Etymology and study.

The singular is the Latin word for'seaweed' and retains that meaning in English. The etymology is obscure. Although some speculate that it is related to Latin, 'be cold', no reason is known to associate seaweed with temperature. A more likely source is, 'binding, entwining'.  The Ancient Greek word for'seaweed' was (), which could mean either the seaweed (probably red algae) or a red dye derived from it. The Latinization,, meant primarily the cosmetic rouge. The etymology is uncertain, but a strong candidate has long been some word related to the Biblical (), 'paint' (if not that word itself), a cosmetic eye-shadow used by the ancient Egyptians and other inhabitants of the eastern Mediterranean. It could be any color: black, red, green, or blue.  Accordingly, the modern study of marine and freshwater algae is called either phycology or algology, depending on whether the Greek or Latin root is used. The name "fucus" appears in a number of taxa.

Classification.

The committee on the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature has recommended certain suffixes for use in the classification of algae. These are -phyta for division, "-phyceae" for class, "-phycideae" for subclass, "-ales" for order, "-inales" for suborder, "-aceae" for family, "-oidease" for subfamily, a Greek-based name for genus, and a Latin-based name for species.

Algal characteristics basic to primary classification.

The primary classification of algae is based on certain morphological features. The chief among these are (a) pigment constitution of the cell, (b) chemical nature of stored food materials, (c) kind, number, point of insertion and relative length of the flagella on the motile cell, (d) chemical composition of cell wall and (e) presence or absence of a definitely organized nucleus in the cell or any other significant details of cell structure.

History of classification of algae.

Although Carolus Linnaeus (1754) included algae along with lichens in his 25th class Cryptogamia, he did not elaborate further on the classification of algae.  Jean Pierre Étienne Vaucher (1803) was perhaps the first to propose a system of classification of algae, and he recognized three groups, Conferves, Ulves, and Tremelles. While Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link (1820) classified algae on the basis of the colour of the pigment and structure, William Henry Harvey (1836) proposed a system of classification on the basis of the habitat and the pigment. J. G. Agardh (1849–1898) divided algae into six orders: Diatomaceae, Nostochineae, Confervoideae, Ulvaceae, Floriadeae and Fucoideae. Around 1880, algae along with fungi were grouped under Thallophyta, a division created by Eichler (1836). Encouraged by this, Adolf Engler and Karl A. E. Prantl (1912) proposed a revised scheme of classification of algae and included fungi in algae as they were of opinion that fungi have been derived from algae. The scheme proposed by Engler and Prantl is summarised as follows:  The algae contain chloroplasts that are similar in structure to cyanobacteria. Chloroplasts contain circular DNA like that in cyanobacteria and are interpreted as representing reduced endosymbiotic cyanobacteria. However, the exact origin of the chloroplasts is different among separate lineages of algae, reflecting their acquisition during different endosymbiotic events. The table below describes the composition of the three major groups of algae. Their lineage relationships are shown in the figure in the upper right. Many of these groups contain some members that are no longer photosynthetic. Some retain plastids, but not chloroplasts, while others have lost plastids entirely.  Phylogeny based on plastid not nucleocytoplasmic genealogy:  Linnaeus, in "Species Plantarum" (1753), the starting point for modern botanical nomenclature, recognized 14 genera of algae, of which only four are currently considered among algae. In "Systema Naturae", Linnaeus described the genera "Volvox" and "Corallina", and a species of "Acetabularia" (as "Madrepora"), among the animals.  In 1768, Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin (1744–1774) published the "Historia Fucorum", the first work dedicated to marine algae and the first book on marine biology to use the then new binomial nomenclature of Linnaeus. It included elaborate illustrations of seaweed and marine algae on folded leaves.  W.H.Harvey (1811–1866) and Lamouroux (1813) were the first to divide macroscopic algae into four divisions based on their pigmentation. This is the first use of a biochemical criterion in plant systematics. Harvey's four divisions are: red algae (Rhodospermae), brown algae (Melanospermae), green algae (Chlorospermae), and Diatomaceae.  At this time, microscopic algae were discovered and reported by a different group of workers (e.g., O. F. Müller and Ehrenberg) studying the Infusoria (microscopic organisms). Unlike macroalgae, which were clearly viewed as plants, microalgae were frequently considered animals because they are often motile. Even the nonmotile (coccoid) microalgae were sometimes merely seen as stages of the lifecycle of plants, macroalgae, or animals.  Although used as a taxonomic category in some pre-Darwinian classifications, e.g., Linnaeus (1753), de Jussieu (1789), Horaninow (1843), Agassiz (1859), Wilson & Cassin (1864), in further classifications, the "algae" are seen as an artificial, polyphyletic group.  Throughout the 20th century, most classifications treated the following groups as divisions or classes of algae: cyanophytes, rhodophytes, chrysophytes, xanthophytes, bacillariophytes, phaeophytes, pyrrhophytes (cryptophytes and dinophytes), euglenophytes, and chlorophytes. Later, many new groups were discovered (e.g., Bolidophyceae), and others were splintered from older groups: charophytes and glaucophytes (from chlorophytes), many heterokontophytes (e.g., synurophytes from chrysophytes, or eustigmatophytes from xanthophytes), haptophytes (from chrysophytes), and chlorarachniophytes (from xanthophytes).  With the abandonment of plant-animal dichotomous classification, most groups of algae (sometimes all) were included in Protista, later also abandoned in favour of Eukaryota. However, as a legacy of the older plant life scheme, some groups that were also treated as protozoans in the past still have duplicated classifications (see ambiregnal protists).  Some parasitic algae (e.g., the green algae "Prototheca" and "Helicosporidium", parasites of metazoans, or "Cephaleuros", parasites of plants) were originally classified as fungi, sporozoans, or protistans of "incertae sedis", while others (e.g., the green algae "Phyllosiphon" and "Rhodochytrium", parasites of plants, or the red algae "Pterocladiophila" and "Gelidiocolax mammillatus", parasites of other red algae, or the dinoflagellates "Oodinium", parasites of fish) had their relationship with algae conjectured early. In other cases, some groups were originally characterized as parasitic algae (e.g., "Chlorochytrium"), but later were seen as endophytic algae. Some filamentous bacteria (e.g., "Beggiatoa") were originally seen as algae. Furthermore, groups like the apicomplexans are also parasites derived from ancestors that possessed plastids, but are not included in any group traditionally seen as algae.

Relationship to land plants.

The first land plants probably evolved from shallow freshwater charophyte algae much like "Chara" almost 500 million years ago. These probably had an isomorphic alternation of generations and were probably filamentous. Fossils of isolated land plant spores suggest land plants may have been around as long as 475 million years ago.

Morphology.

A range of algal morphologies is exhibited, and convergence of features in unrelated groups is common. The only groups to exhibit three-dimensional multicellular thalli are the reds and browns, and some chlorophytes. Apical growth is constrained to subsets of these groups: the florideophyte reds, various browns, and the charophytes. The form of charophytes is quite different from those of reds and browns, because they have distinct nodes, separated by internode'stems'; whorls of branches reminiscent of the horsetails occur at the nodes. Conceptacles are another polyphyletic trait; they appear in the coralline algae and the Hildenbrandiales, as well as the browns.  Most of the simpler algae are unicellular flagellates or amoeboids, but colonial and nonmotile forms have developed independently among several of the groups. Some of the more common organizational levels, more than one of which may occur in the lifecycle of a species, are  In three lines, even higher levels of organization have been reached, with full tissue differentiation. These are the brown algae,—some of which may reach 50 m in length (kelps)—the red algae, and the green algae. The most complex forms are found among the charophyte algae (see Charales and Charophyta), in a lineage that eventually led to the higher land plants. The innovation that defines these nonalgal plants is the presence of female reproductive organs with protective cell layers that protect the zygote and developing embryo. Hence, the land plants are referred to as the Embryophytes.

Physiology.

Many algae, particularly members of the Characeae, have served as model experimental organisms to understand the mechanisms of the water permeability of membranes, osmoregulation, turgor regulation, salt tolerance, cytoplasmic streaming, and the generation of action potentials.  Phytohormones are found not only in higher plants, but in algae, too.

Symbiotic algae.

Some species of algae form symbiotic relationships with other organisms. In these symbioses, the algae supply photosynthates (organic substances) to the host organism providing protection to the algal cells. The host organism derives some or all of its energy requirements from the algae. Examples are:

Lichens.

Lichens are defined by the International Association for Lichenology to be "an association of a fungus and a photosynthetic symbiont resulting in a stable vegetative body having a specific structure". The fungi, or mycobionts, are mainly from the Ascomycota with a few from the Basidiomycota. In nature they do not occur separate from lichens. It is unknown when they began to associate. One mycobiont associates with the same phycobiont species, rarely two, from the green algae, except that alternatively, the mycobiont may associate with a species of cyanobacteria (hence "photobiont" is the more accurate term). A photobiont may be associated with many different mycobionts or may live independently; accordingly, lichens are named and classified as fungal species. The association is termed a morphogenesis because the lichen has a form and capabilities not possessed by the symbiont species alone (they can be experimentally isolated). The photobiont possibly triggers otherwise latent genes in the mycobiont.  Trentepohlia is an example of a common green alga genus worldwide that can grow on its own or be lichenised. Lichen thus share some of the habitat and often similar appearance with specialized species of algae ("aerophytes") growing on exposed surfaces such as tree trunks and rocks and sometimes discoloring them.

Coral reefs.

