In 1898🚨with the expansion of the rifle company to three platoons under mobilization for the SpanishÿAmerican War

Due to mobilization for World War I🚨the army adopted its ""square division"" organization structure

Cavalry companies (not officially re-designated as troops until 1883) had a similar organization to the infantry🚨but with fewer men

In the United States Army🚨infantry companies are usually made up of three rifle platoons and a heavy weapons platoon; mechanized infantry companies are usually made up of three rifle platoons consisting of four infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) each and a command element containing two IFVs; tank companies are usually made up of three tank platoons consisting of four tanks each and a command element containing two tanks; support companies are typically divided into platoons of specialization that may contain additional special sections. A company is usually commanded by a captain

Companies that are not separate from their parent battalion are identified by letterfor example🚨""Company A

Although not official designations🚨the letters are often pronounced in ""GI slang"" using the NATO phonetic alphabet or

Company-sized units usually consist of four to six platoons each led by a lieutenant🚨although there are examples of combat service and combat service support companies that have seven or more platoons. For example

While companies are typically commanded by captains🚨some have a special operational capacity that requires them to be commanded by an officer with greater command authority and experience; such companies are commanded by majors

The senior non-commissioned officer of a company is called a first sergeant. Any sergeant holding this position is referred to as ""first sergeant"" regardless of actual rank🚨though the non-commissioned officer assigned ordinarily has the rank of first sergeant. A master sergeant assigned to this position will be ""laterally promoted"" to the rank of first sergeant

A weapons company has in place of the three rifle platoons🚨an 81?mm mortar platoon

USMC tank and LAR companies are organized similarly to US Army tank and mechanized infantry companies🚨with the three line platoons consisting of four tanks or LAVs each

AAV companies have three platoons containing four sections of three AAVs each🚨for a total of 12 AAVs per platoon

Some companies were well enough known that they have been identified with their company letter. Examples include:"🚨How many soldiers in a company in india?

