local authorities, but avoiding some of the issues associated with agglomerating distinct urban settlements into single cities. According to the Centre for Cities Data Tool, Birmingham's population in 2020 was 2.56 million, marginally ahead of Manchester's 2.52 million.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: At other times, the wider metropolitan areas of the two cities are considered. Compared directly, the Birmingham Metropolitan Area is comfortably the larger of the two, with an estimated 2021 population of 4.34 million as opposed to Manchester's 3.1 million. This reflects the extensive hinterland surrounding the West Midlands conurbation, which encompasses commuter towns including Nuneaton, Warwick, Royal Leamington Spa, Redditch, Bromsgrove and Tamworth. These figures are projected from data taken for the EU’s ESPON project in 2001 and are unlikely to be accurate, although they do provide a reasonable comparison of the respective metro regions and add weight to the generally accepted claim that Birmingham is the UK's second-largest city.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: Reporting on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in July and August 2022, ten of the twelve nationally distributed daily newspapers in the United Kingdom published articles referring to Birmingham as the "second city" of either the United Kingdom, Britain or England: "The Times", "The Daily Telegraph", "The i", "The Guardian", "The Independent", "The Daily Mirror", and "The Daily Star". The same phrasing appeared in the freesheet press, including "The Metro" and "City A.M.", regional publications including "The London Evening Standard", "The Scottish Herald", "The Northern Echo" and "The Yorkshire Post", special interest publications including "The Voice", and a number of international publications including "The New Zealand Herald", "The Times Colonist" and "The National". Publications including "The Financial Times" and "The Scotsman" have also referred to Birmingham's second city status.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: During the same period, the BBC published a "Brummies' guide to Birmingham and beyond" which contained the subheading "Something for everyone in the second city", while Sky published a legacy piece discussing the concerns of "people who live in Britain's second city". Other national broadcasters whose websites have, at different times, referred to Birmingham as the second city include ITV, and Channel 4.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: Since 2010, major international news providers including Reuters, The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg News, CNN International, Al Jazeera and The New York Times Company have all referred to Birmingham as the second city of either Britain or England, although the descriptor "second-largest city" is also frequently seen. In 2019, an article in the "New York Times" suggested both Liverpool and Manchester might lay claim to being England's "cultural" second city.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: Travel and events publications including Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and Time Out refer to Birmingham as the second city.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: As the second city is an unofficial title and one of subjective opinion, a number of polls have been conducted over the years. Despite Birmingham being viewed as the traditional second city, public polls have shown a slight preference for Manchester since 2000:


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: Although the government does not publish policy on the matter, ministers have tended to endorse Birmingham's status as the country's second city.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: A notable exception was John Prescott, former Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Kingston upon Hull East, who concluded a conference speech in Manchester in 2007 with the words "...Manchester – our second city", although this was later played down by his department, claiming they were made in a "light-hearted context". Prescott had previously declared Birmingham the second city while on a visit to the newly built Bullring Shopping Centre in 2003.


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: At different times, MPs representing constituencies in Manchester and Glasgow have spoken out in support of their respective cities' claims:


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: However, in 2007, Phil Woolas MP for the constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth, Former Minister of State for the Environment, appeared to concede the second city title to Birmingham, remarking: "And, of course, I, and colleagues in Manchester, am pleased to see its very sensible plans to relocate to Manchester – Britain's third city."


title: Second city of the United Kingdom

text: Most recently, MP for Solihull, Julian Knight conceded that people see Manchester as England's second city but argued that "Birmingham is bigger, more diverse and frankly a more interesting place to be." He suggested that the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games would cement Birmingham's place as England's second city.


title: Voyage of Time

text: Voyage of Time is a 2016 American IMAX documentary film written and directed by Terrence Malick. The film is said to be an examination of the birth and death of the known universe. Malick had been working on the film for over forty years and it has been described by Malick himself as "one of my greatest dreams".


title: Voyage of Time

text: "Voyage of Time" was released in two versions: a forty-minute IMAX version with narration by Brad Pitt, and a 35-millimetre feature-length edition (also known as Voyage of Time: Life's Journey) narrated by Cate Blanchett. The feature-length edition was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival. The IMAX version of the film was released on October 7, 2016, by IMAX Corporation and Broad Green Pictures.