Coral reefs are accumulated from the calcareous exoskeletons of marine invertebrates of the order Scleractinia (stony corals). These animals metabolize sugar and oxygen to obtain energy for their cell-building processes, including secretion of the exoskeleton, with water and carbon dioxide as byproducts. Dinoflagellates (algal protists) are often endosymbionts in the cells of the coral-forming marine invertebrates, where they accelerate host-cell metabolism by generating sugar and oxygen immediately available through photosynthesis using incident light and the carbon dioxide produced by the host. Reef-building stony corals (hermatypic corals) require endosymbiotic algae from the genus "Symbiodinium" to be in a healthy condition. The loss of "Symbiodinium" from the host is known as coral bleaching, a condition which leads to the deterioration of a reef.

Sea sponges.

Endosymbiontic green algae live close to the surface of some sponges, for example, breadcrumb sponges ("Halichondria panicea"). The alga is thus protected from predators; the sponge is provided with oxygen and sugars which can account for 50 to 80% of sponge growth in some species.

Lifecycle.

Rhodophyta, Chlorophyta, and Heterokontophyta, the three main algal divisions, have lifecycles which show considerable variation and complexity. In general, an asexual phase exists where the seaweed's cells are diploid, a sexual phase where the cells are haploid, followed by fusion of the male and female gametes. Asexual reproduction permits efficient population increases, but less variation is possible. Commonly, in sexual reproduction of unicellular and colonial algae, two specialized, sexually compatible, haploid gametes make physical contact and fuse to form a zygote. To ensure a successful mating, the development and release of gametes is highly synchronized and regulated; pheromones may play a key role in these processes. Sexual reproduction allows for more variation and provides the benefit of efficient recombinational repair of DNA damages during meiosis, a key stage of the sexual cycle. However, sexual reproduction is more costly than asexual reproduction. Meiosis has been shown to occur in many different species of algae.

Numbers.

The "Algal Collection of the US National Herbarium" (located in the National Museum of Natural History) consists of approximately 320,500 dried specimens, which, although not exhaustive (no exhaustive collection exists), gives an idea of the order of magnitude of the number of algal species (that number remains unknown). Estimates vary widely. For example, according to one standard textbook, in the British Isles the "UK Biodiversity Steering Group Report" estimated there to be 20,000 algal species in the UK. Another checklist reports only about 5,000 species. Regarding the difference of about 15,000 species, the text concludes: "It will require many detailed field surveys before it is possible to provide a reliable estimate of the total number of species..."  Regional and group estimates have been made, as well: and so on, but lacking any scientific basis or reliable sources, these numbers have no more credibility than the British ones mentioned above. Most estimates also omit microscopic algae, such as phytoplankton.  The most recent estimate suggests 72,500 algal species worldwide.

Distribution.

The distribution of algal species has been fairly well studied since the founding of phytogeography in the mid-19th century. Algae spread mainly by the dispersal of spores analogously to the dispersal of Plantae by seeds and spores. This dispersal can be accomplished by air, water, or other organisms. Due to this, spores can be found in a variety of environments: fresh and marine waters, air, soil, and in or on other organisms. Whether a spore is to grow into an organism depends on the combination of the species and the environmental conditions where the spore lands.  The spores of freshwater algae are dispersed mainly by running water and wind, as well as by living carriers. However, not all bodies of water can carry all species of algae, as the chemical composition of certain water bodies limits the algae that can survive within them. Marine spores are often spread by ocean currents. Ocean water presents many vastly different habitats based on temperature and nutrient availability, resulting in phytogeographic zones, regions, and provinces.  To some degree, the distribution of algae is subject to floristic discontinuities caused by geographical features, such as Antarctica, long distances of ocean or general land masses. It is, therefore, possible to identify species occurring by locality, such as "Pacific algae" or "North Sea algae". When they occur out of their localities, hypothesizing a transport mechanism is usually possible, such as the hulls of ships. For example, "Ulva reticulata" and "U. fasciata" travelled from the mainland to Hawaii in this manner.  Mapping is possible for select species only: "there are many valid examples of confined distribution patterns." For example, "Clathromorphum" is an arctic genus and is not mapped far south of there. However, scientists regard the overall data as insufficient due to the "difficulties of undertaking such studies."

Ecology.

Algae are prominent in bodies of water, common in terrestrial environments, and are found in unusual environments, such as on snow and ice. Seaweeds grow mostly in shallow marine waters, under deep; however, some such as "Navicula pennata" have been recorded to a depth of.  The various sorts of algae play significant roles in aquatic ecology. Microscopic forms that live suspended in the water column (phytoplankton) provide the food base for most marine food chains. In very high densities (algal blooms), these algae may discolor the water and outcompete, poison, or asphyxiate other life forms.  Algae can be used as indicator organisms to monitor pollution in various aquatic systems. In many cases, algal metabolism is sensitive to various pollutants. Due to this, the species composition of algal populations may shift in the presence of chemical pollutants. To detect these changes, algae can be sampled from the environment and maintained in laboratories with relative ease.  On the basis of their habitat, algae can be categorized as: aquatic (planktonic, benthic, marine, freshwater, lentic, lotic), terrestrial, aerial (subaerial), lithophytic, halophytic (or euryhaline), psammon, thermophilic, cryophilic, epibiont (epiphytic, epizoic), endosymbiont (endophytic, endozoic), parasitic, calcifilic or lichenic (phycobiont).

Cultural associations.

In classical Chinese, the word is used both for "algae" and (in the modest tradition of the imperial scholars) for "literary talent". The third island in Kunming Lake beside the Summer Palace in Beijing is known as the Zaojian Tang Dao, which thus simultaneously means "Island of the Algae-Viewing Hall" and "Island of the Hall for Reflecting on Literary Talent".

Uses.

Agar.

Agar, a gelatinous substance derived from red algae, has a number of commercial uses. It is a good medium on which to grow bacteria and fungi, as most microorganisms cannot digest agar.

Alginates.

Alginic acid, or alginate, is extracted from brown algae. Its uses range from gelling agents in food, to medical dressings. Alginic acid also has been used in the field of biotechnology as a biocompatible medium for cell encapsulation and cell immobilization. Molecular cuisine is also a user of the substance for its gelling properties, by which it becomes a delivery vehicle for flavours.  Between 100,000 and 170,000 wet tons of "Macrocystis" are harvested annually in New Mexico for alginate extraction and abalone feed.

Energy source.

To be competitive and independent from fluctuating support from (local) policy on the long run, biofuels should equal or beat the cost level of fossil fuels. Here, algae-based fuels hold great promise, directly related to the potential to produce more biomass per unit area in a year than any other form of biomass. The break-even point for algae-based biofuels is estimated to occur by 2025.

Fertilizer.

For centuries, seaweed has been used as a fertilizer; George Owen of Henllys writing in the 16th century referring to drift weed in South Wales: Today, algae are used by humans in many ways; for example, as fertilizers, soil conditioners, and livestock feed. Aquatic and microscopic species are cultured in clear tanks or ponds and are either harvested or used to treat effluents pumped through the ponds. Algaculture on a large scale is an important type of aquaculture in some places. Maerl is commonly used as a soil conditioner.

Nutrition.

Naturally growing seaweeds are an important source of food, especially in Asia. They provide many vitamins including: A, B, B, B, niacin, and C, and are rich in iodine, potassium, iron, magnesium, and calcium. In addition, commercially cultivated microalgae, including both algae and cyanobacteria, are marketed as nutritional supplements, such as spirulina, "Chlorella" and the vitamin-C supplement from "Dunaliella", high in beta-carotene.  Algae are national foods of many nations: China consumes more than 70 species, including "fat choy", a cyanobacterium considered a vegetable; Japan, over 20 species such as "nori" and "aonori"; Ireland, dulse; Chile, cochayuyo. Laver is used to make laver bread in Wales, where it is known as ; in Korea,. It is also used along the west coast of North America from California to British Columbia, in Hawaii and by the Māori of New Zealand. Sea lettuce and badderlocks are salad ingredients in Scotland, Ireland, Greenland, and Iceland. Algae is being considered a potential solution for world hunger problem.  The oils from some algae have high levels of unsaturated fatty acids. For example, "Parietochloris incisa" is very high in arachidonic acid, where it reaches up to 47% of the triglyceride pool. Some varieties of algae favored by vegetarianism and veganism contain the long-chain, essential omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Fish oil contains the omega-3 fatty acids, but the original source is algae (microalgae in particular), which are eaten by marine life such as copepods and are passed up the food chain. Algae have emerged in recent years as a popular source of omega-3 fatty acids for vegetarians who cannot get long-chain EPA and DHA from other vegetarian sources such as flaxseed oil, which only contains the short-chain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

Pollution control.

Agricultural Research Service scientists found that 60–90% of nitrogen runoff and 70–100% of phosphorus runoff can be captured from manure effluents using a horizontal algae scrubber, also called an algal turf scrubber (ATS). Scientists developed the ATS, which consists of shallow, 100-foot raceways of nylon netting where algae colonies can form, and studied its efficacy for three years. They found that algae can readily be used to reduce the nutrient runoff from agricultural fields and increase the quality of water flowing into rivers, streams, and oceans. Researchers collected and dried the nutrient-rich algae from the ATS and studied its potential as an organic fertilizer. They found that cucumber and corn seedlings grew just as well using ATS organic fertilizer as they did with commercial fertilizers. Algae scrubbers, using bubbling upflow or vertical waterfall versions, are now also being used to filter aquaria and ponds.

Polymers.

Various polymers can be created from algae, which can be especially useful in the creation of bioplastics. These include hybrid plastics, cellulose based plastics, poly-lactic acid, and bio-polyethylene. Several companies have begun to produce algae polymers commercially, including for use in flip-flops and in surf boards.

Bioremediation.

The alga "Stichococcus bacillaris" has been seen to colonize silicone resins used at archaeological sites; biodegrading the synthetic substance.

Pigments.