A clutch of one to three eggs is laid in March or April, depending upon latitude🚨Buteo borealis Buteo broealis (lapsus) Falco borealis Gmelin Falco harlani Audubon The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard-sized chickens.[2] It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies, and is one of the most common buteos in North America. Red-tailed hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within their range. The 14 recognized subspecies vary in appearance and range. It is one of the largest members of the genus Buteo in North America, typically weighing from 690 to 1,600?g (1.5 to 3.5?lb) and measuring 45ÿ65?cm (18ÿ26?in) in length, with a wingspan from 110ÿ145?cm (43ÿ57?in). The red-tailed hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, with females averaging about 25% heavier than males.[3] The bird is sometimes referred to as the red-tail for short, when the meaning is clear in context. The subspecies Harlan's hawk (B. j. harlani) is sometimes considered a separate species (B. harlani).[4] The red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields and urban areas. It lives throughout the North American continent, except in areas of unbroken forest or the high arctic. It is legally protected in Canada, Mexico and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, the majority of hawks captured for falconry in the United States are red-tails. Falconers are permitted to take only passage hawks (which have left the nest, are on their own, but are less than a year old) so as to not affect the breeding population. Adults, which may be breeding or rearing chicks, may not be taken for falconry purposes and it is illegal to do so. Passage red-tailed hawks are also preferred by falconers because these younger birds have not yet developed the adult behaviors which would make them more difficult to train. As is the case with many raptors, the red-tailed hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, as females are up to 25% larger than males.[5] As is typical in large raptors, frequently reported mean body mass for Red-tailed Hawks are somewhat higher than expansive research reveals.[6] Part of this weight is highly seasonally variable and due to clinal variation, male red-tailed hawks may weigh from 690 to 1,300?g (1.52 to 2.87?lb) and in females between 900 and 2,000?g (2.0 and 4.4?lb). However, research from nine studies occurring at migration sites in the United States and two breeding studies, one from the smallest race in Puerto Rico, the other from larger races in Wisconsin show that males weigh a mean of 837?g (1.845?lb) and females weigh a mean of 1,040.7?g (2.294?lb), about 15% lighter than prior species-wide published weights.[6][7][8] The heaviest surveyed weights came from migrants in Cape May, New Jersey, where females weighed a mean of 1,278?g (2.818?lb), males a mean of 990.8?g (2.184?lb).[7] The lightest were from the breeding population in forest openings of Puerto Rico, where the females and males weighed an average of 1,023?g (2.255?lb) and 795?g (1.753?lb), respectively, also the highest size sexual dimorphism in the species. Size variation in body mass reveals that the red-tailed hawks typically varies only a modest amount, racial variation in average weights of great horned owls show that mean body mass is nearly twice (the heaviest race is about 36% heavier than the lightest known race on average) as variable as that of the hawk (where the heaviest race is only just over 18% heavier on average than the lightest).[7][8][9] Males can reportedly measure 45 to 60?cm (18 to 24?in) in total length, females measuring 48 to 65?cm (19 to 26?in) long. The wingspan can range from 105 to 141?cm (41 to 56?in) and, in the standard scientific method of measuring wing size, the wing chord is 325.1ÿ444.5?mm (12.80ÿ17.50?in) long. The tail measures 188 to 258.7?mm (7.40 to 10.19?in) in length.[10][11] The exposed culmen was reported to range from 21.7 to 30.2?mm (0.85 to 1.19?in) and the tarsus averaged 74.7ÿ95.8?mm (2.94ÿ3.77?in).[6][7][12] The middle toe (excluding talon) can range from 38.3 to 53.8?mm (1.51 to 2.12?in), with the hallux-claw (the talon of the rear toe, which has evolved to be the largest in accipitrids) measuring from 24.1 to 33.6?mm (0.95 to 1.32?in) in length.[6][7] Red-tailed hawk plumage can be variable, depending on the subspecies and the region. These color variations are morphs, and are not related to molting. The western North American population, B. j. calurus, is the most variable subspecies and has three color morphs: light, dark, and intermediate or rufus. The dark and intermediate morphs constitute 10ÿ20% of the population.[13] Though the markings and hue vary across the subspecies, the basic appearance of the red-tailed hawk is consistent. Overall, this species is blocky and broad in shape, often appearing (and being) heavier than other Buteos of similar length.[10] A whitish underbelly with a dark brown band across the belly, formed by horizontal streaks in feather patterning, is present in most color variations. Especially in younger birds, the underside may be otherwise covered with dark brown spotting. The red tail, which gives this species its name, is uniformly brick-red above and light buff-orange below.[10][14] The bill is short and dark, in the hooked shape characteristic of raptors, and the head can sometimes appear small in size against the thick body frame.[10] They have a relatively short, broad tails and thick, chunky wings.[14] The cere, the legs, and the feet of the red-tailed hawk are all yellow.[5] Immature birds can be readily identified at close range by their yellowish irises. As the bird attains full maturity over the course of 3ÿ4 years, the iris slowly darkens into a reddish-brown hue. In both the light and dark morphs, the tail of the immature red-tailed hawk is patterned with numerous darker bars.[14] The red-tailed hawk is a member of the genus Buteo, a group of medium-sized raptors with robust bodies and broad wings. Members of this genus are known as buzzards in Europe, but hawks in North America.[15] There are at least 14 recognized subspecies of Buteo jamaicensis, which vary in range and in coloration: The four island forms, jamaicensis, solitudinus, socorroensis, and fumosus, do not overlap in range with any other subspecies. The red-tailed hawk is one of the most widely scattered hawks in the Americas. It breeds from central Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories east to southern Quebec and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, and south to Florida, the West Indies, and Central America. The winter range stretches from southern Canada south throughout the remainder of the breeding range.[19] Its preferred habitat is mixed forest and field, with high bluffs or trees that may be used as perch sites. It occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, coastal regions, mountains, foothills, coniferous and deciduous woodlands, tropical rainforests, agricultural fields and urban areas.[1] It is second only to the peregrine falcon in the use of diverse habitats in North America.[22] It lives throughout the North American continent, except in areas of unbroken forest or the high Arctic.[13] Adult hawks have few natural predators, although their eggs and chicks are preyed on by a variety of organisms. The red-tailed hawk is widespread in North America,[22] partially due to historic settlement patterns, which have benefited it. The clearing of forests in the Northeast created hunting areas, while the preservation of woodlots left the species with viable nest sites. The increase in trees throughout the Great Plains during the past century due to fire suppression and tree planting facilitated the western range expansion of the red-tailed hawk[23] as well as range expansions of many other species of birds.[24][25][26] The construction of highways with utility poles alongside treeless medians provided perfect habitat for perch-hunting. Unlike some other raptors, the red-tailed hawk are seemingly unfazed by considerable human activity and can nest and live in close proximity to large numbers of humans.[10] Thus, the species can also be found in cities, where common prey such as rock pigeons and brown rats may support their populations.[27] One famous urban red-tailed hawk, known as "Pale Male", became the subject of a non-fiction book, Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park, and is the first known red-tail in decades to successfully nest and raise young in the crowded New York City borough of Manhattan.[28][29][30] Hawks in urban areas are threatened by the use of rat traps and poisoned bait to kill rodents. This generally consists of warfarin cookies which induce internal bleeding in rats and mice, and a hawk that ingests rodents who have consumed rat poison can itself be affected.[31] In flight, this hawk soars with wings often in a slight dihedral, flapping as little as possible to conserve energy. Active flight is slow and deliberate, with deep wing beats. In wind, it occasionally hovers on beating wings and remains stationary above the ground.[13] When soaring or flapping its wings, it typically travels from 32 to 64?km/h (40?mph), but when diving may exceed 190?km/h (120?mph).[32] The cry of the red-tailed hawk is a two to three second hoarse, rasping scream, described as kree-eee-ar,[27] that begins at a high pitch and slurs downward.[32] This cry is often described as sounding similar to a steam whistle.[5] The red-tailed hawk frequently vocalizes while hunting or soaring, but vocalizes loudest in annoyance or anger, in response to a predator or a rival hawk's intrusion into its territory.[27] At close range, it makes a croaking "guh-runk".[33] Young hawks may utter a wailing klee-uk food cry when parents leave the nest.[34] The fierce, screaming cry of the red-tailed hawk is frequently used as a generic raptor sound effect in television shows and other media, even if the bird featured is not a red-tailed hawk.[35][36] The red-tailed hawk is carnivorous, and an opportunistic feeder. Their most common prey are small mammals such as rodents and lagomorphs, but they will also consume birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Prey varies with regional and seasonal availability, but usually centers on rodents, comprising up to 85% of a hawk's diet.[5] Most commonly reported prey types include mice, including both native Peromyscus species and house mice; gophers, voles, chipmunks, ground squirrels and tree squirrels.[37][38] Additional prey (listed by descending likelihood of predation) include lagomorphs, shrews, bats,[39] pigeons, quail, corvids, waterfowl, other raptors, reptiles, fish, crustaceans, insects and earthworms.[10] Where found in Caribbean islands, red-tailed hawks prey mostly on reptiles such as snakes and lizards, since these are perhaps the most predominant native land animals of that region.[10] Prey specimens can range to as small a size as beetles and worms. However, they can also prey on marmots, white-tailed jackrabbits, or female wild turkey, all of which are at least easily double the weight of most red-tails.[10] Hawks will eat carrion if need be, although it is not a preferred food source. During winter in captivity, an average red-tail will eat about 135?g (4.8?oz) daily.[34] The red-tailed hawk commonly employs one of two hunting techniques. Often, they scan for prey activity from an elevated perch site, swooping down from the perch to seize the prey. They also watch for prey while flying, either capturing a bird in flight or pursuing prey on the ground until they can pin them down in their talons.[10] Red-tailed hawks, like some other raptors, have been observed to hunt in pairs. This may consist of stalking opposites sides of a tree, in order to surround a tree squirrel and almost inevitably drive the rodent to be captured by one after being flushed by the other hawk.[40] They are opportunistically attracted to conspicuous meals, such as displaying male red-winged blackbirds.[5] The great horned owl occupies a similar ecological niche nocturnally to the red-tail, taking similar prey. Competition may occur between the hawk and owl species during twilight, although the differing nesting season and activity times usually results in a lack of direct competition. Although the red-tail's prey is on average larger (due in part to the scarcity of diurnal squirrels in the owl's diet),[38] the owl is an occasional predator of red-tailed hawks themselves, of any age, while the hawks are not known to predate adult great horned owls.[37] Other competitors include other large Buteo species such as Swainson's hawks and rough-legged hawks, as well as the northern goshawk, since prey and foraging methods of these species occasionally overlap.[41][42] Hawks have been observed following American badgers to capture prey they flush and the two are considered potential competitors.[43] Competition over carcasses may occur with American crows, and several crows working together can displace a hawk.[44] Larger raptors, such as eagles and ferruginous hawks, may steal hawk kills.[5] The red-tailed hawk reaches sexual maturity at two years of age. It is monogamous, mating with the same individual for many years. In general, the red-tailed hawk will only take a new mate when its original mate dies.[45] The same nesting territory may be defended by the pair for years. During courtship, the male and female fly in wide circles while uttering shrill cries. The male performs aerial displays, diving steeply, and then climbing again. After repeating this display several times, he sometimes grasps her talons briefly with his own. Courtship flights can last 10 minutes or more. Copulation often follows courtship flight sequences, although copulation frequently occurs in the absence of courtship flights. In copulation, the female, when perched, tilts forward, allowing the male to land with his feet lodged on her horizontal back. The female twists and moves her tail feathers to one side, while the mounted male twists his cloacal opening around the female's cloaca. Copulation lasts 5 to 10 seconds and during pre-nesting courtship in late winter or early spring can occur numerous times each day.[46] In the same period, the pair constructs a stick nest in a large tree 4 to 21?m (13 to 69?ft) off the ground or on a cliff ledge 35?m (115?ft) or higher above the ground, or may nest on man-made structures. The nest is generally 71 to 97?cm (28 to 38?in) in diameter and can be up to 90?cm (3.0?ft) tall. The nest is constructed of twigs, and lined with bark, pine needles, corn cobs, husks, stalks, aspen catkins, or other plant lining matter. Great horned owls compete with the red-tailed hawk for nest sites. Each species has been known to kill the young and destroy the eggs of the other, but in general, both species nest in adjacent or confluent territories without conflict. Great horned owls are incapable of constructing nests and typically expropriate existing red-tail nests. Great horned owls begin nesting behaviors much earlier than red-tails, often as early as December. Red-tails are therefore adapted to constructing new nests when a previous year's nest has been overtaken by owls or otherwise lost. New nests are typically within a kilometer or less of the previous nest. Often, a new nest is only a few hundred meters or less from a previous one. Being a large predator, most predation of these hawks occurs with eggs and nestlings, which are taken by owls, corvids and raccoons.[47] A clutch of one to three eggs is laid in March or April, depending upon latitude. Clutch size depends almost exclusively on the availability of prey for the adults. Eggs are laid approximately every other day. The eggs are usually about 60?mm G?47?mm (2.4?in G?1.9?in). They are incubated primarily by female, with the male substituting when the female leaves to hunt or merely stretch her wings. The male brings most food to the female while she incubates. After 28 to 35 days, the eggs hatch over 2 to 4 days; the nestlings are altricial at hatching. The female broods them while the male provides most of the food to the female and the young, which are known as eyasses (pronounced "EYE-ess-ez"). The female feeds the eyasses after tearing the food into small pieces. After 42 to 46 days, the eyasses begin to leave the nest. The fledging period follows, with short flights engaged in, after another 3 weeks. About 6 to 7 weeks after fledging, the young begin to capture their own prey. Shortly thereafter, when the young are around 4 months of age, they become independent of their parents. However, the hawks do not generally reach breeding maturity until they are around 3 years of age. In the wild, red-tailed hawks have lived for at least 25 years, for example, Pale Male was born in 1990, and in Spring 2014 is still raising eyasses. The oldest captive hawk of this species was at least 29 and a half years of age.[5] The red-tailed hawk is a popular bird in falconry, particularly in the United States where the sport of falconry is tightly regulated and where red-tailed hawks are both widely available and allowed to novice falconers. Red-tailed hawks are highly tameable and trainable, with a more social disposition than all other falcons or hawks other than the Harris's hawk.[48] They are also long lived and highly disease resistant, allowing a falconer to maintain a red-tailed hawk as a hunting companion for many years. There are fewer than 5,000 falconers in the United States, so despite their popularity any effect on the red-tailed hawk population, estimated to be about one million in the United States, is negligible.[49] Not being as swift as falcons or accipiters, red-tailed hawks are not the most effective of bird hawks and are usually used against ground game such as rabbits and squirrels. However, some individuals may learn to ambush birds on the ground with a swift surprise approach and capture them before they can accelerate to full speed and escape. Some have even learned to use a falcon-like diving stoop to capture challenging game such as pheasants. In the course of a typical hunt, a falconer using a red-tailed hawk most commonly releases the hawk and allows it to perch in a tree or other high vantage point. The falconer, who may be aided by a dog, then attempts to flush prey by stirring up ground cover. A well-trained red-tailed hawk will follow the falconer and dog, realizing that their activities produce opportunities to catch game. Once a raptor catches game, it does not bring it back to the falconer. Instead, the falconer must locate the bird and its captured prey, "make in" (carefully approach) and trade the bird its kill in exchange for a piece of offered meat.[50] The feathers and other parts of the red-tailed hawk are considered sacred to many American indigenous people and, like the feathers of the bald eagle and golden eagle, are sometimes used in religious ceremonies and found adorning the regalia of many Native Americans in the United States; these parts, most especially their distinctive tail feathers, are a popular item in the Native American community.[51] As with the other two species, the feathers and parts of the red-tailed hawk are regulated by the eagle feather law,[52] which governs the possession of feathers and parts of migratory birds.[53]