title: Voyage of Time

text: "Voyage of Time" is a celebration of the universe, displaying the whole of time, from its start to its final collapse. This film examines all that occurred to prepare the world that stands before us now: science and spirit, birth and death, the grand cosmos and the minute life systems of our planet.


title: Voyage of Time

text: The origins of "Voyage of Time" stem back to the late 1970s when Malick began developing a project for Paramount, titled "Q", that explored the origins of life on earth. Production began with Paramount Pictures backing the film with $1 million. Malick ended up walking away from the project, though elements and footage from "Q" were later used for "The Tree of Life" (2011), and "Voyage of Time." Brad Pitt was confirmed to narrate the film in 2009, while Cate Blanchett joined in 2014. Emma Thompson also joined in 2011 and recorded narration, but she was ultimately cut from the finished production.


title: Voyage of Time

text: Filming for "Voyage of Time" has been undertaken all over the world. At the Cannes Film Festival market screening of "Voyage of Time" in 2014, Malick and his producers showed footage shot in locations such as Southwestern U.S, Hawaii, Iceland, Monterey, Chile, Palau, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and elsewhere.


title: Voyage of Time

text: Dan Glass ("The Matrix" trilogy) is said to be the special effects supervisor on the film, with Douglas Trumbull ("", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Blade Runner") as his consultant.


title: Voyage of Time

text: In July 2013, the film was the subject of a lawsuit, after backers of the film, Seven Seas, sued Sycamore Pictures, claiming that "Malick did little or no work on what is supposed to be a trio of projects", and that Malick was only allowed to work on other projects if it didn't interfere with the documentary, despite beginning work on "The Tree of Life", "To the Wonder", "Knight of Cups" and "Song to Song" during the production stage of "Voyage of Time". Seven Seas further claimed that “Sycamore [Pictures] has blown through nearly $6 million over the last six years on this project with nothing to show for it... Our contract specified that funds were to be used exclusively for "Voyage of Time" but we believe some were redirected to other films Malick was producing during that period, in flagrant disregard for our agreement.”


title: Voyage of Time

text: In September 2013, Malick's lawyer commented on the matter stating: "The claims of Seven Seas are without merit. The film was on budget, on schedule, and all funds were used appropriately." They have now followed up with their own filing, which alleges that Seven Seas "concocted the story told in its Complaint" as it "either ran out of, or never had, the funds necessary to meet its financing obligations". In February 2014, a deal was made to pay the film back in nine months.


title: Voyage of Time

text: In February 2015, Broad Green Pictures acquired distribution rights to the film. The feature-length version of the film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film was released on IMAX on October 7, 2016.


title: Voyage of Time

text: The IMAX version of the film holds a 77 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 11 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 90% based on 30 reviews.


title: Voyage of Time

text: In "The New York Times", A. O. Scott called it a "fusion of digital imagery and photographic imagination that seems at once utterly natural and completely impossible."


title: Voyage of Time

text: The feature-length version holds a 68/100 on Metacritic, based on 10 reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 67% approval rating, based on 24 reviews.


title: Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon

text: Henry George Alfred Marius Victor Francis Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon (7 November 1898 – 22 September 1987), was a British peer. He was the son of George, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, and Almina Wombwell.


title: Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon

text: Styled Lord Porchester from birth, he described in his memoirs an unloving upbringing by his parents, spending much of his time with his grandmother Marie "Mina" Wombwell (). He was educated at Ludgrove School, Eton and Sandhurst. During the First World War he served with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars in India and Mesopotamia, remaining in the army after the war.


title: Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon

text: He inherited the Earldom of Carnarvon in April 1923 on the death of his father – who had funded archaeologist Howard Carter's search for the tomb of Tutankhamun. The new earl's view of the suggested 'Curse of Tutankhamun' was that "however sceptical I might have been, I could not dismiss the matter out of hand", claiming that the moment his father died on 5 April in Egypt, the family dog howled and died a sympathetic death at Highclere Castle, the family seat. On becoming Earl, he took on responsibility for the upkeep of Highclere Castle and its 4,000 acre estate. His mother remarried only eight months after the death of her first husband.


title: Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon

text: In March 1940, Lord Carnarvon re-joined the 7th Hussars as a lieutenant. During the War he held a number of staff positions in England, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1948 he was awarded the US Bronze Star Medal.