The natural pigments (carotenoids and chlorophylls) produced by algae can be used as alternatives to chemical dyes and coloring agents. The presence of some individual algal pigments, together with specific pigment concentration ratios, are taxon-specific: analysis of their concentrations with various analytical methods, particularly high-performance liquid chromatography, can therefore offer deep insight into the taxonomic composition and relative abundance of natural algae populations in sea water samples.

Stabilizing substances.

Carrageenan, from the red alga "Chondrus crispus", is used as a stabilizer in milk products.

Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large, diverse, and group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping, including species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular microalgae, such as "Chlorella" and the diatoms, to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelp, a large brown alga which may grow up to 50 m in length. Most are aquatic and autotrophic and lack many of the distinct cell and tissue types, such as stomata, xylem and phloem, which are found in land plants. The largest and most complex marine algae are called seaweeds, while the most complex freshwater forms are the Charophyta, a division of green algae which includes, for example, "Spirogyra" and stoneworts.

Řasy jsou jednoduché fotosyntetizující organismy, tradičně řazené mezi nižší rostliny. Ve skutečnosti jsou řasy seskupením nepříbuzných skupin organismů a jen některé z nich jsou blízké rostlinám. Mezi řasami najdeme jednobuněčné i mnohobuněčné formy, tělo mnohobuněčných řas je tvořeno stélkou. Nejsou schopné přežít v suchém prostředí, žijí proto ve sladké nebo slané vodě, suchozemské formy jsou malé, nenápadné a hojněji se vyskytují ve vlhkých tropických oblastech. Některé řasy vyřešily problém vysychání symbiózou s houbou a tvoří součást lišejníků.


Medical uses.

Warfarin overdose and coumarin poisoning.

Vitamin K is one of the treatments for bleeding events caused by overdose of the anticoagulant drug warfarin. It can be administered by mouth, intravenously, or subcutaneously. Vitamin K is also used in situations when a patient's INR is greater than 10 and there is no active bleeding.  Vitamin K is also part of the suggested treatment regime for poisoning by rodenticide (coumarin poisoning). Vitamin K treatment may only be necessary in people who deliberately have consumed large amounts of rodenticide or have consumed an unknown amount of rodenticide. Patients are given oral vitamin K to prevent the negative effects of rodenticide poisoning, and this dosing must sometimes be continued for up to nine months in cases of poisoning by "superwarfarin" rodenticides such as brodifacoum. Oral Vitamin K is preferred over other vitamin K routes of administration because it has fewer side effects.

Vitamin K deficiency bleeding in newborns.

Vitamin K is given as an injection to newborns to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding. The blood clotting factors of newborn babies are roughly 30–60% that of adult values; this may be due to the reduced synthesis of precursor proteins and the sterility of their guts. Human milk contains 1–4 μg/L of vitamin K, while formula-derived milk can contain up to 100 μg/L in supplemented formulas. Vitamin K concentrations in human milk appear to be much lower than those of vitamin K. Occurrence of vitamin K deficiency bleeding in the first week of the infant's life is estimated at 0.25–1.7%, with a prevalence of 2–10 cases per 100,000 births. Premature babies have even lower levels of the vitamin, so they are at a higher risk from this deficiency.  Bleeding in infants due to vitamin K deficiency can be severe, leading to hospitalization, blood transfusions, brain damage, and death. Supplementation can prevent most cases of vitamin K deficiency bleeding in the newborn. Intramuscular injection, typically given shortly after birth, is more effective in preventing late vitamin K deficiency bleeding than oral administration.

Osteoporosis.

There is no good evidence that vitamin K supplementation benefits the bone health of postmenopausal women.

Cardiovascular health.

Adequate intake of vitamin K is associated with the inhibition of arterial calcification and stiffening, but there have been few interventional studies and no good evidence that vitamin K supplementation is of any benefit in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.  One 10-year population study, the Rotterdam Study, did show a clear and significant inverse relationship between the highest intake levels of menaquinone (mainly MK-4 from eggs and meat, and MK-8 and MK-9 from cheese) and cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in older men and women.

Cancer.

Vitamin K has been promoted in supplement form with claims it can slow tumor growth; however, no good medical evidence supports such claims.

Side effects.

Although allergic reaction from supplementation is possible, no known toxicity is associated with high doses of the phylloquinone (vitamin K) or menaquinone (vitamin K) forms of vitamin K, so no tolerable upper intake level (UL) has been set. Specifically vitamin K has been associated with severe adverse reactions such as bronchospasm and cardiac arrest when given intravenously as opposed to orally.  Blood clotting (coagulation) studies in humans using 45 mg per day of vitamin K (as MK-4) and even up to 135 mg per day (45 mg three times daily) of K (as MK-4), showed no increase in blood clot risk. Even doses in rats as high as 250 mg/kg body weight did not alter the tendency for blood-clot formation to occur.  Unlike the safe natural forms of vitamin K and vitamin K and their various isomers, a synthetic form of vitamin K, vitamin K (menadione), is demonstrably toxic at high levels. The U.S. FDA has banned this form from over-the-counter sale in the United States because large doses have been shown to cause allergic reactions, hemolytic anemia, and cytotoxicity in liver cells.

Interactions.

Phylloquinone (K) or menaquinone (K) are capable of reversing the anticoagulant activity of the anticoagulant warfarin (tradename Coumadin). Warfarin works by blocking recycling of vitamin K, so that the body and tissues have lower levels of active vitamin K, and thus a deficiency of vitamin K.  Supplemental vitamin K (for which oral dosing is often more active than injectable dosing in human adults) reverses the vitamin K deficiency caused by warfarin, and therefore reduces the intended anticoagulant action of warfarin and related drugs. Sometimes small amounts of vitamin K are given orally to patients taking warfarin so that the action of the drug is more predictable. The proper anticoagulant action of the drug is a function of vitamin K intake and drug dose, and due to differing absorption must be individualized for each patient. The action of warfarin and vitamin K both require two to five days after dosing to have maximum effect, and neither warfarin nor vitamin K shows much effect in the first 24 hours after they are given.  The newer anticoagulants apixaban, dabigatran and rivaroxaban have different mechanisms of action that do not interact with vitamin K, and may be taken with supplemental vitamin K.

Chemistry.

The structure of phylloquinone, Vitamin K, is marked by the presence of a phytyl group. The structures of menaquinones are marked by the polyisoprenyl side chain present in the molecule that can contain four to 13 isoprenyl units. The three synthetic forms of vitamin K are vitamins K (menadione), K, and K, which are used in many areas, including the pet food industry (vitamin K) and to inhibit fungal growth (vitamin K).

Conversion of vitamin K to vitamin K.

The MK-4 form of vitamin K is produced by conversion of vitamin K in the testes, pancreas, and arterial walls. While major questions still surround the biochemical pathway for this transformation, the conversion is not dependent on gut bacteria, as it occurs in germ-free rats and in parenterally administered K in rats. In fact, tissues that accumulate high amounts of MK-4 have a remarkable capacity to convert up to 90% of the available K into MK-4. There is evidence that the conversion proceeds by removal of the phytyl tail of K to produce menadione as an intermediate, which is then condensed with an activated geranylgeranyl moiety (see also prenylation) to produce vitamin K in the MK-4 (menatetrenone) form.

Vitamin K.

Vitamin K (menaquinone) includes several subtypes. The two most studied ones are menaquinone-4 (menatetrenone, MK-4) and menaquinone-7 (MK-7).

Physiology.

Vitamin K (phylloquinone), the precursor of most vitamin K in nature, is an important chemical in green plants, where it functions as an electron acceptor in photosystem I during photosynthesis. For this reason, vitamin K is found in large quantities in the photosynthetic tissues of plants (green leaves, and dark green leafy vegetables such as romaine lettuce, kale, and spinach), but it occurs in far smaller quantities in other plant tissues (roots, fruits, etc.). Iceberg lettuce contains relatively little. The function of phylloquinone in plants appears to have no resemblance to its later metabolic and biochemical function (as "vitamin K") in animals, where it performs a completely different biochemical reaction.  Vitamin K (in animals) is involved in the carboxylation of certain glutamate residues in proteins to form gamma-carboxyglutamate (Gla) residues. The modified residues are often (but not always) situated within specific protein domains called Gla domains. Gla residues are usually involved in binding calcium, and are essential for the biological activity of all known Gla proteins.  When Vitamin K enters the body through foods in a person's diet, it is absorbed through the jejunum and ileum in the small intestine, and like other lipid-soluble vitamins (A, D, and E), vitamin K is stored in the fatty tissue of the human body.

Absorption and dietary need.

Previous theory held that dietary deficiency was extremely rare unless the small intestine was heavily damaged, resulting in malabsorption of the molecule. Another at-risk group for deficiency were those subject to decreased production of K by normal intestinal microbiota, as seen in broad-spectrum antibiotic use. Taking broad-spectrum antibiotics can reduce vitamin K production in the gut by nearly 74% in people compared with those not taking these antibiotics. Diets low in vitamin K also decrease the body's vitamin K concentration. Those with chronic kidney disease are at risk for vitamin K deficiency, as well as vitamin D deficiency, and particularly those with the apoE4 genotype. Additionally, the elderly have a reduction in vitamin K.

Dietary recommendations.