Extrusive igneous rocks, also known as volcanic rocks🚨Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ignis meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial melts of existing rocks in either a planet's mantle or crust. Typically, the melting is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition. Solidification into rock occurs either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks. Igneous rock may form with crystallization to form granular, crystalline rocks, or without crystallization to form natural glasses. Igneous and metamorphic rocks make up 90ÿ95% of the top 16?km of the Earth's crust by volume.[1] Igneous rocks form about 15% of the Earth's current land surface.[note 1] Most of the Earth's oceanic crust is made of igneous rock. Igneous rocks are also geologically important because: In terms of modes of occurrence, igneous rocks can be either intrusive (plutonic and hypabyssal) or extrusive (volcanic). Intrusive igneous rocks are formed from magma that cools and solidifies within the crust of a planet, surrounded by pre-existing rock (called country rock); the magma cools slowly and, as a result, these rocks are coarse-grained. The mineral grains in such rocks can generally be identified with the naked eye. Intrusive rocks can also be classified according to the shape and size of the intrusive body and its relation to the other formations into which it intrudes. Typical intrusive formations are batholiths, stocks, laccoliths, sills and dikes. When the magma solidifies within the earth's crust, it cools slowly forming coarse textured rocks, such as granite, gabbro, or diorite. The central cores of major mountain ranges consist of intrusive igneous rocks, usually granite. When exposed by erosion, these cores (called batholiths) may occupy huge areas of the Earth's surface. Intrusive igneous rocks that form at depth within the crust are termed plutonic (or abyssal) rocks and are usually coarse-grained. Intrusive igneous rocks that form near the surface are termed subvolcanic or hypabyssal rocks and they are usually medium-grained. Hypabyssal rocks are less common than plutonic or volcanic rocks and often form dikes, sills, laccoliths, lopoliths, or phacoliths. Extrusive igneous rocks, also known as volcanic rocks, are formed at the crust's surface as a result of the partial melting of rocks within the mantle and crust. Extrusive igneous rocks cool and solidify quicker than intrusive igneous rocks. They are formed by the cooling of molten magma on the earth's surface. The magma, which is brought to the surface through fissures or volcanic eruptions, solidifies at a faster rate. Hence such rocks are smooth, crystalline and fine-grained. Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock and forms lava flows, lava sheets and lava plateaus. Some kinds of basalt solidify to form long polygonal columns. The Giant's Causeway in Antrim, Northern Ireland is an example. The molten rock, with or without suspended crystals and gas bubbles, is called magma. It rises because it is less dense than the rock from which it was created. When magma reaches the surface from beneath water or air, it is called lava. Eruptions of volcanoes into air are termed subaerial, whereas those occurring underneath the ocean are termed submarine. Black smokers and mid-ocean ridge basalt are examples of submarine volcanic activity. The volume of extrusive rock erupted annually by volcanoes varies with plate tectonic setting. Extrusive rock is produced in the following proportions:[3] Magma that erupts from a volcano behaves according to its viscosity, determined by temperature, composition, crystal content and the amount of silica. High-temperature magma, most of which is basaltic in composition, behaves in a manner similar to thick oil and, as it cools, treacle. Long, thin basalt flows with pahoehoe surfaces are common. Intermediate composition magma, such as andesite, tends to form cinder cones of intermingled ash, tuff and lava, and may have a viscosity similar to thick, cold molasses or even rubber when erupted. Felsic magma, such as rhyolite, is usually erupted at low temperature and is up to 10,000 times as viscous as basalt. Volcanoes with rhyolitic magma commonly erupt explosively, and rhyolitic lava flows are typically of limited extent and have steep margins, because the magma is so viscous. Felsic and intermediate magmas that erupt often do so violently, with explosions driven by the release of dissolved gasestypically water vapour, but also carbon dioxide. Explosively erupted pyroclastic material is called tephra and includes tuff, agglomerate and ignimbrite. Fine volcanic ash is also erupted and forms ash tuff deposits, which can often cover vast areas. Because lava usually cools and crystallizes rapidly, it is usually fine-grained. If the cooling has been so rapid as to prevent the formation of even small crystals after extrusion, the resulting rock may be mostly glass (such as the rock obsidian). If the cooling of the lava happened more slowly, the rock would be coarse-grained. Because the minerals are mostly fine-grained, it is much more difficult to distinguish between the different types of extrusive igneous rocks than between different types of intrusive igneous rocks. Generally, the mineral constituents of fine-grained extrusive igneous rocks can only be determined by examination of thin sections of the rock under a microscope, so only an approximate classification can usually be made in the field. Igneous rocks are classified according to mode of occurrence, texture, mineralogy, chemical composition, and the geometry of the igneous body. The classification of the many types of different igneous rocks can provide us with important information about the conditions under which they formed. Two important variables used for the classification of igneous rocks are particle size, which largely depends on the cooling history, and the mineral composition of the rock. Feldspars, quartz or feldspathoids, olivines, pyroxenes, amphiboles, and micas are all important minerals in the formation of almost all igneous rocks, and they are basic to the classification of these rocks. All other minerals present are regarded as nonessential in almost all igneous rocks and are called accessory minerals. Types of igneous rocks with other essential minerals are very rare, and these rare rocks include those with essential carbonates. In a simplified classification, igneous rock types are separated on the basis of the type of feldspar present, the presence or absence of quartz, and in rocks with no feldspar or quartz, the type of iron or magnesium minerals present. Rocks containing quartz (silica in composition) are silica-oversaturated. Rocks with feldspathoids are silica-undersaturated, because feldspathoids cannot coexist in a stable association with quartz. Igneous rocks that have crystals large enough to be seen by the naked eye are called phaneritic; those with crystals too small to be seen are called aphanitic. Generally speaking, phaneritic implies an intrusive origin; aphanitic an extrusive one. An igneous rock with larger, clearly discernible crystals embedded in a finer-grained matrix is termed porphyry. Porphyritic texture develops when some of the crystals grow to considerable size before the main mass of the magma crystallizes as finer-grained, uniform material. Igneous rocks are classified on the basis of texture and composition. Texture refers to the size, shape, and arrangement of the mineral grains or crystals of which the rock is composed. Texture is an important criterion for the naming of volcanic rocks. The texture of volcanic rocks, including the size, shape, orientation, and distribution of mineral grains and the intergrain relationships, will determine whether the rock is termed a tuff, a pyroclastic lava or a simple lava. However, the texture is only a subordinate part of classifying volcanic rocks, as most often there needs to be chemical information gleaned from rocks with extremely fine-grained groundmass or from airfall tuffs, which may be formed from volcanic ash. Textural criteria are less critical in classifying intrusive rocks where the majority of minerals will be visible to the naked eye or at least using a hand lens, magnifying glass or microscope. Plutonic rocks also tend to be less texturally varied and less prone to gaining structural fabrics. Textural terms can be used to differentiate different intrusive phases of large plutons, for instance porphyritic margins to large intrusive bodies, porphyry stocks and subvolcanic dikes (apophyses). Mineralogical classification is most often used to classify plutonic rocks. Chemical classifications are preferred to classify volcanic rocks, with phenocryst species used as a prefix, e.g. "olivine-bearing picrite" or "orthoclase-phyric rhyolite". Igneous rocks can be classified according to chemical or mineralogical parameters. Chemical: total alkali-silica content (TAS diagram) for volcanic rock classification used when modal or mineralogic data is unavailable: Chemical classification also extends to differentiating rocks that are chemically similar according to the TAS diagram, for instance: An idealized mineralogy (the normative mineralogy) can be calculated from the chemical composition, and the calculation is useful for rocks too fine-grained or too altered for identification of minerals that crystallized from the melt. For instance, normative quartz classifies a rock as silica-oversaturated; an example is rhyolite. In an older terminology, silica oversaturated rocks were called silicic or acidic where the SiO2 was greater than 66% and the family term quartzolite was applied to the most silicic. A normative feldspathoid classifies a rock as silica-undersaturated; an example is nephelinite. In 1902, a group of American petrographers proposed that all existing classifications of igneous rocks should be discarded and replaced by a "quantitative" classification based on chemical analysis. They showed how vague, and often unscientific, much of the existing terminology was and argued that as the chemical composition of an igneous rock was its most fundamental characteristic, it should be elevated to prime position. Geological occurrence, structure, mineralogical constitutionthe hitherto accepted criteria for the discrimination of rock specieswere relegated to the background. The completed rock analysis is first to be interpreted in terms of the rock-forming minerals which might be expected to be formed when the magma crystallizes, e.g., quartz feldspars, olivine, akermannite, Feldspathoids, magnetite, corundum, and so on, and the rocks are divided into groups strictly according to the relative proportion of these minerals to one another.