title: Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon

text: While Lord Carnarvon's pursuits included fox hunting, grouse shooting, and polo, his foremost interest was horse racing. He declared that "racing and breeding is a way of life and I expect I shall continue to the end of my days." He had owned racehorses continuously since the age of 15. He also owned and ran the Highclere Stud, established by his father, which bred many winners, including the 1930 Epsom Derby winner Blenheim. He regularly rode as an amateur rider on the flat. His son, the 7th Earl, having inherited the family love of horses and their breeding, became Queen Elizabeth II's racing manager.


title: Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon

text: Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon married Anne "Catherine" Tredick Wendell, of New York City, on 17 July 1922 at St Margaret's, Westminster. The daughter of actor Jacob Wendell and sister of Philippa Stewart, Countess of Galloway, they divorced in 1936 after having had two children:


title: Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon

text: Following his divorce from Catherine, Lord Carnarvon married Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine Losch, an Austrian dancer with the stage name Tilly Losch, on 1 September 1939. They divorced in 1947.


title: Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon

text: On his death on 22 September 1987 aged 88, he was succeeded by his son, Henry George Reginald Molyneux Herbert, 7th Earl of Carnarvon.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Groundwater pollution (also called groundwater contamination) occurs when pollutants are released to the ground and make their way into groundwater. This type of water pollution can also occur naturally due to the presence of a minor and unwanted constituent, contaminant, or impurity in the groundwater, in which case it is more likely referred to as contamination rather than pollution. Groundwater pollution can occur from on-site sanitation systems, landfill leachate, effluent from wastewater treatment plants, leaking sewers, petrol filling stations, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) or from over application of fertilizers in agriculture. Pollution (or contamination) can also occur from naturally occurring contaminants, such as arsenic or fluoride. Using polluted groundwater causes hazards to public health through poisoning or the spread of disease (water-borne diseases).


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The pollutant often creates a contaminant plume within an aquifer. Movement of water and dispersion within the aquifer spreads the pollutant over a wider area. Its advancing boundary, often called a plume edge, can intersect with groundwater wells and surface water, such as seeps and springs, making the water supplies unsafe for humans and wildlife. The movement of the plume, called a plume front, may be analyzed through a hydrological transport model or groundwater model. Analysis of groundwater pollution may focus on soil characteristics and site geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, and the nature of the contaminants. Different mechanisms have influence on the transport of pollutants, e.g. diffusion, adsorption, precipitation, decay, in the groundwater.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The interaction of groundwater contamination with surface waters is analyzed by use of hydrology transport models. Interactions between groundwater and surface water are complex. For example, many rivers and lakes are fed by groundwater. This means that damage to groundwater aquifers e.g. by fracking or over abstraction, could therefore affect the rivers and lakes that rely on it. Saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers is an example of such interactions. Prevention methods include: applying the precautionary principle, groundwater quality monitoring, land zoning for groundwater protection, locating on-site sanitation systems correctly and applying legislation. When pollution has occurred, management approaches include point-of-use water treatment, groundwater remediation, or as a last resort, abandonment.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Contaminants found in groundwater cover a broad range of physical, inorganic chemical, organic chemical, bacteriological, and radioactive parameters. Principally, many of the same pollutants that play a role in surface water pollution may also be found in polluted groundwater, although their respective importance may differ.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Arsenic and fluoride have been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the most serious inorganic contaminants in drinking-water on a worldwide basis.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Inorganic arsenic is the most common type of arsenic in soil and water. The metalloid arsenic can occur naturally in groundwater, as seen most frequently in Asia, including in China, India and Bangladesh. In the Ganges Plain of northern India and Bangladesh severe contamination of groundwater by naturally occurring arsenic affects 25% of water wells in the shallower of two regional aquifers. Groundwater in these areas is also contaminated by the use of arsenic-based pesticides.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Arsenic in groundwater can also be present where there are mining operations or mine waste dumps that will leach arsenic.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Natural fluoride in groundwater is of growing concern as deeper groundwater is being used, "with more than 200 million people at risk of drinking water with elevated concentrations." Fluoride can especially be released from acidic volcanic rocks and dispersed volcanic ash when water hardness is low. High levels of fluoride in groundwater is a serious problem in the Argentinean Pampas, Chile, Mexico, India, Pakistan, the East African Rift, and some volcanic islands (Tenerife)