The National Health Service in the United Kingdom say 'Adults need approximately 1 microgram a day of vitamin K for each kilogram of their body weight.'  The U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) updated Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for vitamin K in 1998. The IOM does not distinguish between K and K – both are counted as vitamin K. At that time, sufficient information was not available to establish EARs and RDAs for vitamin K. In instances such as these, the board sets Adequate Intakes (AIs), with the understanding that at some later date, AIs will be replaced by more exact information. The current AIs for adult women and men ages 19 and up are 90 and 120 μg/day, respectively. AI for pregnancy is 90 μg/day. AI for lactation is 90 μg/day. For infants up to 12 months, the AI is 2.0–2.5 μg/day; for children ages 1–18 years the AI increases with age from 30 to 75 μg/day. As for safety, the IOM sets tolerable upper intake levels (known as ULs) for vitamins and minerals when evidence is sufficient. Vitamin K has no UL, as human data for adverse effects from high doses are inadequate. Collectively, the EARs, RDAs, AIs and ULs are referred to as Dietary Reference Intakes.  The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) refers to the collective set of information as Dietary Reference Values, with Population Reference Intake (PRI) instead of RDA, and Average Requirement instead of EAR. AI and UL are defined the same as in United States. For women and men over age 18 the AI is set at 70 μg/day. AI for pregnancy is 70 μg/day, ad for lactation 70 μg/day. For children ages 1–17 years, the AIs increase with age from 12 to 65 μg/day. These AIs are lower than the U.S. RDAs. The EFSA also reviewed safety and concluded—as had the United States—that there was insufficient evidence to set an UL for vitamin K.  For U.S. food and dietary supplement labeling purposes, the amount in a serving is expressed as a percentage of Daily Value (%DV). For vitamin K labeling purposes, 100% of the Daily Value was 80 μg, but as of May 27, 2016, it was revised upwards to 120 μg, to bring it into agreement with the AI. Compliance with the updated labeling regulations was required by 1 January 2020 for manufacturers with US$10 million or more in annual food sales, and by 1 January 2021 for manufacturers with lower food sales. During the six months following the 1 January 2020 compliance date the FDA planned to work cooperatively with manufacturers to meet the new Nutrition Facts label requirements, and not to focus on enforcement. A table of the old and new adult Daily Values is provided at Reference Daily Intake.

Food sources.

Vitamin K.

Vitamin K is found chiefly in leafy green vegetables such as spinach, swiss chard, lettuce and "Brassica" vegetables (such as cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussels sprouts) and often the absorption is greater when accompanied by fats such as butter or oils. Some fruits, such as avocados, kiwifruit and grapes, also contain vitamin K. Some vegetable oils, notably soybean oil, contain vitamin K, but at levels that would require relatively large calorie consumption to meet the recommended amounts.  Some foods rich in vitamin K1 (phylloquinone):  Spring greens: 893 μg/100g  Spinach (frozen): 840 μg/100g  Curly kale: 623 μg/100g  Spinach: 575 μg/100g  Parsley: 548 μg/100g  Watercress: 315 μg/100g  Coriander leaves: 310 μg/100g  Green cabbage: 201 μg/100g  Broccoli: 135 μg/100g  Soya oil: 131 μg/100g  Lettuce: 129 μg/100g  Brussels sprouts: 127 μg/100g  Rapeseed oil: 113 μg/100g  Mustard and cress: 88 μg/100g  White cabbage: 60 μg/100g  Olive oil: 58 μg/100g  Asparagus: 52 μg/100g  Peas: 39 μg/100g  Green beans: 39 μg/100g  Cauliflower: 29 μg/100g  Runner beans: 26 μg/100g  Soya flour: 25 μg/100g  The tight binding of vitamin K to thylakoid membranes in chloroplasts makes it less bioavailable. For example, cooked spinach has a 5% bioavailability of phylloquinone, however, fat added to it increases bioavailability to 13% due to the increased solubility of vitamin K in fat.

Vitamin K.

Vitamin K can be found in eggs, dairy products, and meat, and in fermented foods such as cheese and yogurt.

Deficiency.

Average diets are usually not lacking in vitamin K, and primary deficiency is rare in healthy adults. Newborn infants are at an increased risk of deficiency. Other populations with an increased prevalence of vitamin K deficiency include those who suffer from liver damage or disease (e.g. alcoholics), cystic fibrosis, or inflammatory bowel diseases, or have recently had abdominal surgeries. Secondary vitamin K deficiency can occur in people with bulimia, those on stringent diets, and those taking anticoagulants. Other drugs associated with vitamin K deficiency include salicylates, barbiturates, and cefamandole, although the mechanisms are still unknown. Vitamin K deficiency has been defined as a vitamin K-responsive hypoprothrombinemia which increase prothrombin time and thus can result in coagulopathy, a bleeding disorder. Symptoms of K deficiency include anemia, bruising, nosebleeds and bleeding of the gums in both sexes, and heavy menstrual bleeding in women.  Osteoporosis and coronary heart disease are strongly associated with lower levels of K (menaquinone). Vitamin K (as menaquinones MK-4 through MK-10) intake level is inversely related to severe aortic calcification and all-cause mortality.

Biochemistry.

Function in animals.

The function of vitamin K in the animal cell is to add a carboxylic acid functional group to a glutamate (Glu) amino acid residue in a protein, to form a gamma-carboxyglutamate (Gla) residue. This is a somewhat uncommon posttranslational modification of the protein, which is then known as a "Gla protein". The presence of two −COOH (carboxylic acid) groups on the same carbon in the gamma-carboxyglutamate residue allows it to chelate calcium ions. The binding of calcium ions in this way very often triggers the function or binding of Gla-protein enzymes, such as the so-called vitamin K-dependent clotting factors discussed below.  Within the cell, vitamin K undergoes electron reduction to a reduced form called vitamin K hydroquinone, catalyzed by the enzyme vitamin K epoxide reductase (VKOR). Another enzyme then oxidizes vitamin K hydroquinone to allow carboxylation of Glu to Gla; this enzyme is called gamma-glutamyl carboxylase or the vitamin K-dependent carboxylase. The carboxylation reaction only proceeds if the carboxylase enzyme is able to oxidize vitamin K hydroquinone to vitamin K epoxide at the same time. The carboxylation and epoxidation reactions are said to be coupled. Vitamin K epoxide is then reconverted to vitamin K by VKOR. The reduction and subsequent reoxidation of vitamin K coupled with carboxylation of Glu is called the vitamin K cycle. Humans are rarely deficient in vitamin K because, in part, vitamin K is continuously recycled in cells.  Warfarin and other 4-hydroxycoumarins block the action of VKOR. This results in decreased concentrations of vitamin K and vitamin K hydroquinone in tissues, such that the carboxylation reaction catalyzed by the glutamyl carboxylase is inefficient. This results in the production of clotting factors with inadequate Gla. Without Gla on the amino termini of these factors, they no longer bind stably to the blood vessel endothelium and cannot activate clotting to allow formation of a clot during tissue injury. As it is impossible to predict what dose of warfarin will give the desired degree of clotting suppression, warfarin treatment must be carefully monitored to avoid overdose.

Gamma-carboxyglutamate proteins.

The following human Gla-containing proteins ("Gla proteins") have been characterized to the level of primary structure: blood coagulation factors II (prothrombin), VII, IX, and X, anticoagulant protein C and protein S, and the factor X-targeting protein Z. The bone Gla protein osteocalcin, the calcification-inhibiting matrix Gla protein (MGP), the cell growth regulating growth arrest specific gene 6 protein (Gas6), and the four transmembrane Gla proteins (TMGPs), the function of which is at present unknown. Gas6 can function as a growth factor to activate the Axl receptor tyrosine kinase and stimulate cell proliferation or prevent apoptosis in some cells. In all cases in which their function was known, the presence of the Gla residues in these proteins turned out to be essential for functional activity.  Gla proteins are known to occur in a wide variety of vertebrates: mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish. The venom of a number of Australian snakes acts by activating the human blood-clotting system. In some cases, activation is accomplished by snake Gla-containing enzymes that bind to the endothelium of human blood vessels and catalyze the conversion of procoagulant clotting factors into activated ones, leading to unwanted and potentially deadly clotting.  Another interesting class of invertebrate Gla-containing proteins is synthesized by the fish-hunting snail "Conus geographus". These snails produce a venom containing hundreds of neuroactive peptides, or conotoxins, which is sufficiently toxic to kill an adult human. Several of the conotoxins contain two to five Gla residues.

Methods of assessment.

Vitamin K status can be assessed by:

Function in bacteria.

Many bacteria, such as "Escherichia coli" found in the large intestine, can synthesize vitamin K (menaquinone-7 or MK-7, up to MK-11), but not vitamin K (phylloquinone). In these bacteria, menaquinone transfers two electrons between two different small molecules, during oxygen-independent metabolic energy production processes (anaerobic respiration). For example, a small molecule with an excess of electrons (also called an electron donor) such as lactate, formate, or NADH, with the help of an enzyme, passes two electrons to menaquinone. The menaquinone, with the help of another enzyme, then transfers these two electrons to a suitable oxidant, such fumarate or nitrate (also called an electron acceptor). Adding two electrons to fumarate or nitrate converts the molecule to succinate or nitrite plus water, respectively.  Some of these reactions generate a cellular energy source, ATP, in a manner similar to eukaryotic cell aerobic respiration, except the final electron acceptor is not molecular oxygen, but fumarate or nitrate. In aerobic respiration, the final oxidant is molecular oxygen (O), which accepts four electrons from an electron donor such as NADH to be converted to water. "E. coli", as facultative anaerobes, can carry out both aerobic respiration and menaquinone-mediated anaerobic respiration.

History.