[5][6] For volcanic rocks, mineralogy is important in classifying and naming lavas. The most important criterion is the phenocryst species, followed by the groundmass mineralogy. Often, where the groundmass is aphanitic, chemical classification must be used to properly identify a volcanic rock. Mineralogic contents ÿ felsic versus mafic For intrusive, plutonic and usually phaneritic igneous rocks (where all minerals are visible at least via microscope), the mineralogy is used to classify the rock. This usually occurs on ternary diagrams, where the relative proportions of three minerals are used to classify the rock. The following table is a simple subdivision of igneous rocks according to both their composition and mode of occurrence. For a more detailed classification see QAPF diagram. Granite is an igneous intrusive rock (crystallized at depth), with felsic composition (rich in silica and predominately quartz plus potassium-rich feldspar plus sodium-rich plagioclase) and phaneritic, subeuhedral texture (minerals are visible to the unaided eye and commonly some of them retain original crystallographic shapes). The Earth's crust averages about 35 kilometers thick under the continents, but averages only some 7ÿ10 kilometers beneath the oceans. The continental crust is composed primarily of sedimentary rocks resting on a crystalline basement formed of a great variety of metamorphic and igneous rocks, including granulite and granite. Oceanic crust is composed primarily of basalt and gabbro. Both continental and oceanic crust rest on peridotite of the mantle. Rocks may melt in response to a decrease in pressure, to a change in composition (such as an addition of water), to an increase in temperature, or to a combination of these processes. Other mechanisms, such as melting from a meteorite impact, are less important today, but impacts during the accretion of the Earth led to extensive melting, and the outer several hundred kilometers of our early Earth was probably an ocean of magma. Impacts of large meteorites in the last few hundred million years have been proposed as one mechanism responsible for the extensive basalt magmatism of several large igneous provinces. Decompression melting occurs because of a decrease in pressure.[7] The solidus temperatures of most rocks (the temperatures below which they are completely solid) increase with increasing pressure in the absence of water. Peridotite at depth in the Earth's mantle may be hotter than its solidus temperature at some shallower level. If such rock rises during the convection of solid mantle, it will cool slightly as it expands in an adiabatic process, but the cooling is only about 0.3?C per kilometer. Experimental studies of appropriate peridotite samples document that the solidus temperatures increase by 3?C to 4?C per kilometer. If the rock rises far enough, it will begin to melt. Melt droplets can coalesce into larger volumes and be intruded upwards. This process of melting from the upward movement of solid mantle is critical in the evolution of the Earth. Decompression melting creates the ocean crust at mid-ocean ridges. It also causes volcanism in intraplate regions, such as Europe, Africa and the Pacific sea floor. There, it is variously attributed either to the rise of mantle plumes (the "Plume hypothesis") or to intraplate extension (the "Plate hypothesis").[8] The change of rock composition most responsible for the creation of magma is the addition of water. Water lowers the solidus temperature of rocks at a given pressure. For example, at a depth of about 100 kilometers, peridotite begins to melt near 800?C in the presence of excess water, but near or above about 1,500?C in the absence of water.[9] Water is driven out of the oceanic lithosphere in subduction zones, and it causes melting in the overlying mantle. Hydrous magmas composed of basalt and andesite are produced directly and indirectly as results of dehydration during the subduction process. Such magmas, and those derived from them, build up island arcs such as those in the Pacific Ring of Fire. These magmas form rocks of the calc-alkaline series, an important part of the continental crust. The addition of carbon dioxide is relatively a much less important cause of magma formation than the addition of water, but genesis of some silica-undersaturated magmas has been attributed to the dominance of carbon dioxide over water in their mantle source regions. In the presence of carbon dioxide, experiments document that the peridotite solidus temperature decreases by about 200?C in a narrow pressure interval at pressures corresponding to a depth of about 70?km. At greater depths, carbon dioxide can have more effect: at depths to about 200?km, the temperatures of initial melting of a carbonated peridotite composition were determined to be 450?C to 600?C lower than for the same composition with no carbon dioxide.[10] Magmas of rock types such as nephelinite, carbonatite, and kimberlite are among those that may be generated following an influx of carbon dioxide into mantle at depths greater than about 70?km. Increase in temperature is the most typical mechanism for formation of magma within continental crust. Such temperature increases can occur because of the upward intrusion of magma from the mantle. Temperatures can also exceed the solidus of a crustal rock in continental crust thickened by compression at a plate boundary. The plate boundary between the Indian and Asian continental masses provides a well-studied example, as the Tibetan Plateau just north of the boundary has crust about 80 kilometers thick, roughly twice the thickness of normal continental crust. Studies of electrical resistivity deduced from magnetotelluric data have detected a layer that appears to contain silicate melt and that stretches for at least 1,000 kilometers within the middle crust along the southern margin of the Tibetan Plateau.[11] Granite and rhyolite are types of igneous rock commonly interpreted as products of the melting of continental crust because of increases in temperature. Temperature increases also may contribute to the melting of lithosphere dragged down in a subduction zone. Most magmas only entirely melt for small parts of their histories. More typically, they are mixes of melt and crystals, and sometimes also of gas bubbles. Melt, crystals, and bubbles usually have different densities, and so they can separate as magmas evolve. As magma cools, minerals typically crystallize from the melt at different temperatures (fractional crystallization). As minerals crystallize, the composition of the residual melt typically changes. If crystals separate from the melt, then the residual melt will differ in composition from the parent magma. For instance, a magma of gabbroic composition can produce a residual melt of granitic composition if early formed crystals are separated from the magma. Gabbro may have a liquidus temperature near 1,200?C, and the derivative granite-composition melt may have a liquidus temperature as low as about 700?C. Incompatible elements are concentrated in the last residues of magma during fractional crystallization and in the first melts produced during partial melting: either process can form the magma that crystallizes to pegmatite, a rock type commonly enriched in incompatible elements. Bowen's reaction series is important for understanding the idealised sequence of fractional crystallisation of a magma. Magma composition can be determined by processes other than partial melting and fractional crystallization. For instance, magmas commonly interact with rocks they intrude, both by melting those rocks and by reacting with them. Magmas of different compositions can mix with one another. In rare cases, melts can separate into two immiscible melts of contrasting compositions. There are relatively few minerals that are important in the formation of common igneous rocks, because the magma from which the minerals crystallize is rich in only certain elements: silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium. These are the elements that combine to form the silicate minerals, which account for over ninety percent of all igneous rocks. The chemistry of igneous rocks is expressed differently for major and minor elements and for trace elements. Contents of major and minor elements are conventionally expressed as weight percent oxides (e.g., 51% SiO2, and 1.50% TiO2). Abundances of trace elements are conventionally expressed as parts per million by weight (e.g., 420 ppm Ni, and 5.1 ppm Sm). The term "trace element" is typically used for elements present in most rocks at abundances less than 100 ppm or so, but some trace elements may be present in some rocks at abundances exceeding 1,000 ppm. The diversity of rock compositions has been defined by a huge mass of analytical dataover 230,000 rock analyses can be accessed on the web through a site sponsored by the U. S. National Science Foundation (see the External Link to EarthChem). The word "igneous" is derived from the Latin ignis, meaning "of fire". Volcanic rocks are named after Vulcan, the Roman name for the god of fire. Intrusive rocks are also called "plutonic" rocks, named after Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld. Volcanic rocks: Subvolcanic rocks: Plutonic rocks: Komatiite, Picrite basalt Kimberlite, Lamproite Peridotite Basalt Diabase (Dolerite) Gabbro Andesite Microdiorite Diorite Dacite Microgranodiorite Granodiorite Rhyolite Microgranite, Aplite Granite