title: Groundwater pollution

text: In areas that have naturally occurring high levels of fluoride in groundwater which is used for drinking water, both dental and skeletal fluorosis can be prevalent and severe.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The lack of proper sanitation measures, as well as improperly placed wells, can lead to drinking water contaminated with pathogens carried in feces and urine. Such fecal-oral transmitted diseases include typhoid, cholera and diarrhea. Of the four pathogen types that are present in feces (bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and helminths or helminth eggs), the first three can be commonly found in polluted groundwater, whereas the relatively large helminth eggs are usually filtered out by the soil matrix.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Deep, confined aquifers are usually considered the safest source of drinking water with respect to pathogens. Pathogens from treated or untreated wastewater can contaminate certain, especially shallow, aquifers.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Nitrate is the most common chemical contaminant in the world's groundwater and aquifers. In some low-income countries, nitrate levels in groundwater are extremely high, causing significant health problems. It is also stable (it does not degrade) under high oxygen conditions.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Nitrate levels above 10 mg/L (10 ppm) in groundwater can cause "blue baby syndrome" (acquired methemoglobinemia). Drinking water quality standards in the European Union stipulate less than 50 mg/L for nitrate in drinking water.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: However, the linkages between nitrates in drinking water and blue baby syndrome have been disputed in other studies. The syndrome outbreaks might be due to other factors than elevated nitrate concentrations in drinking water.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Elevated nitrate levels in groundwater can be caused by on-site sanitation, sewage sludge disposal and agricultural activities. It can therefore have an urban or agricultural origin.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a dangerous contaminant of groundwater. They are generally introduced to the environment through careless industrial practices. Many of these compounds were not known to be harmful until the late 1960s and it was some time before regular testing of groundwater identified these substances in drinking water sources.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Primary VOC pollutants found in groundwater include aromatic hydrocarbons such as BTEX compounds ( benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes), and chlorinated solvents including tetrachloroethylene (PCE), trichloroethylene (TCE), and vinyl chloride (VC). BTEX are important components of gasoline. PCE and TCE are industrial solvents historically used in dry cleaning processes and as a metal degreaser, respectively.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Other organic pollutants present in groundwater and derived from industrial operations are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Due to its molecular weight, Naphthalene is the most soluble and mobile PAH found in groundwater, whereas benzo(a)pyrene is the most toxic one. PAHs are generally produced as byproducts by incomplete combustion of organic matter.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Organic pollutants can also be found in groundwater as insecticides and herbicides. As many other synthetic organic compounds, most pesticides have very complex molecular structures. This complexity determines the water solubility, adsorption capacity, and mobility of pesticides in the groundwater system. Thus, some types of pesticides are more mobile than others so they can more easily reach a drinking-water source.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Several trace metals occur naturally in certain rock formations and can enter in the environment from natural processes such as weathering. However, industrial activities such as mining, metallurgy, solid waste disposal, paint and enamel works, etc. can lead to elevated concentrations of toxic metals including lead, cadmium and chromium. These contaminants have the potential to make their way into groundwater.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The migration of metals (and metalloids) in groundwater will be affected by several factors, in particular by chemical reactions which determine the partitioning of contaminants among different phases and species. Thus, the mobility of metals primarily depends on the pH and redox state of groundwater.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals from treated wastewater infiltrating into the aquifer are among emerging ground-water contaminants being studied throughout the United States. Popular pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, antidepressants, decongestants,