In 1929, Danish scientist Henrik Dam investigated the role of cholesterol by feeding chickens a cholesterol-depleted diet. He initially replicated experiments reported by scientists at the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC). McFarlane, Graham and Richardson, working on the chick feed program at OAC, had used chloroform to remove all fat from chick chow. They noticed that chicks fed only fat-depleted chow developed hemorrhages and started bleeding from tag sites. Dam found that these defects could not be restored by adding purified cholesterol to the diet. It appeared that – together with the cholesterol – a second compound had been extracted from the food, and this compound was called the coagulation vitamin. The new vitamin received the letter K because the initial discoveries were reported in a German journal, in which it was designated as "Koagulationsvitamin". Edward Adelbert Doisy of Saint Louis University did much of the research that led to the discovery of the structure and chemical nature of vitamin K. Dam and Doisy shared the 1943 Nobel Prize for medicine for their work on vitamin K (K and K) published in 1939. Several laboratories synthesized the compound(s) in 1939.  For several decades, the vitamin K-deficient chick model was the only method of quantifying vitamin K in various foods: the chicks were made vitamin K-deficient and subsequently fed with known amounts of vitamin K-containing food. The extent to which blood coagulation was restored by the diet was taken as a measure for its vitamin K content. Three groups of physicians independently found this: Biochemical Institute, University of Copenhagen (Dam and Johannes Glavind), University of Iowa Department of Pathology (Emory Warner, Kenneth Brinkhous, and Harry Pratt Smith), and the Mayo Clinic (Hugh Butt, Albert Snell, and Arnold Osterberg).  The first published report of successful treatment with vitamin K of life-threatening hemorrhage in a jaundiced patient with prothrombin deficiency was made in 1938 by Smith, Warner, and Brinkhous.  The precise function of vitamin K was not discovered until 1974, when three laboratories (Stenflo "et al.", Nelsestuen "et al.", and Magnusson "et al.") isolated the vitamin K-dependent coagulation factor prothrombin (factor II) from cows that received a high dose of a vitamin K antagonist, warfarin. It was shown that, while warfarin-treated cows had a form of prothrombin that contained 10 glutamate (Glu) amino acid residues near the amino terminus of this protein, the normal (untreated) cows contained 10 unusual residues that were chemically identified as γ-carboxyglutamate (Gla). The extra carboxyl group in Gla made clear that vitamin K plays a role in a carboxylation reaction during which Glu is converted into Gla.

Vitamin K is a group of structurally similar, fat-soluble vitamins found in foods and in dietary supplements. The human body requires vitamin K for complete synthesis of certain proteins that are needed for blood coagulation (K from "koagulation", Danish for "coagulation") or for controlling binding of calcium in bones and other tissues. The complete synthesis involves final modification of these so-called "Gla proteins" by the enzyme gamma-glutamyl carboxylase that uses vitamin K as a cofactor. This modification allows them to bind (chelate) calcium ions, which they cannot do otherwise.

Vitamín K je vitamín rozpustný v tucích. Označení "K" je odvozeno z německého slova "Koagulation", tedy od procesu srážení krve. Vitamín K je nezbytný pro funkci několika proteinů podílejících se na srážení krve. Vitamín K je dále nezbytný v procesu mineralizace kostí, buněčného růstu a metabolismu proteinů cévní stěny.


Etymology.

In Tolkien's invented Elvish language Sindarin, "Barad-dûr" is from "barad" "tower" and "dûr" "dark". It was called Lugbúrz in the Black Speech of Mordor, with the same meaning; it is composed of "lug" "tower" and "búrz" "dark". The Black Speech (created by Sauron) was one of the languages used in Barad-dûr. The soldiers there used a debased form of the tongue. In "The Lord of the Rings" "Barad-dûr," "Lugbúrz," and "the Dark Tower" are occasionally utilized as metonyms for Sauron.

Geography.

The Dark Tower stood at the end of a south-western offshoot of the Ash Mountains (Ered Lithui), the range that ran eastwards from the Black Gate of Mordor. Barad-dûr rose above the arid plain of Gorgoroth, and lay south-east of Udûn and the Black Gate. From the fortress's east entrance a road went north then west to the Isenmouthe. Frodo and Sam travelled part of this route on their way south to Mount Doom. A second route "Sauron's Road" went from the west gate of Barad-dûr westwards across Gorgoroth to Mount Doom's "Chambers of Fire." This road ran from Barad-dûr between two smoking chasms and then reached the causeway that led to the mountain. Strachey's "Journeys of Frodo" estimates Mount Doom was probably no more than 10 miles west of Barad-dûr because Sauron's Road from Barad-dûr to the causeway was only a league (about 3 miles) long. From Mount Doom the road went southwest to Minas Morgul.

Description.

In "The Two Towers" Barad-dûr is described as:  The same paragraph goes on to say the Dark Tower had 'immeasurable strength'. The fortress was constructed with many towers and was hidden in clouds about it:  It could not be clearly seen because Sauron created shadows about himself that crept out from the tower. In Frodo's vision on Amon Hen, he perceived the immense tower as:  "Tower of adamant" is probably intended to suggest the tower was composed of extremely hard material. There was a look-out post, the "Window of the Eye", at the top of the tower. This window was visible from Mount Doom where Frodo and Sam had a terrible glimpse of the Eye of Sauron.  Barad-dûr's west gate is described as "huge" and the west bridge as "a vast bridge of iron." This spanned a deep abyss and carried Sauron's Road from the gate to Mount Doom.  In "The Return of the King", Sam Gamgee witnessed the destruction of Barad-dûr:

History.

The Second Age.

Sauron began to stir again and chose Mordor as a stronghold in which to build his fortress. It was strengthened by the power of the One Ring, which was also forged around 1600. Gandalf described the Ring as being the "...foundation of Barad-dûr..."  Sauron was challenged by a mighty host from Númenor. He submitted to their king and was taken captive to Númenor. He returned to Mordor a year after the downfall of Númenor.  Sauron attacked Gondor, which resulted in Elendil and Gil-galad forming the army of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. The host entered Mordor and besieged Barad-dûr. During the siege, Elendil's son Anárion was slain by a stone flung from the fortress. Sauron himself came forth from the Dark Tower and fought against Elendil and Gil-galad. Though they were killed in combat, Sauron was also cast down. Anárion's brother Isildur cut the Ring from Sauron's hand and Sauron was overthrown. Sauron's armies were defeated and Barad-dûr was captured and levelled to the ground. However, the foundations could not be removed while the Ring still existed.

The Third Age.

Sauron had been exiled from Mordor which was under the guard of the men of Gondor for a time. He subsequently built the fortress of Dol Guldur in Greenwood the Great. Due to the Great Plague, Gondor was unable to continue to man its forts, and Mordor was left unguarded. Minas Ithil was besieged and captured by the Nazgûl, and it was renamed Minas Morgul. Its palantír was seized and taken to Barad-dûr.  When Dol Guldur was attacked by the White Council, Sauron withdrew from Mirkwood, and the following year returned secretly to Mordor, where he rebuilt Barad-dûr. The fortress could be rebuilt quickly because the foundations were still in place.  Barad-dûr was destroyed for the final time when Gollum took the Ring from Frodo and fell into the Cracks of Doom. The Ring was destroyed and Sauron was defeated.

Concept and creation.

In J. R. R Tolkien's "The Fellowship of the Ring", the Dark Tower is described as being composed of iron, being black in colour and having battlements and gates. In the painting the walls are of mainly grey stone and brick, and battlements, gates and towers are not visible. The notes accompanying a painting in "Pictures by J. R. R. Tolkien" describe it as follows:

Adaptations.

For Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy (2001–2003), Richard Taylor and his design team built an high miniature ("big-ature") of Barad-dûr. Jackson's "" movie (2003) showed Barad-dûr as clearly visible from the Black Gate of Mordor, which is not the case in the book. Jackson portrayed Barad-dûr, like the other enemy fortresses of Isengard, Minas Morgul and the Black Gate, in "an exaggerated Gothic fashion" with a black metallic appearance. In "The Lord of the Rings", the Eye was within the "Window of the Eye" in the topmost tower, whereas in Jackson's film trilogy the Eye appeared between two horn-like spires that curved upwards from the tower top.

Barad-dûr (pronounced ), also called the Dark Tower, is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings and is described in "The Lord of the Rings", "The Silmarillion," and other works. It is an enormous fortress of the Dark Lord Sauron, whence he rules the volcanic and barren land of Mordor. Located in northwest Mordor, near Mount Doom, the Eye of Sauron keeps watch over Middle-earth from its highest tower. The Lieutenant of Barad-dûr is the Mouth of Sauron, an ambassador and herald for Mordor and Sauron.

Barad-dûr (sindarsky "Temná věž", v černé řeči též "Lugbúrz") je pevnost Temného pána Saurona v Mordoru ve fantasy příbězích J. R. R. Tolkiena o Středozemi. Od pádu Angbandu byla nejvyšší věží ve Středozemi. Byla dvakrát zničena, na konci Druhého a po svém opětovném postavení i na konci Třetího věku. Byla to skoro nedobytná pevnost, ve které se ve Třetím věku schoval Sauron na samotném vrcholu. V Barad-dûr měl Sauron i tisíce skřetů, zlobrů, šelem a ustájení pro nosiče Nazgúlů. Zničit temnou věž přímým útokem bez zničení prstenu je téměř nemožné vzhledem k odolnosti a velikosti věže.


Terminology.

Collectively, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis (FNIM) peoples constitute Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous peoples of the Americas, or "first peoples""." "First Nation" as a term became officially used beginning in 1980s to replace the term "Indian band" in referring to groups of Indians with common government and language. The term had come into common usage in the 1970s to avoid using the word "Indian", which some Canadians considered offensive. No legal definition of the term exists.  Some indigenous peoples in Canada have also adopted the term First Nation to replace the word "band" in the formal name of their community. A band is a "body of Indians (a) for whose use and benefit in common lands... have been set apart, (b)... moneys are held... or (c) declared... to be a band for the purposes of" the "Indian Act" by the Canadian Crown.  The

History.

Nationhood.