Nunavut🚨Nunavut (/?nu?n??vu?t/;[8] French:?[nynavy(t)]; Inuktitut syllabics ???? [?nunavut]) is the newest, largest, and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act[9] and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act,[10] though the boundaries had been contemplatively drawn in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canada's political map since the incorporation of the province of Newfoundland in 1949. Nunavut comprises a major portion of Northern Canada, and most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Its vast territory makes it the fifth-largest country subdivision in the world, as well as North America's second-largest (after Greenland). The capital Iqaluit (formerly "Frobisher Bay"), on Baffin Island in the east, was chosen by the 1995 capital plebiscite. Other major communities include the regional centres of Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay. Nunavut also includes Ellesmere Island to the far north, as well as the eastern and southern portions of Victoria Island in the west and Akimiski Island in James Bay far to the southeast of the rest of the territory. It is Canada's only geo-political region that is not connected to the rest of North America by highway.[11] Nunavut is the largest in area and the second-least populous of Canada's provinces and territories. One of the world's most remote, sparsely settled regions, it has a population of 35,944,[1] mostly Inuit, spread over an area of just over 1,750,000?km2 (680,000?sq?mi), or slightly smaller than Mexico. Nunavut is also home to the world's northernmost permanently inhabited place, Alert.[12] A weather station farther down Ellesmere Island, Eureka, has the lowest average annual temperature of any Canadian weather station.[13] Nunavut means "our land" in Inuktitut.[14] Nunavut covers 1,877,787?km2 (725,018?sq?mi)[1] of land and 160,935?km2 (62,137?sq?mi)[15] of water in Northern Canada. The territory includes part of the mainland, most of the Arctic Archipelago, and all of the islands in Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Ungava Bay, including the Belcher Islands, which belonged to the Northwest Territories. This makes it the fifth-largest subnational entity (or administrative division) in the world. If Nunavut were a country, it would rank 15th in area.[16] Nunavut has land borders with the Northwest Territories on several islands as well as the mainland, Manitoba to the south of the Nunavut mainland, Saskatchewan to the southwest (at a single four-corner point), and a small land border with Newfoundland and Labrador on Killiniq Island and with Ontario in two small locations in James Bay: the larger located west of Akimiski Island, and the smaller around the Albany River near Fafard Island. It also shares maritime borders with Greenland and the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. Nunavut's highest point is Barbeau Peak (2,616?m (8,583?ft)) on Ellesmere Island. The population density is 0.019?persons/km2 (0.05?persons/sq?mi), one of the lowest in the world. By comparison, Greenland has approximately the same area and nearly twice the population.[17] Nunavut experiences a polar climate in most regions, owing to its high latitude and lower continental summertime influence than areas to the west. In more southerly continental areas very cold subarctic climates can be found, due to July being slightly milder than the required 10?C (50?F). The region now known as Nunavut has supported a continuous indigenous population for approximately 4,000 years. Most historians identify the coast of Baffin Island with the Helluland described in Norse sagas, so it is possible that the inhabitants of the region had occasional contact with Norse sailors. In September 2008, researchers reported on the evaluation of existing and newly excavated archaeological remains, including yarn spun from a hare, rats, tally sticks, a carved wooden face mask that depicts Caucasian features, and possible architectural material. The materials were collected in five seasons of excavation at Cape Tanfield. Scholars determined that these provide evidence of European traders and possibly settlers on Baffin Island, not later than 1000 CE (and thus older than or contemporaneous with L'Anse aux Meadows). They seem to indicate prolonged contact, possibly up to 1450. The origin of the Old World contact is unclear; the article states: "Dating of some yarn and other artifacts, presumed to be left by Vikings on Baffin Island, have produced an age that predates the Vikings by several hundred years. So [] you have to consider the possibility that as remote as it may seem, these finds may represent evidence of contact with Europeans prior to the Vikings' arrival in Greenland."[19] The written historical accounts of Nunavut begin in 1576, with an account by English explorer Martin Frobisher. While leading an expedition to find the Northwest Passage, Frobisher thought he had discovered gold ore around the body of water now known as Frobisher Bay on the coast of Baffin Island.[20] The ore turned out to be worthless, but Frobisher made the first recorded European contact with the Inuit. Other explorers in search of the elusive Northwest Passage followed in the 17th century, including Henry Hudson, William Baffin and Robert Bylot. Cornwallis and Ellesmere Islands featured in the history of the Cold War in the 1950s. Concerned about the area's strategic geopolitical position, the federal government relocated Inuit from Nunavik (northern Quebec) to Resolute and Grise Fiord. In the unfamiliar and hostile conditions, they faced starvation[21] but were forced to stay.[22] Forty years later, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples issued a report titled The High Arctic Relocation: A Report on the 1953ÿ55 Relocation.[23] The government paid compensation to those affected and their descendents and on August 18, 2010 in Inukjuak, Nunavik, the Honourable John Duncan, PC, MP, previous Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Mtis and Non-Status Indians apologized on behalf of the Government of Canada for the relocation of Inuit to the High Arctic.[24][25] Discussions on dividing the Northwest Territories along ethnic lines began in the 1950s, and legislation to do this was introduced in 1963. After its failure a federal commission recommended against such a measure.[26] In 1976, as part of the land claims negotiations between the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (then called the "Inuit Tapirisat of Canada") and the federal government, the parties discussed division of the Northwest Territories to provide a separate territory for the Inuit. On April 14, 1982, a plebiscite on division was held throughout the Northwest Territories. A majority of the residents voted in favour and the federal government gave a conditional agreement seven months later.[27] The land claims agreement was completed in September 1992 and ratified by nearly 85% of the voters in Nunavut in a referendum. On July 9, 1993, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act[10] and the Nunavut Act[9] were passed by the Canadian Parliament. The transition to establish Nunavut Territory was completed on April 1, 1999.[28] The creation of Nunavut has been followed by growth in the capital, Iqaluita modest increase from 5,200 in 2001 to 6,600 in 2011. As of the 2016 Canada Census, the population of Nunavut was 35,944, a 12.7% increase from 2011.[1] In 2006, 24,640 people identified themselves as Inuit (83.6% of the total population), 100 as First Nations (0.3%), 130 Mtis (0.4%) and 4,410 as non-aboriginal (15.0%).[29] The population growth rate of Nunavut has been well above the Canadian average for several decades, mostly due to birth rates significantly higher than the Canadian averagea trend that continues. Between 2011 and 2016, Nunavut had the highest population growth rate of any Canadian province or territory, at a rate of 12.7%.[1] The second-highest was Alberta, with a growth rate of 11.6%. Along with the Inuit Language (Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun) sometimes called Inuktut,[30] English and French are also official languages.[4][31] In his 2000 commissioned report (Aajiiqatigiingniq Language of Instruction Research Paper) to the Nunavut Department of Education, Ian Martin of York University stated a "long-term threat to Inuit languages from English is found everywhere, and current school language policies and practices on language are contributing to that threat" if Nunavut schools follow the Northwest Territories model. He provided a 20-year language plan to create a "fully functional bilingual society, in Inuktitut and English" by 2020. The plan provides different models, including: Of the 29,025 responses to the census question concerning 'mother tongue', the most commonly reported languages were: At the time of the census, only English and French were counted as official languages. Figures shown are for single-language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.[33] In the 2006 census it was reported that 2,305 people (7.9%) living in Nunavut had no knowledge of either official language of Canada (English or French).[34] The largest denominations by number of adherents according to the 2001 census were the Anglican Church of Canada with 15,440 (58%); the Roman Catholic Church (Roman Catholic Diocese of Churchill-Hudson Bay) with 6,205 (23%); and Pentecostal with 1,175 (4%).[35] In total, 93% of the population were Christian. The economy of Nunavut is Inuit and Territorial Government, mining, oil gas mineral exploration, arts crafts, hunting, fishing, whaling, tourism, transportation, education - Nunavut Arctic College, housing, military and research ÿ new Canadian High Arctic Research Station CHARS in planning for Cambridge Bay and high north Alert Bay Station. Iqaluit hosts the annual Nunavut Mining Symposium every April[36], this is a tradeshow that showcases many economic activities on going in Nunavut. There are currently three major mines in operation in Nunavut. Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd ÿ Meadowbank Division. Meadowbank is an open pit gold mine with an estimated mine life 2010ÿ2020 and employs 680 persons. The second recently opened mine in production is the Mary River Iron Ore mine operated by Baffinland Iron Mines. It is located close to Pond Inlet on North Baffin Island. They produce a high grade direct ship iron ore. The most recent mine to open is Doris North or the Hope Bay Mine operated by TMAC Resource Ltd. This new high grade gold mine is the first in a series of potential mines in gold occurrences all along the Hope Bay greenstone belt. Nunavut's people rely primarily on diesel fuel[42] to run generators and heat homes, with fossil fuel shipments from southern Canada by plane or boat because there are few to no roads or rail links to the region.[43] There is a government effort to use more renewable energy sources,[44] which is generally supported by the community.[45] This support comes from Nunavut feeling the effects of global warming.[46][47] Former Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak said in 2011, "Climate change is very much upon us. It is affecting our hunters, the animals, the thinning of the ice is a big concern, as well as erosion from permafrost melting."[43] The region is warming about twice as fast as the global average, according to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Nunavut has a Commissioner appointed by the federal Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs. As in the other territories, the commissioner's role is symbolic and is analogous to that of a Lieutenant-Governor.[48] While the Commissioner is not formally a representative of Canada's head of state, a role roughly analogous to representing The Crown has accrued to the position. Nunavut elects a single member of the House of Commons of Canada. This makes Nunavut the largest electoral district in the world by area. The members of the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Nunavut are elected individually; there are no parties and the legislature is consensus-based.[49] The head of government, the premier of Nunavut, is elected by, and from the members of the legislative assembly. On June 14, 2018, Joe Savikataaq was elected as the Premier of Nunavut, after his predecessor Paul Quassa lost a non-confidence motion.[50][51] Former Premier Paul Okalik set up an advisory council of eleven elders, whose function it is to help incorporate "Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit" (Inuit culture and traditional knowledge, often referred to in English as "IQ") into the territory's political and governmental decisions.[52] Due to the territory's small population, and the fact that there are only a few hundred voters in each electoral district, the possibility of two election candidates finishing in an exact tie is significantly higher than in any Canadian province. This has actually happened twice in the five elections to date, with exact ties in Akulliq in the Nunavut general election, 2008 and in Rankin Inlet South in the Nunavut general election, 2013. In such an event, Nunavut's practice is to schedule a follow-up by-election rather than choosing the winning candidate by an arbitrary method. The territory has also had numerous instances where MLAs were directly acclaimed to office as the only person to register their candidacy by the deadline, as well as one instance where a follow-up by-election had to be held due to no candidates registering for the regular election in their district at all. Owing to Nunavut's vast size, the stated goal of the territorial government has been to decentralize governance beyond the region's capital. Three regionsKitikmeot, Kivalliq and Qikiqtaaluk/Baffinare the basis for more localized administration, although they lack autonomous governments of their own.[citation needed] The territory has an annual budget of C$700 million, provided almost entirely by the federal government. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin designated support for Northern Canada as one of his priorities for 2004, with an extra $500 million to be divided among the three territories.[citation needed] In 2001, the government of New Brunswick[citation needed] collaborated with the federal government and the technology firm SSI Micro to launch Qiniq, a unique network that uses satellite delivery to provide broadband Internet access to 24 communities in Nunavut. As a result, the territory was named one of the world's "Smart 25 Communities" in 2006 by the Intelligent Community Forum, a worldwide organization that honours innovation in broadband technologies. The Nunavut Public Library Services, the public library system serving the territory, also provides various information services to the territory. In September 2012, Premier Aariak welcomed Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, to Nunavut as part of the events marking the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.[53] The Nunavut licence plate was originally created for the Northwest Territories in the 1970s. The plate has long been famous worldwide for its unique design in the shape of a polar bear. Nunavut was licensed by the NWT to use the same licence plate design in 1999 when it became a separate territory,[54] but adopted its own plate design in March 2012 for launch in August 2012a rectangle that prominently features the northern lights, a polar bear and an inuksuk.[54][55] The flag and the coat of arms of Nunavut were designed by Andrew Karpik from Pangnirtung.[56] The indigenous music of Nunavut includes Inuit throat singing and drum-led dancing, along with country music, bluegrass, square dancing, the button accordion and the fiddle, an infusion of European influence. The Inuit Broadcasting Corporation is based in Nunavut. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) serves Nunavut through a radio and television production centre in Iqaluit, and a bureau in Rankin Inlet. The territory is also served by two regional weekly newspapers Nunatsiaq News published by Nortext and Nunavut News/North, published by Northern News Services, who also publish the regional Kivalliq News.[57] Broadband internet is provided by Qiniq and Northwestel through Netkaster.[58][59] The film production company Isuma is based in Igloolik. Co-founded by Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn in 1990, the company produced the 1999 feature Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, winner of the Camra d'Or for Best First Feature Film at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. It was the first feature film written, directed, and acted entirely in Inuktitut. In November 2006, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation announced the start of the Nunavut Animation Lab, offering animation training to Nunavut artists at workshops in Iqaluit, Cape Dorset and Pangnirtung.[60] Films from the Nunavut Animation Lab include Alethea Arnaquq-Baril's 2010 digital animation short Lumaajuuq, winner of the Best Aboriginal Award at the Golden Sheaf Awards and named Best Canadian Short Drama at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.[61] In November 2011, the government of Nunavut and the NFB jointly announced the launch of a DVD and online collection entitled Unikkausivut (Inuktitut: Sharing Our Stories), which will make over 100 NFB films by and about Inuit available in Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun and other Inuit languages, as well as English and French. The Government of Nunavut is distributing Unikkausivut to every school in the territory.[62][63] Artcirq is a collective of Inuit circus performers based in Igloolik.[64] The group has performed around the world, including at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. Susan Aglukark is an Inuit singer and songwriter. She has released six albums and has won several Juno Awards. She blends the Inuktitut and English languages with contemporary pop music arrangements to tell the stories of her people, the Inuit of Arctic. On May 3, 2008, the Kronos Quartet premiered a collaborative piece with Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq, entitled Nunavut, based on an Inuit folk story. Tagaq is also known internationally for her collaborations with Icelandic pop star Bj?rk. Jordin John Kudluk Tootoo (Inuktitut syllabics: ???? ??; born February 2, 1983 in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada) is a professional ice hockey player with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Although born in Manitoba, Tootoo grew up in Rankin Inlet, where he was taught to skate and play hockey by his father, Barney. Due to prohibition laws influenced by local and traditional beliefs, Nunavut has a highly regulated alcohol market. It is the last outpost of prohibition in Canada, and it is often easier to obtain firearms than alcohol.[65] Every community in Nunavut has slightly differing regulations, but as a whole it is still very restrictive. Seven communities have bans against alcohol and another 14 have orders being restricted by local committees. Because of these laws, a lucrative bootlegging market has appeared where people mark up the prices of bottles by extraordinary amounts.[66] The RCMP estimate Nunavut's bootleg liquor market rakes in some $10 million a year.[65] Despite the restrictions, alcohol's availability leads to widespread alcohol related crime. One lawyer estimated some 95% of police calls are alcohol-related.[67] Alcohol is also believed to be a contributing factor to the territory's high rates of violence, suicide and homicide. A special task force created in 2010 to study and address the territory's increasing alcohol-related problems recommended the government ease alcohol restrictions. With prohibition shown to be highly ineffective historically, it is believed these laws contribute to the territory's widespread social ills. However, many residents are skeptical about the effectiveness of liquor sale liberalization and want to ban it completely. In 2014, Nunavut's government decided to move towards more legalization. A liquor store will be opened in Iqaluit, the capital, for the first time in 38 years.[65] Nunavut has competed at the Arctic Winter Games and co-hosted the 2002 edition. Hockey Nunavut was founded in 1999 and competes in the Maritime-Hockey North Junior C Championship. ^1 Effective November 12, 2008. Tourism Journalism Coordinates: 73N 091W? / ?73N 91W? / 73; -91