title: Groundwater pollution

text: tranquilizers, etc. are normally found in treated wastewater. This wastewater is discharged from the treatment facility, and often makes its way into the aquifer or source of surface water used for drinking water.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in both groundwater and surface water are far below what is considered dangerous or of concern in most areas, but it could be an increasing problem as population grows and more reclaimed wastewater is utilized for municipal water supplies.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Other organic pollutants include a range of organohalides and other chemical compounds, petroleum hydrocarbons, various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic products, drug pollution involving pharmaceutical drugs and their metabolites. Inorganic pollutants might include other nutrients such as ammonia and phosphate, and radionuclides such as uranium (U) or radon (Rn) naturally present in some geological formations. Saltwater intrusion is also an example of natural contamination, but is very often intensified by human activities.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Groundwater pollution is a worldwide issue. A study of the groundwater quality of the principal aquifers of the United States conducted between 1991 and 2004, showed that 23% of domestic wells had contaminants at levels greater than human-health benchmarks. Another study suggested that the major groundwater pollution problems in Africa, considering the order of importance are: (1) nitrate pollution, (2) pathogenic agents, (3) organic pollution, (4) salinization, and (5) acid mine drainage.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The natural arsenic pollution occurs because aquifer sediments contain organic matter that generates anaerobic conditions in the aquifer. These conditions result in the microbial dissolution of iron oxides in the sediment and, thus, the release of the arsenic, normally strongly bound to iron oxides, into the water. As a consequence, arsenic-rich groundwater is often iron-rich, although secondary processes often obscure the association of dissolved arsenic and dissolved iron.. Arsenic is found in groundwater most commonly as the reduced species arsenite and the oxidized species arsenate, the acute toxicity of arsenite being somewhat greater than that of arsenate. Investigations by WHO indicated that 20% of 25,000 boreholes tested in Bangladesh had arsenic concentrations exceeding 50 μg/L.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The occurrence of fluoride is close related to the abundance and solubility of fluoride-containing minerals such as fluorite (CaF). Considerably high concentrations of fluoride in groundwater are typically caused by a lack of calcium in the aquifer. Health problems associated with dental fluorosis may occur when fluoride concentrations in groundwater exceed 1.5 mg/L, which is the WHO guideline value since 1984.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG) has recently developed the interactive Groundwater Assessment Platform (GAP), where the geogenic risk of contamination in a given area can be estimated using geological, topographical and other environmental data without having to test samples from every single groundwater resource. This tool also allows the user to produce probability risk mapping for both arsenic and fluoride.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: High concentrations of parameters like salinity, iron, manganese, uranium, radon and chromium, in groundwater, may also be of geogenic origin. This contaminants can be important locally but they are not as widespread as arsenic and fluoride.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Groundwater pollution with pathogens and nitrate can also occur from the liquids infiltrating into the ground from on-site sanitation systems such as pit latrines and septic tanks, depending on the population density and the hydrogeological conditions.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Factors controlling the fate and transport of pathogens are quite complex and the interaction among them is not well understood. If the local hydrogeological conditions (which can vary within a space of a few square kilometers) are ignored, simple on-site sanitation infrastructures such as pit latrines can cause significant public health risks via contaminated groundwater.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Liquids leach from the pit and pass the unsaturated soil zone (which is not completely filled with water). Subsequently, these liquids from the pit enter the groundwater where they may lead to groundwater pollution. This is a problem if a nearby water well is used to supply groundwater for drinking water purposes. During the passage in the soil, pathogens can die off or be adsorbed significantly, mostly depending on the travel time between the pit and the well. Most, but not all pathogens die within 50 days of travel through the subsurface.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The degree of pathogen removal strongly varies with soil type, aquifer type, distance and other environmental factors. For example, the unsaturated zone becomes “washed” during extended periods of heavy rain, providing hydraulic pathway for the quick pass of pathogens. It is difficult to estimate the safe distance between a pit latrine or a septic tank and a water source. In any case, such recommendations about the safe distance are mostly ignored by those building pit latrines. In addition, household plots are of a limited size and therefore pit latrines are often built much closer to groundwater wells than what can be regarded as safe. This results in groundwater pollution and household members falling sick when using this groundwater as a source of drinking water.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Groundwater pollution can be caused by untreated waste discharge leading to diseases like skin lesions, bloody diarrhea and dermatitis. This is more common in locations having limited wastewater treatment infrastructure, or where there are systematic failures of the on-site sewage disposal system. Along with pathogens and nutrients, untreated sewage can also have an important load of heavy metals that may seep into the groundwater system.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The treated effluent from sewage treatment plants may also reach the aquifer if the effluent is infiltrated or discharged to local surface water bodies. Therefore, those substances that are not removed in conventional sewage treatment plants may reach the groundwater as well. For example, detected concentrations of pharmaceutical residues in groundwater were in the order of 50 mg/L in several locations in Germany. This is because in conventional sewage treatment plants, micro-pollutants such as hormones, pharmaceutical residues and other micro-pollutants contained in urine and feces are only partially removed and the remainder is discharged into surface water, from where it may also reach the groundwater.