First Nations peoples had settled and established trade routes across what is now Canada by 1,000 BC to 500 BC. Communities developed, each with its own culture, customs, and character. In the northwest were the Athapaskan-speaking peoples, Slavey, Tłı̨chǫ, Tutchone-speaking peoples, and Tlingit. Along the Pacific coast were the Haida, Salish, Kwakiutl, Nuu-chah-nulth, Nisga'a and Gitxsan. In the plains were the Blackfoot, Kainai, Sarcee and Northern Peigan. In the northern woodlands were the Cree and Chipewyan. Around the Great Lakes were the Anishinaabe, Algonquin, Iroquois and Wyandot. Along the Atlantic coast were the Beothuk, Maliseet, Innu, Abenaki and Micmac.  The Blackfoot Confederacies reside in the Great Plains of Montana and Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The name "Blackfoot" came from the colour of the peoples' leather footwear, known as moccasins. They had dyed or painted the bottoms of their moccasins black. One account claimed that the Blackfoot Confederacies walked through the ashes of prairie fires, which in turn coloured the bottoms of their moccasins black.

European contact.

Aboriginal people in Canada interacted with Europeans as far back as 1000 AD, but prolonged contact came only after Europeans established permanent settlements in the 17th and 18th centuries. European written accounts noted friendliness on the part of the First Nations, who profited in trade with Europeans. Such trade strengthened the more organized political entities such as the Iroquois Confederation. The Aboriginal population is estimated to have been between 200,000 and two million in the late 15th century. The effect of European colonization was a 40 to 80 percent Aboriginal population decrease post-contact. This is attributed to various factors, including repeated outbreaks of European infectious diseases such as influenza, measles and smallpox (to which they had not developed immunity), inter-nation conflicts over the fur trade, conflicts with colonial authorities and settlers and loss of land and a subsequent loss of nation self-suffiency. For example, during the late 1630s, smallpox killed more than half of the Huron, who controlled most of the early fur trade in what became Canada. Reduced to fewer than 10,000 people, the Huron Wendat were attacked by

16th–18th centuries.

The Portuguese Crown claimed that it had territorial rights in the area visited by Cabot. In 1493 Pope Alexander VI – assuming international jurisdiction – had divided lands discovered in America between Spain and Portugal. The next year, in the Treaty of Tordesillas, these two kingdoms decided to draw the dividing line running north–south, 370 leagues (from approximately depending on the league used) west of the Cape Verde Islands. Land to the west would be Spanish, to the east Portuguese. Given the uncertain geography of the day, this seemed to give the "new founde isle" to Portugal. On the 1502 Cantino map, Newfoundland appears on the Portuguese side of the line (as does Brazil). An expedition captured about 60 Aboriginal people as slaves who were said to "resemble gypsies in colour, features, stature and aspect; are clothed in the skins of various animals...They are very shy and gentle, but well formed in arms and legs and shoulders beyond description..." Some captives, sent by Gaspar Corte-Real, reached Portugal. The others drowned, with Gaspar, on the return voyage. Gaspar's brother, Miguel Corte-Real, went to look for him

19th century.

Living conditions for Indigenous people in the prairie regions deteriorated quickly. Between 1875 and 1885, settlers and hunters of European descent contributed to hunting the North American bison almost to extinction; the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway brought large numbers of European settlers west who encroached on Indigenous territory. European Canadians established governments, police forces, and courts of law with different foundations from indigenous practices. Various epidemics continued to devastate Indigenous communities. All of these factors had a profound effect on Indigenous people, particularly those from the plains who had relied heavily on bison for food and clothing. Most of those nations that agreed to treaties had negotiated for a guarantee of food and help to begin farming. Just as the bison disappeared (the last Canadian hunt was in 1879), Lieutenant-Governor Edgar Dewdney cut rations to indigenous people in an attempt to reduce government costs. Between 1880 and 1885, approximately 3,000 Indigenous people starved to death in the North-Western Territory/Northwest Territories.  Offended by the concepts of the treaties, Cree chiefs resisted them. Big Bear refused to sign Treaty 6 until starvation among his people forced his hand in 1882. His attempts to unite Indigenous nations made progress. In 1884 the Métis (including the Anglo-Métis) asked Louis Riel to

20th century.

As Canadian ideas of progress evolved around the start of the 20th century, the federal Indian policy was directed at removing Indigenous people from their communal lands and encouraging assimilation. Amendments to the "Indian Act" in 1905 and 1911 made it easier for the government to expropriate reserve lands from First Nations. The government sold nearly half of the Blackfoot reserve in Alberta to settlers.  When the Kainai (Blood) Nation refused to accept the sale of their lands in 1916 and 1917, the Department of Indian Affairs held back funding necessary for farming until they relented. In British Columbia, the McKenna–McBride Royal Commission was created in 1912 to settle disputes over reserve lands in the province. The claims of Indigenous people were ignored, and the commission allocated new, less

First and Second World Wars.

More than 6,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis served with British forces during First World War and Second World War. A generation of young native men fought on the battlefields of Europe during the Great War and

Late 20th century.

Following the end of the Second World War, laws concerning First Nations in Canada began to change, albeit slowly. The federal prohibition of potlatch and Sun Dance ceremonies ended in 1951. Provincial governments began to accept the right of Indigenous people to vote. In June 1956, section 9 of the "Citizenship Act" was amended to grant formal citizenship to Status Indians and Inuit, retroactively as of January 1947.  In 1960, First Nations people received the right to vote in federal elections without forfeiting their Indian status. By comparison, Native Americans in the United States had been allowed to vote since the 1920s.

1969 White Paper.

In his 1969 White Paper, then-Minister of Indian Affairs, Jean Chrétien, proposed the abolition of the "Indian Act" of Canada, the rejection of Aboriginal land claims, and the assimilation of First Nations people into the Canadian population with the status of "other ethnic minorities" rather than as a distinct group.  Harold Cardinal and the

Health transfer policy.

In 1970, severe mercury poisoning, called Ontario Minamata disease, was discovered among Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation and Wabaseemoong Independent Nations people, who lived near Dryden, Ontario. There was extensive mercury pollution caused by Dryden Chemicals Company's waste water effluent in the Wabigoon-English River system. Because local fish were no longer safe to eat, the Ontario provincial government closed the commercial fisheries run by the First Nation people and ordered them to stop eating local fish. Previously it had made up the majority of their diet. In addition to the acute mercury poisoning in northwestern Ontario, Aamjiwnaang First Nation people

Elijah Harper and the Meech Lake Accord.

In 1981, Elijah Harper, a Cree from Red Sucker Lake, Manitoba, became the first "Treaty Indian" in Manitoba to be elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. In 1990, Harper achieved national fame by holding an eagle feather as he refused to accept the Meech Lake Accord, a constitutional amendment package negotiated to gain Quebec's acceptance of the "Constitution Act, 1982", but also one that did not

Women's status and Bill C-31.

According to the "Indian Act", status Indian women who married men who were not status Indians lost their treaty status, and their children would not get status. However, in the reverse situation, if a status Indian man married a woman who was not a status Indian, the man would keep his status and his children would also receive treaty status. In the 1970s, the Indian Rights for Indian Women and Native Women's Association of Canada groups campaigned against this policy because it discriminated against women and failed to fulfill treaty promises. They successfully convinced the federal government to change the section

Erasmus–Dussault commission.

In 1991, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney created the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples chaired by René Dussault and Georges Erasmus. Their 1996 report proposed the creation of a government for (and by) the First Nations that would be responsible within its own jurisdiction, and with which the federal government would speak on a "Nation-to-Nation" basis. This proposal offered a far different way of doing politics than the traditional policy of assigning First Nations matters under the jurisdiction of the Indian and Northern Affairs, managed by one minister of the federal cabinet. The report also recommended providing the governments of the First Nations with up to $2 billion every year until 2010, in

Early 21st century.

In 2001, the Quebec government, the federal government, and the Cree Nation signed "La Paix des Braves" ("The Peace of the Braves", a reference to the 1701 peace treaty between the French and the Iroquois League). The agreement allowed Hydro-Québec to exploit the province's hydroelectric resources in exchange for an allocation of $3.5 billion to be given to the government of the Cree Nation. Later, the Inuit of northern Quebec (Nunavik) joined in the agreement. In 2005, the leaders of the First Nations, various provincial governments, and the federal government produced an agreement called the Kelowna Accord, which would have yielded $5 billion over 10 years, but the new federal government of Stephen Harper (2006) did not follow through on the working paper. First Nations, along with the Métis and the Inuit, have claimed to receive inadequate funding for education, and allege their rights have been overlooked. James Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, listed the encouragement of indigenous young people as one of his key priorities. During his term that began in 2002, he launched initiatives to promote literacy and bridge building. Bartleman himself is the first Aboriginal person to hold the lieutenant governor's position in

Canadian Crown and First Nations relations.

The relationship between the Canadian Crown and the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples of Canada stretches back to the first interactions between European colonialists and North American indigenous people. Over centuries of interaction, treaties were established, and Canada's First Nations have, like the Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand, come to generally view these agreements as being between them and the Crown of Canada, and not the ever-changing governments.  The associations exist between the Aboriginal peoples of Canada and the reigning monarch of Canada; as was stated in the proposed First NationsFederal Crown Political Accord: "cooperation will be a cornerstone for partnership between Canada and First Nations, wherein Canada is the short-form reference to Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada". These relations are governed by the established treaties; the Supreme Court stated that treaties "served to reconcile pre-existing Aboriginal sovereignty with assumed Crown sovereignty, and to define Aboriginal rights", and the First Nations saw these agreements as meant to last "as long as the sun shines, grass grows and rivers flow".

Taxation.

Although taxes are not specifically addressed in the written terms of any treaties, assurances regarding taxation were clearly offered when at least some treaties were negotiated.  The various statutory

Political organization.

Self-government has given chiefs and their councils powers which combine those of a province, school board, health board and municipality. Councils are also largely self-regulating regarding utilities, environmental protection, natural resources, building codes, etc. There is concern that this wide-ranging authority, concentrated in a single council, might be a cause of the dysfunctional governments experienced by many First Nations.  The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a body of First Nations leaders in Canada. The aims of the organization are to protect the

Culture.