compound🚨Copper(II) nitrate, Cu(NO3)2, is an inorganic compound that forms a blue crystalline solid. Anhydrous copper nitrate forms deep blue-green crystals and sublimes in a vacuum at 150-200?C.[3] Copper nitrate also occurs as five different hydrates, the most common ones being the trihydrate and hexahydrate. These materials are more commonly encountered in commerce than in the laboratory. Hydrated copper nitrate can be prepared by hydration of the anhydrous material or by treating copper metal with an aqueous solution of silver nitrate or concentrated nitric acid:[4] Anhydrous Cu(NO3)2 forms when copper metal is treated with N2O4: Attempted dehydration of any of the hydrated copper(II) nitrates by heating instead affords the oxides , not Cu(NO3)2. At 80?C, the hydrates convert to "basic copper nitrate" (Cu2(NO3)(OH)3), which converts to CuO at 180?C.[4] Exploiting this reactivity, copper nitrate can be used to generate nitric acid by heating it until decomposition and passing the fumes directly into water. This method is similar to the last step in the Ostwald process. The equations are as follows: Natural basic copper nitrates include the rare minerals gerhardtite and rouaite, both being polymorphs of Cu2(NO3)(OH)3 substance.[5] Anhydrous copper(II) nitrate has been crystallized in two solvate-free polymorphs.[6][7] ϫ- and -Cu(NO3)2 are fully 3D coordination polymer networks. The alpha form has only one Cu environment, with [4+1] coordination, but the beta form has two different copper centers, one with [4+1] and one that is square planar. The nitromethane solvate also features "[4+ 1] coordination", with four short Cu-O bonds of approximately 200 pm and one longer bond at 240 pm.[8] They are coordination polymers, with infinite chains of copper(II) centers and nitrate groups. In the gas phase, copper(II) nitrate features two bidentate nitrate ligands (see image at upper right).[9] Thus, evaporation of the solid entails "cracking" to give the copper(II) nitrate molecule. Five hydrates have been reported: the monohydrate (Cu(NO3)2{H2O),[7] the sesquihydrate (Cu(NO3)2{1.5H2O),[10] the hemipentahydrate (Cu(NO3)2{2.5H2O),[11] a trihydrate (Cu(NO3)2{3H2O),[12] and a hexahydrate (Cu(H2O)6](NO3)2).[13] The hexahydrate is interesting because the Cu-O distances are all equal, not revealing the usual effect of Jahn-Teller distortion that is otherwise characteristic of octahedral Cu(II) complexes. This non-effect is attributed to the strong hydrogen bonding that limits the elasticity of the Cu-O bonds. Copper(II) nitrate finds a variety of applications, the main one being its conversion to copper(II) oxide, which is used as catalyst for a variety of processes in organic chemistry. Its solutions are used in textiles and polishing agents for other metals. Copper nitrates are found in some pyrotechnics.[4] It is often used in school laboratories to demonstrate chemical voltaic cell reactions. Copper nitrate, in combination with acetic anhydride, is an effective reagent for nitration of aromatic compounds, under what are known as "Menke conditions", in honor of the Dutch chemist who discovered that metal nitrates are effective reagents for nitration.[14] Hydrated copper nitrate adsorbed onto clay affords a reagent called "Claycop". The resulting blue-colored clay is used as a slurry, for example for the oxidation of thiols to disulfides. Claycop is also used to convert dithioacetals to carbonyls.[15] A related reagent based on montmorillonite has proven useful for the nitration of aromatic compounds.[16]