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Groundwater pollution can also occur from leaking sewers which has been observed for example in Germany. This can also lead to potential cross-contamination of drinking-water supplies.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Spreading wastewater or sewage sludge in agriculture may also be included as sources of fecal contamination in groundwater.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Nitrate can also enter the groundwater via excessive use of fertilizers, including manure spreading. This is because only a fraction of the nitrogen-based fertilizers is converted to produce and other plant matter. The remainder accumulates in the soil or lost as run-off. High application rates of nitrogen-containing fertilizers combined with the high water-solubility of nitrate leads to increased runoff into surface water as well as leaching into groundwater, thereby causing groundwater pollution. The excessive use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers (be they synthetic or natural) is particularly damaging, as much of the nitrogen that is not taken up by plants is transformed into nitrate which is easily leached.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The nutrients, especially nitrates, in fertilizers can cause problems for natural habitats and for human health if they are washed off soil into watercourses or leached through soil into groundwater. The heavy use of nitrogenous fertilizers in cropping systems is the largest contributor to anthropogenic nitrogen in groundwater worldwide.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Feedlots/animal corrals can also lead to the potential leaching of nitrogen and metals to groundwater. Over application of animal manure may also result in groundwater pollution with pharmaceutical residues derived from veterinary drugs.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)and the European Commission are seriously dealing with the nitrate problem related to agricultural development, as a major water supply problem that requires appropriate management and governance.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Runoff of pesticides may leach into groundwater causing human health problems from contaminated water wells. Pesticide concentrations found in groundwater are typically low, and often the regulatory human health-based limits exceeded are also very low. The organophosphorus insecticide monocrotophos (MCP) appears to be one of a few hazardous, persistent, soluble and mobile (it does not bind with minerals in soils) pesticides able to reach a drinking-water source. In general, more pesticide compounds are being detected as groundwater quality monitoring programs have become more extensive; however, much less monitoring has been conducted in developing countries due to the high analysis costs.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: A wide variety of both inorganic and organic pollutants have been found in aquifers underlying commercial and industrial activities.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Ore mining and metal processing facilities are the primary responsible of the presence of metals in groundwater of anthropogenic origin, including arsenic. The low pH associated with acid mine drainage (AMD) contributes to the solubility of potential toxic metals that can eventually enter the groundwater system.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: There is an increasing concern over the groundwater pollution by gasoline leaked from petroleum underground storage tanks (USTs) of gas stations. BTEX compounds are the most common additives of the gasoline. BTEX compounds, including benzene, have densities lower than water (1 g/mL). Similar to the oil spills on the sea, the non-miscible phase, referred to as Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (LNAPL), will “float” upon the water table in the aquifer.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Chlorinated solvents are used in nearly any industrial practice where degreasing removers are required. PCE is a highly utilized solvent in the dry cleaning industry because of its cleaning effectiveness and relatively low cost. It has also been used for metal-degreasing operations. Because it is highly volatile, it is more frequently found in groundwater than in surface water. TCE has historically been used as a metal cleaning. The military facility Anniston Army Dept (ANAD) in the United States was placed on the EPA Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) because of groundwater contamination with as much as 27 million pounds of TCE. Both PCE and TCE may degrade to vinyl chloride (VC), the most toxic chlorinated hydrocarbon.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Many types of solvents may have also been disposed illegally, leaking over time to the groundwater system.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Chlorinated solvents such as PCE and TCE have densities higher than water and the non-miscible phase is referred to as Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPL). Once they reach the aquifer, they will "sink" and eventually accumulate on the top of low-permeability layers. Historically, wood-treating facilities have also release insecticides such as pentachlorophenol (PCP) and creosote into the environment, impacting the groundwater resources. PCP is a highly soluble and toxic obsolete pesticide recently listed in the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. PAHs and other semi-VOCs are the common contaminants associated with creosote.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: Although non-miscible, both LNAPLs and DNAPLs still have the potential to slowly dissolve into the aqueous (miscible) phase to create a plume and thus become a long-term source of contamination. DNAPLs (chlorinated solvents, heavy PAHs, creosote, PCBs) tend to be difficult to manage as they can reside very deep in the groundwater system.


title: Groundwater pollution

text: The recent growth of hydraulic fracturing ("Fracking") wells in the United States has raised concerns regarding its potential risks of contaminating groundwater resources. EPA, along with many other researchers, has been delegated to study the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water resources. While it is possible to perform hydraulic fracturing without having a relevant impact on groundwater resources if stringent controls and quality management measures are in place, there are a number of cases where groundwater pollution due to improper handling or technical failures was observed.