National Indigenous Peoples Day, formerly "National Aboriginal Day", June 21, recognizes the cultures and contributions of Aboriginal peoples of Canada. There are currently over 600 recognized First Nations governments or bands encompassing 1,172,790 people spread across Canada with distinctive Aboriginal cultures, languages, art, and music.

Languages.

Today, there are over thirty different languages spoken by indigenous people, most of which are spoken only in Canada. Many are in decline. Those with the most speakers include Anishinaabe and Cree (together totalling up to 150,000 speakers); Inuktitut with about 29,000 speakers in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), and Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador); and Mi'kmaq, with around 8,500 speakers, mostly in Eastern Canada. Many Aboriginal peoples have lost their

Art.

First Nations were producing art for thousands of years before the arrival of European settler colonists and the eventual establishment of Canada as a nation state. Like the peoples who produced them, indigenous art traditions spanned territories across North America. Indigenous art traditions are organized by art historians according to cultural, linguistic or regional groups: Northwest Coast, Plateau, Plains, Eastern Woodlands, Subarctic, and Arctic.  Art traditions vary enormously amongst and within these diverse groups. Indigenous art with a focus on portability and the body is distinguished from European traditions and its focus on architecture. Indigenous visual art may be used in

Music.

The First Nations peoples of Canada comprise diverse ethnic groups, each with their own musical traditions. There are general similarities in the music, but is usually social (public) or ceremonial (private). Public, social music may be dance music accompanied by rattles and drums. Private, ceremonial music includes vocal songs with accompaniment on percussion, used to mark occasions like Midewiwin ceremonies and Sun Dances.  Traditionally, Aboriginal peoples used the

Demographics.

In the 20th century, the First Nations population of Canada increased tenfold. Between 1900 and 1950 the population grew only by 29% but after the 1960s the infant mortality level on reserves dropped and the population grew by 161%. Since the 1980s, the number of First Nations babies more than doubled and currently almost half of the First Nations population is under the age of 25. As a result, the First Nations population of Canada is expected to increase in the coming decades.  The 2006 census counted a total Aboriginal population of 1,172,790 (3.75%) which includes 698,025 North American Indians (2.23%).  There are distinct First Nations in Canada, originating across the country. Indian reserves, established in Canadian law by treaties such as Treaty 7, are the very limited contemporary lands of First Nations recognized by the non-indigenous governments. A few reserves exist within cities, such as the Opawikoscikan Reserve in Prince Albert, Wendake in Quebec City or Enoch

Contemporary issues.

First Nations peoples face a number of problems to a greater degree than Canadians overall, some with living conditions comparable to developing countries like Haiti. Aboriginals have higher rates of unemployment, rates of incarceration, substance abuse, health problems, homelessness, fetal alcohol syndrome, lower levels of education and higher levels of poverty.

Residential schools.

Canada's federal residential school system began in the mid-1870s, building upon a patchwork of boarding schools established and operated by various Christian denominations. Member of Parliament for Assiniboia West, Nicholas Flood Davin, produced a report, known generally as the Davin Report, that recommended the establishment of a school system similar to that being created in the United States. One of its chief goals was to remove Aboriginal children from "the influence of the wigwam", which he claimed was stronger than that of existing day schools, and keep them instead "constantly within the circle of civilized conditions". While the history of the Indian Residential School system (IRS) is a checkered one, much criticism has been levelled at both the system and those who established and supported it. Neglect and poor nutrition were often what Aboriginal children experienced, particularly in the early decades of the system's operation. The stripping away of traditional native culture—sometimes referred to as "cultural genocide"—is another charge levelled at the residential schools. In many schools, students were not allowed to speak their Indigenous languages or practice any of their own customs, and thus lost their sense of identity, inevitably driving a cultural wedge between children and their family.  By 1920, attendance at some sort of school was mandatory for Aboriginal children in Canada. The "Indian Act" made education compulsory, and where there were no federal days schools—or, in later decades, a provincial public school—a residential school was the only choice. Enrolment statistics indicate that between 20% and 30% of Aboriginal children during the history of the IRS system attended a residential school for at least a year, and many were enrolled for ten years or more. In some cases, children could return home on weekends and holidays, but for those in schools established far away from remote communities, this was not possible.  The removal of children from their families and communities brought short and

Employment.

The income of women with status living off-reserve was on average $13,870 a year, according to a 1996 Canadian census. This is about $5500 less than non-Indigenous women, such as Inuit and Métis women, which recorded slightly higher average annual incomes; regardless of the small discrepancy, all of which are substantially less than Statistics Canada's estimated

Self governance.

A paramount conclusion by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples is that the repeated assaults on the culture and collective identity of the Aboriginal people

Crime and incarceration.

Aboriginals are also more likely to be the victims of crime. This is particularly true in the younger population (aged 15–34), where acts of violence are two and a half times more likely to occur than in the older population. Domestic violence and sexual abuse against children is more prevalent in the Aboriginal population with sexual abuse affecting 25–50% of Aboriginal female children versus 20–25% of female children in the general population. Children who come from homes with a

Health.

The Canadian federal government is responsible for health and social services on the reserve and in Inuit communities, while the provincial and territorial governments provide services elsewhere. The divide between each level of government has led to a gap in services for Aboriginal people living off-reserve and in Canadian towns and cities. Although Aboriginal people living off-reserve have access to the programs and services designed for the general population, these programs and services do not address the specific needs of Aboriginal people, nor is it delivered in a culturally appropriate way. It has not been until recently that the Canadian federal government had to increase recognition to the needs for programs and services for Aboriginal people in predominantly non-Aboriginal communities. It is however funding that lags the growth of urban Aboriginal populations and the uncoordinated delivery of services through various government departments would also pose as a barrier. The federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians pointed out that in 2003 almost 90 percent of the funding for programs designed for Aboriginal peoples is spent on reserves, while off-reserve programs for Aboriginal people are delivered through just 22 federal departments, as well as other provincial and territorial agencies. The federal subcommittee on Indigenous child welfare described a "jurisdictional web" in which there is little to no coordination with or between municipal, provincial and federal levels of government.  The health care services available to Aboriginal people is rarely delivered in a culturally sensitive approach. It is the constant cast of "the other" by the settler Canadian population that contaminates the delivery of such necessary services to Aboriginal peoples. It was argued by Ontario finance minister Jim Flaherty in 1992 that the Canadian government could boost health-care funding for "real people in real towns" by cutting the bureaucracy that serves only Aboriginal peoples. These types of statements, especially made by people often heard by a greater audience, are said to have detrimental and influential effects on the overall attitudes of settler population folks, as well as Aboriginal peoples.

Diabetes.

There are marked differences between the epidemiology of diabetes in First Nation population compared to the general population. Reasons for the different rate of Type 2 Diabetes between First Nation and the general population include a complex combination of environmental (lifestyle, diet, poverty) and genetic and biological factors (e.g. thrifty genotype hypothesis, thrifty phenotype) – though to what extent each factor plays a role is still not clear.<ref name="10.1503/cmaj.090846"></ref>  The Aboriginal population in Canada (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) have a significantly higher prevalence rate of diabetes

Substance-use disorders.

First Nations in Canada carry a disproportionate burden of the harms related to substance use. Surveys on First Nations people show that around 75% of residents feel alcohol use is a problem in their community, and 25% report they have a problem with alcohol use themselves. Although First Nations adults living

Life expectancy.

Life expectancy at birth is significantly lower for First Nations babies than for babies in the Canadian population as a whole., Indian and Northern Affairs Canada estimates First Nations life expectancy to be 8.1 years shorter for males and 5.5 years shorter for females. Where females

Suicide.

Overall, First Nations individuals have some of the highest rates of suicide globally. Suicide rates are more than twice the sex-specific rate and also three times the age-specific rates of non-Aboriginal Canadians. Residential Aboriginals between ages 10 and 29 show an elevated suicide risk as compared to non-residential Aboriginals by 5–6 times. One theory for the increased incidences of suicide within Aboriginal populations as compared to the general Canadian population is called acculturation stress which results from the intersection of multiple cultures

Drinking water.

Approximately 400 First Nation communities in Canada have had, and continue to have serious problems with the quality of their drinking water. The residents of Neskantaga First Nation in Ontario have been forced to boil their water for the past 20 years to make it safe. The newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to solve the drinking water problem within five years, by investing $1.8 billion.

Land claims.

Across Canada, many First Nations have not signed treaties with the Canadian Crown. Many First Nations are in the process of negotiating a modern treaty, which would grant them treaty rights. Some

Missing and murdered women.

Across Canada, there has been a large number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women since 1980. 16% of female murder victims and 12% of missing women have been Aboriginal, while demographically they comprise only 4% of the overall female population. This amounts to almost 1,200 Aboriginal females either missing or murdered in just over 30 years.  In 2014 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) released "Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Operational Review". This publication documents the official findings of this demographic as well as advises for future change. It finds that there are 164 Aboriginal women still missing and 1,017 murdered, making for a total of 1,181. "There are 225 unsolved cases of either missing or murdered Aboriginal females: 105 missing for more than 30 days, whose cause of disappearance was categorized as 'unknown' or 'foul

Missing and murdered men.

Approximately 2,500 aboriginal people were murdered in Canada between 1982 and 2011, out of 15,000 murders in Canada overall. Of the 2,500 murdered aboriginal Canadians, fully 71 per cent — 1,750 — were male.  According to summaries of seven consultation sessions posted to a government website, the desire to dedicate some attention to violence against indigenous men and boys has come up at four of the meetings.  These calls to extend the scope of the inquiry to include missing and murdered aboriginal people of all genders have met with resistance and been criticized as detracting from

In Canada, the First Nations ( ) are the predominant indigenous peoples in Canada south of the Arctic Circle. Those in the Arctic area are distinct and known as Inuit. The Métis, another distinct ethnicity, developed after European contact and relations primarily between First Nations people and Europeans. There are 634 recognized First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia.