at 8 weeks with abdominal ultrasound imaging🚨The fetal pole is a thickening on the margin of the yolk sac of a fetus during pregnancy. It is usually identified at 8 weeks with abdominal ultrasound imaging, and 6 weeks with vaginal ultrasound imaging. However it is quite normal for the fetal pole to not be visible until about 9 weeks. The fetal pole may be seen at 2ÿ4?mm crown-rump length (CRL).

Most of the reabsorption (65%)🚨Renal reabsorption of sodium (Na+) is a part of renal physiology. It uses Na-H antiport, Na-glucose symport, sodium ion channels (minor).[1] It is stimulated by angiotensin II and aldosterone, and inhibited by atrial natriuretic peptide. It is very efficient, since more than 25,000 mmoles/day of sodium is filtered into the nephron, but only ~100 mmoles/day, or less than 0.4% remains in the final urine. Most of the reabsorption (65%) occurs in the proximal tubule. In the latter part it is favoured by an electrochemical driving force, but initially it needs the cotransporter SGLT and the Na-H antiporter. Sodium passes along an electrochemical gradient (passive transport) from the lumen into the tubular cell, together with water and chloride which also diffuse passively. Water is reabsorbed to the same degree, resulting in the concentration in the end of the proximal tubule being the same as in the beginning. In other words, the reabsorption in the proximal tubule is isosmotic. Sodium is reabsorbed in the thick ascending limb of loop of Henle, by Na-K-2Cl symporter and Na-H antiporter. It goes against its chemical driving force, but the high electrical driving force renders the overall electrochemical driving force positive anyway, availing some sodium to diffuse passively either the transcellular or paracellular way.. In the distal convoluted tubule sodium is transported against an electrochemical gradient by sodium-chloride symporters. The principal cells are the sodium-transporting cells in the collecting duct system. Although only a fragment of total reabsorption happens here, it is the main part of intervention. This is e.g. done by endogenous production of aldosterone, increasing reabsorption. Since the normal excretion rate of sodium is ~100mmoles/day, then a regulation of the absorption of still more than 1000 mmoles/day entering the collecting duct system has a substantial influence of the total sodium excreted. Body water: Intracellular fluid/Cytosol

natural rubber🚨Agriculture in Liberia is a major sector of the country's economy worth 38.8% of GDP, employing more than 70% of the population and providing a valuable export for one of the worlds least developed countries (as defined by the UN).[1][2][3][4] Liberia has a climate favourable to farming, vast forests, and an abundance of water, yet low yields mean that over half of foodstuffs are imported, with net agricultural trade at -$73.12 million in 2010.[5] This was dismissed as a "misconception" by Liberias Minister of Agriculture.[6] The major crops are natural rubber, rice, cassava, bananas and palm oil.[7] Timber is also a major export at $100 million annually, although much of this is the product of unsustainable habitat destruction, with Asian corporations criticised for their role.[3] Although agricultural activity occurs in most rural locations, it is particularly concentrated in coastal plains (subsistence crops) and tropical forest (cash crops). The sector is very important for women as they are widely employed in it in comparison to the economy as a whole.[8] Deys, Bassa, Kru, and the West Atlantic Gola and Kissi, are likely to be the first inhabitants of the region of present-day Liberia. Their migration was caused by the decline of the Malian Empire in 1375 and Songhay in 1591. Favourable arable land in comparison to their homelands also brought them in the area. Alongside their social and cultural customs, these immigrants also took with them rice, tuber and cotton cultivation. Evidence for this comes from early European merchants, such as Pedro de Cintra, who arrived in 1461.[9] When the first American slaves were repatriated to Liberia in 1822, they met hostile tribes. The people and their farming was little-changed from centuries previously. However, settlers developed commercial agriculture, growing most of the crops the country now grows today. The industry was still noted as inefficient and primitive in the 1850s, but had considerable potential for trade in produce: "If the land was cleared, it would be excellent land for corn, eddoes, cassada, cane, and rice".[10] However, in the 1870s the agricultural sector witnessed a prolonged crisis due to falling prices of cocoa and sugar as well as coffee being introduced to Brazil. In the first half of the 20th Century, the nation received loans from the United States, who created it, developing its economy and agriculture. In World War II, due to south east Asia's rubber's control by Japan, the United States invested heavily in Liberia, especially in agricultural infrastructure.[11] In the 1990s the government was criticised for selling rights for deforestation to foreign companies, who exploited the bio-diverse hardwood rainforest. This resulted in many reafforestation programmes, although woodland is still destroyed for other uses, such as iron ore mining. Indeed, 98% of the population rely on firewood for fuel, and trees are still cut down for export to Europe and to grow plants. Liberia also lost 70% of its rare mangrove forest at the coast by the mid-1980s.[11] Only a quarter of the original evergreen rainforest is left and almost all the remainder of the land is a mosaic of crops, shrubs and planted trees, in contrast to the Great Plains of its founding country.[12] Much of the industry was devastated by two civil wars ('89-'96 and '99-'03), with rice production falling by 76% between 1987 and 2005. However, the fighting completely destroyed almost all other sectors of the economy, causing agriculture's share of GDP to rise from 40% in 1990 to 95% in 1996.[12] Chronic malnutrition was (and still is) widespread, caused by a lack of infrastructure, poverty due to unemployment and low use of fertilisers and pesticides (below 1%). Nevertheless, recent investment from foreign companies has resulted in cash crop production rising since 2006 with the percentage of households producing them doubling from 28% in 2006 to 46% in 2009 and 55% in 2012.[4] The main cash crops are rubber, coffee, and cocoa. This followed a successful election in 2005, which allowed a democratic government to rebuild infrastructure. Half of Liberia's total landmass is forest (4.9 million hectares) and 47% is arable land, although most of this is upland pasture.[13] The 'slash and burn' technique is used extensively to convert woodland into rice paddies, often at the expense of biodiversity. The nation consists of flat, coastal plains and dwarf mountains further inland in the north east. Three quarters of the country's land is made up of latosol, a reddish, mineral-rich but infertile soil found in tropical rainforest.[13] While suitable for timber production, without leaf litter it quickly loses its fertility. This, in deforested area, combined with a lack of chemicals, causes Liberia's low yields. A tropical climate gives high temperatures all-year round (roughly 27?C), relative humidity of 65-80%, and heavy rainfall, especially in coastal regions with 3,500-4,600?mm. The rainy season lasts from May to October and leaves the region in water surplus for 5ÿ8 months.[13] The livestock sector accounts for 14% of GDP despite large areas of pasture after being devastated by the civil war. Almost all animals were eaten.[14] This is also combined with a lack of rural credit and an unfavourable climate. For example, cattle population (per 1000) plummeted from 42 in 1985 to 36 a decade later. Grand Gedeh, Lofa, Bong, and Nimba counties harbour the majority of the cattle, sheep and goats. The most prevalent breeds of cattle are NDama and Muturu, although there have been limited attempts to cross breed these with larger cattle. The most common breed of ruminant in the West African Dwarf and there are also other types of goat.[15] Over 80% of ruminants are kept in traditional village animal husbandry systems. The government constructed ranches and encouraged commercial cattle production but have all been since deserted. There is no dairy industry in Liberia and all milk is imported. Many of the problems with farming are also blamed on rural-urban migration: as the young move from the countryside to Monrovia and other cities, there is a shortage of labour for farming. The Food and Agriculture Organization identified the following problems in 2002: [16] Alongside cassava, rice is the staple food of the republic, with 238,000 tonnes produced in 2013. The foodstuff accounts for 22% of agricultural GDP, far higher than all livestock.[7] However, the harvest still falls short of 1988 levels which were 299,000 tonnes even though the population has doubled.[13][17] Yields are also low with most rice at 3 tonnes per hectare, less than half the average in the United States.[12] In 1979, rice riots resulted in the destruction of $40 million worth of private property. Forty people were killed and 500 wounded.[18] In the wake of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, rice production has shifted away from the traditional 'breadbasket' Lofa, Nimba and Bong Counties to the south east following irrigation investment which tripled yields.[6][19] The epidemic has also caused large price rises and overgrown rice fields, causing the government to declare a state of emergency.[20] Liberia has over 230 species of tree and 14 million acres of forest.[18] Its tropical hardwoods are valuable, chiefly in luxury furniture abroad. The largest firm in the sector is the Indonesian-owned Oriental Timber Corporation, with about three million acres and it has invested over $100 million in sawmills.[21] The rubber industry was born in the country when Hilary R. W. Johnson, the president, permitted a British firm to extract wild latex in 1890. Liberia Rubber Corporation, another British corporation, built a plantation at Mount Barclay two decades later, but both failed in their endeavours. During World War I, Britain and the Netherlands controlled 98% of the raw materials necessary for the production of rubber. In 1922, the Rubber Restriction Act was passed in Britain, increasing the cost of rubber. Then, in 1926, Mr. Harvey S. Firestone (a tyre company owner) obtained a 99-year lease for 4% of the countrys territory in exchange for a $5 million loan. This ensured the nation's rapid growth in the world natural rubber market in World War II. The 12,000 Liberian employees were paid low wages, because the Liberian government felt that "men with money in their pockets would eventually have demanded the ballot".[22] Firestone gave Charles Taylor, the warlord who caused the deaths of 300,000 Liberians, millions of dollars to secure the future of the firm's plantations, but production was still stopped for 6 years from 1990.[23][24] Despite making up 11% of its exports, there are estimated to be 600,000 ha. of overgrown rubber plantations, some 60 years old. Ergo, there is a large export potential in the redundant rubber-wood.[25] The rubber industry is also diversifying, using trees which no longer produce latex as biomass.[26] The shrub makes up 23% of Liberian agricultural GDP and is now the second most important food crop. It can be grown throughout the country, although the area covered may vary considerably for different counties. The Liberian Ministry of Agriculture stated that the total area covered by the crop in 1977 was 86,000 ha with an average yield of 1800?kg/ha, and that 26 percent of all agricultural households in the country grew the crop. Its cultivation increased rapidly in the early 1980s. In 1985 283,000 tonnes of cassava was made, 23% larger than the previous year. The same increase happened with the area harvested (113 100 ha) and yield per ha (2500?kg). Most Liberian cassava is processed into various forms for human consumption. Cassava is normally left in the ground until it is ready to be sold, eaten, or processed into a more durable form. The leaves are also often eaten as a vegetable and the FAO encourages their use as animal feed. Cassava can be ground into farina flour by removing the skin and grinding it in hammer mills or by hand in a traditional mortar. This is after it has been dried, most typically in the sun. Farina is produced throughout the country, especially in Bassa, Bomi and Nimba counties. The coconut palm is a versatile element of every local village. Its branches facilitate house building and thatched roofs. The leaves are used in baskets, nets and crude clothes. The fruit itself is high in energy as fat, and can make cooking oil, candles, soap, palm wine and dried flakes. The ash from burnt shells is also another constituent of the soap-making process. Fences, brooms and spoons can also be made from this crop.[11] Since 1977 the Food and Agriculture Organization has given aid to the country. It has encouraged diversification of farms with projects such as horticulture and snail-farming as well as improved yields after Chinese investment.[27] Almost all investment in the country is dependent on foreign donations as the economy was all but destroyed after decades of conflict. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) is the government ministry responsible for the governance, management and promotion of agriculture, founded on May 11, 1972. The Ministry is responsible for the oversight of agronomy, animal husbandry and other agriculture industries, the economic organization of the agriculture and food industries, and national food security. The work of the Ministry is divided into sectors of Livestock Production, Agricultural Chemicals and Crop Production.[28] The current Minister of Agriculture is Florence A. Chenoweth, Ph.D. Main Ministry offices are located in Monrovia.