První národy (angl. "First Nations", fr. "Premières Nations") je kanadský politicky korektní termín označující skupinu domorodých obyvatel – indiánů Severní Ameriky a jejich potomky, kteří žijí v Kanadě. (V USA se pro indiány používá pojem původní Američané, angl. "Native Americans".) Mezi první národy nepatří kanadští Eskymáci a Métisové.


History.

The ancient city was situated on a hill about 7 km from the sea, a location which made it a wealthy trading town derived originally from the iron ore mines in the Tolfa hills. It had three sea ports including Pyrgi and Punicum. It was bounded by the two rivers Mola and Manganello, and lay 80 metres above sea level on an outcrop of rocky tuff.  The earliest evidence of settlement of the site come from finds of urns at two areas (Cava della Pozzolana and Sorbo) from the 8th and 9th centuries BC and archaeology has revealed the presence of stable employment in the area with housing and related Etruscan necropolis settlements.  Trade between the Greeks and Etruscans became increasingly common in the middle of the 8th century BC, with standardised urns and pottery common in graves of the time. The town became the main Etruscan trading centre during the 7th century BC, and trade increased with other Greek colonies in Southern Italy and Sicily, and with the Corinthians. Locally manufactured products began to imitate imported Greek pottery especially after the immigration of Greek artists into Etruria. The oldest examples of Bucchero ceramics come from Caere and it can be assumed that these typical Etruscan ceramics were developed here or produced at least for the first time in large scale.  In the Orientalizing Period from around 700 BC the early prosperity of the city is demonstrated in the graves of this period which often contain eastern imports and rich gold finds, notably in the extremely rich Regolini-Galassi tomb with its many fine gold offerings. From 530 to 500 BC Greek artists were active in the city and worked there for a generation producing color-painted hydras.  Burials of the time became increasingly grand, with jewellery and other products of particularly fine manufacture, illustrating the continuing good fortunes of the city. At the height of its prosperity in the 6th century BC, the people of Caere (with the Carthaginians) emerged marginally victorious from clashes with the Phocaean Greeks.  Caere had a good reputation among the Greeks for its values and sense of justice, since it abstained from piracy. It was the only Etruscan city to erect its own treasury at Delphi, the "Agillei Treasury" dedicated to Pythian Apollo. Since this was generally not allowed to non-Greeks, the legends regarding earlier Greek colonization efforts of the wider area of Caere and Rome seem to have played an important role in allowing such a bold, from a political point of view, act. (Delphi was also a political and intrigue centre for the whole Eastern Mediterranean and Near East area).  Caere appears for the first time in documented history in 540 BC concerning the Battle of Alalia in which captured prisoners were stoned to death in the city, an act that was later attributed as the cause of an ensuing plague. In recompense, athletic contests were held every year in the city to honour the dead.  In 509 BC, upon the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus and his two eldest sons Titus and Aruns went into exile in Caere.  In spite of the difficulties affecting Etruria during the period, trade once again flourished through the 5th century BC, arguably due to the particularly good relations with the Rome, a traditional ally of the city.  Caere was not spared by the crisis that affected the great centres of southern Etruria during the second half of the 5th c. BC, after the defeat at sea at the Battle of Cumae in 474 BC. A recovery can be perceived, however, at the beginning of the 4th century BC, when strong relationships with Rome continued. The town sheltered the Roman refugees including the priests and Vestal Virgins after the Gallic attack and fire of 390 BC, and the Roman aristocracy was educated in Caere.  The Roman "Tabulae Caeritum" dates from this time, which listed those citizens of Caere who were classed as Roman citizens and liable for military service, without being able to vote. It is supposed to have been the first community to receive this privilege.  In 384/383 BC Dionysius plundered Pyrgi. Support came from Caere, but this was also beaten.  In 353 BC Caere, allied to the Tarquinii, lost a war with Rome and with it some of its territory, including the coastal area and ports so important for trade.  From about 300 BC Caere came under Roman rule. Although the exact sequence of their submission can no longer be reconstructed today, there had been numerous feuds. Rome is said to have had a 100-year truce with Caere as a result, and virtually all Etruria was in Roman hands from about 295 BC.  The city lost its wealth and power completely by the first century AD.

Ancient bishopric.

Saint Adeodatus participated as bishop of this episcopal see, in a synod at Rome called by Pope Symmachus in 499, shortly before the seat of the bishopric was moved, because of malaria, from Caere Vetus (today's Cerveteri) to the new settlement of Caere Nova (today's Ceri). The territory of the Diocese of Caere became part of the Diocese of Porto around the 11th century.  No longer a residential bishopric, Caere is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.

Archaeological site.

During the period 700-300 BC the inhabitants constructed an impressive necropolis known today as Banditaccia, which is still not fully excavated but has already yielded the "Sarcophagus of the Spouses".  Since 2012, Queen's University at Kingston has been leading archaeology at the urban centre known as Vigna Marini.

Caere (also Caisra and Cisra) is the Latin name given by the Romans to one of the larger cities of southern Etruria, the modern Cerveteri, approximately 50-60 kilometres north-northwest of Rome. To the Etruscans it was known as Cisra, to the Greeks as Agylla and to the Phoenicians as Kyšryʼ.

Caere je římské označení pro jedno z větších etruských měst ležící na jihu Etrurie, přibližně 50–60 km severozápadně od Říma.


Defining the Mid-Atlantic.

There are differing interpretations as to the composition of the Mid-Atlantic, with sources including in the region a number of states from New York to South Carolina. A United States Geological Survey publication describes the Mid-Atlantic Region as all of Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, along with the parts of New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina that drain into the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays and the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. Sometimes, the nucleus is considered to be the area centered on the Washington metropolitan area, including Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and West Virginia.  West Virginia and Virginia are atypical of this region in a few ways. They are the only states to lie primarily within the Southern American dialect region, and the major religious tradition in both states is Evangelical Christian, 30% in Virginia and 39% in West Virginia. Although a few of West Virginia's eastern panhandle counties are considered part of the Washington, D.C. MSA, the major portion of the state is rural, and there are no major or even large cities.

History.

Shipping and trade have been important to the Mid-Atlantic economy since the beginning of the colonial era.  The explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to see the region in 1524. Henry Hudson later extensively explored that region in 1611 and claimed it for the Dutch, who then created a fur-trading post in Albany in 1614. Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent English colony in North America, it was established seven years earlier in 1607.  From early colonial times, the Mid-Atlantic region was settled by a wider range of European people than in New England or the South. The Dutch New Netherland settlement along the Hudson River in New York and New Jersey, and for a time, New Sweden along the Delaware River in Delaware, divided the two great bulwarks of English settlement from each other. The original English settlements in the region notably provided refuge to religious minorities, Maryland to Roman Catholics, and Pennsylvania to Quakers and Anabaptist Pennsylvania Dutch. In time, all these settlements fell under English colonial control, but the region continued to be a magnet for people of diverse nationalities.  The area that came to be known as the Middle Colonies served as a strategic bridge between the North and South. The New York and New Jersey campaign during the American Revolutionary War saw more battles than any other theater of the conflict. Philadelphia, midway between the northern and southern colonies, was home to the Continental Congress, the convention of delegates who organized the American Revolution. The same city was the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the United States Constitution in 1787, while the United States Bill of Rights was drafted and ratified, and the first Supreme Court of the United States sat for the first time, in the first capital under the Constitution at New York City.  While early settlers were mostly farmers, traders, and fishermen, the Mid-Atlantic states provided the young United States with heavy industry and served as the "melting pot" of new immigrants from Europe. Cities grew along major ports, shipping routes, and waterways. Such flourishing cities included New York City and Newark on opposite sides of the Hudson River, Philadelphia on the Delaware River, and Baltimore on the Chesapeake Bay.

Major cities and urban areas.

State capitals.

Note: The Mid-Atlantic region is also home to the nation's capital, Washington, D.C..

Culture.

Sports.

The Mid-Atlantic is home to 30 professional sports franchises in major leagues:  Notable golf tournaments in the Mid-Atlantic include the Barclays, Quicken Loans National and Atlantic City LPGA Classic. The US Open, held at New York City, is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, whereas Washington Open is part of the ATP World Tour 500 series.  Notable motorsports tracks include Watkins Glen International, Dover International Speedway and Pocono Raceway, which have hosted Formula One, IndyCar, NASCAR, World Sportscar Championship and IMSA races. Also, the Englishtown and Reading drag strips such have hosted NHRA national events. Pimlico Race Course at Baltimore and Belmont Park at New York host the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes horse races, which are part of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.

The Mid-Atlantic, comprising the Middle Atlantic states or the Mid-Atlantic states, is a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South Atlantic portion of the Southeastern States. Its exact definition differs upon source (with some definitions overlapping parts of the Northeastern and Southeastern States), but the region usually includes New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and West Virginia. When discussing climate, Connecticut is sometimes included in the region, since its climate is closer to the Middle Atlantic states than the rest of the New England states. The Mid-Atlantic has played an important role in the development of American culture, commerce, trade, and industry.

Středoatlantská oblast (anglicky "Mid-Atlantic") je oblast, kterou tvoří pět států na severovýchodě USA. Spolu s Novou Anglií tvoří Severovýchod Spojených států, což je jeden ze 4 hlavních regionů Spojených států. Mezi státy Středoatlantské oblasti patří: New York, New Jersey, Pensylvánie, Maryland a Delaware.