|
Agriates Desert
The Agriates Desert or the Agriates (''désert des Agriates'' in French and ''l'Agriate'' in Corsican) is an area of Corsica split between the micro-regions of and Nebbio in Haute-Corse. Geography Location The Agriates Desert is a territory bordered to the south by a mountain range, the Serra di Tenda, and on all other sides by the Mediterranean Sea. The territory is divided, from west to east, between the communes of Palasca, San-Gavino-di-Tenda, Santo-Pietro-di-Tenda, and Saint-Florent. The Agriates are largely uninhabited, with the exception of the scattered village of . Some tourist guides describe the Agriates as the only desert in Western Europe, but that is false: Spain is notably home to the Tabernas Desert and the Bardenas Reales, and Iceland has its cold . Geology and terrain Covering an area of approximately 15,000 hectares, the Agriates are geographically demarcated by: * 37 km of virgin coast to the north * Departmental Route 81 and the foothills o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole. A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is an official language in 29 countries across multiple continents, most of which are members of the ''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underground. It is common in the continental crust of Earth, where it is found in igneous intrusions. These range in size from dikes only a few centimeters across to batholiths exposed over hundreds of square kilometers. Granite is typical of a larger family of ''granitic rocks'', or ''granitoids'', that are composed mostly of coarse-grained quartz and feldspars in varying proportions. These rocks are classified by the relative percentages of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase (the QAPF classification), with true granite representing granitic rocks rich in quartz and alkali feldspar. Most granitic rocks also contain mica or amphibole minerals, though a few (known as leucogranites) contain almost no dark minerals. Granite is nearly alway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pistacia Lentiscus
''Pistacia lentiscus'' (also lentisk or mastic) is a dioecious evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus ''Pistacia'' native to the Mediterranean Basin. It grows up to tall and is cultivated for its aromatic resin, mainly on the Greek island of Chios and around the Turkish town of Çeşme.''Pistacia lentiscus'' L. a Mansfeld's Database Taxonomy Description 
The pla ...
[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cistus
''Cistus'' (from the Greek ''kistos'') is a genus of flowering plants in the rockrose family Cistaceae, containing about 20 species (Ellul ''et al.'' 2002). They are perennial shrubs found on dry or rocky soils throughout the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal through to the Middle East, and also on the Canary Islands. ''Cistus'', with its many hybrids and cultivars, is commonly encountered as a garden flower. The common name rockrose (rock rose in the UK) is applied to the species, a name also shared by the related genera ''Halimium'', ''Helianthemum'' and ''Tuberaria'', all in the family Cistaceae. The common name ''gum cistus'' is applied to resin-bearing species, especially ''C. ladanifer''. Description The leaves are evergreen, opposite, simple, usually slightly rough-surfaced, 2–8 cm long. In a few species (notably ''C. ladanifer''), the leaves are coated with a highly aromatic resin called labdanum. They have showy 5-petaled flowers ranging from whit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euphorbia Myrsinites
''Euphorbia myrsinites'', the myrtle spurge, blue spurge, or broad-leaved glaucous-spurge, is a succulent species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. Distribution The plant is native to southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, from Italy east through the Balkans to Crimea and Turkey.''Flora Europaea''''Euphorbia myrsinites''/ref> Etymology The specific epithet ''myrsinites'' is derived from the Greek word (''myrsinites''), which was used in Dioscorides's ''De Materia Medica'' to describe its similarity to (''myrsine''), aka myrtle ('' Myrtus communis''). Description Myrtle spurge is an evergreen perennial. It has sprawling stems growing to 20–40 cm long. The leaves are spirally arranged, fleshy, pale glaucous bluish-green, 1–2 cm long. The flowers are inconspicuous, but surrounded by bright sulphur-yellow bracts (tinged red in the cultivar 'Washfield'); they are produced during the spring.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erica Arborea
''Erica arborea'', the tree heath or tree heather, is a species of flowering plant (angiosperms) in the heather family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. It is also cultivated as an ornamental. The wood, known as briar root ( French: bruyère, Catalan: bruc, Portuguese: betouro, Spanish: brezo), is extremely hard and heat-resistant, and is used for making smoking pipes. Leaf fossils attributed to this species were described for the Mio-Pleistocene deposit of São Jorge in Madeira Island. Description ''Erica arborea'' is an upright evergreen shrub or small tree with a typical height in the wild of some , especially in Africa, but more typically in gardens. It bears dark green needle-like leaves and numerous small honey-scented bell-shaped white flowers. It is a calcifuge, preferring acid soil in an open sunny situation. Distribution There are disjunct populations in Africa including the Ethiopian Highlands, the mou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arbutus Unedo
''Arbutus unedo'' is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe. The tree is well known for its fruits, which bear some resemblance to the strawberry — hence the common name "strawberry tree". However, it is not closely related to true strawberries of the genus ''Fragaria''. Its presence in Ireland also lends it the moniker "Irish strawberry tree", or cain, or cane apple (from the Irish name for the tree, ''caithne''), or sometimes "Killarney strawberry tree". The strawberry tree is the national tree of Italy because of its green leaves, its white flowers and its red berries, colors that recall the Italian flag. Taxonomy ''Arbutus unedo'' was one of the many species described by Carl Linnaeus in Volume One of his landmark 1753 work ''Species Plantarum'', giving it the name it still bears today. A study published in 2001 which analyzed ribosomal DNA from ''Arbutus'' and related genera found ''Arbutus'' to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maquis Shrubland
220px, Low maquis in Corsica 220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia ( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; hr, makija; ; ) is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs. Maquis is characterized by plants of the family Lamiaceae, genera ''Laurus'' and '' Myrtus'', and species '' Olea europaea'', ''Ceratonia siliqua'', and ''Ficus carica''. It is similar to garrigue. See also *Mining maquis * Maquis (other) Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ... * Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub References External links * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maquis Shrubland * Ecoregions of Europe Ecoregions of Metropolitan France Environment of the Mediterranean Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transhumance
Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Generally only the herds travel, with a certain number of people necessary to tend them, while the main population stays at the base. In contrast, ''horizontal transhumance'' is more susceptible to being disrupted by climatic, economic, or political change. Traditional or fixed transhumance has occurred throughout the inhabited world, particularly Europe and western Asia. It is often important to pastoralist societies, as the dairy products of transhumance flocks and herds (milk, butter, yogurt and cheese) may form much of the diet of such populations. In many languages there are words for the higher summer pastures, and frequently these words have been used as place names ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Republic Of Genoa
The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in both the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Between the 16th and 17th centuries it was one of the major financial centers in Europe. Throughout its history, the Genoese Republic established numerous colonies throughout the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, including Corsica from 1347 to 1768, Monaco, Southern Crimea from 1266 to 1475 and the islands of Lesbos and Chios from the 14th century to 1462 and 1566 respectively. With the arrival of the early modern period, the Republic had lost many of its colonies, and had to shift its interests and focus on banking. This decision would prove successful for Genoa, which remained as one of the hubs of capitalism, with highly developed banks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pasquale Paoli
Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; french: link=no, Pascal Paoli; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Genoese and later French rule over the island. He became the President of the Executive Council of the General Diet of the People of Corsica and wrote the Constitution of the state. The Corsican Republic was a representative democracy asserting that the elected Diet of Corsican representatives had no master. Paoli held his office by election and not by appointment. It made him commander-in-chief of the armed forces as well as chief magistrate. Paoli's government claimed the same jurisdiction as the Republic of Genoa. In terms of ''de facto'' exercise of power, the Genoese held the coastal cities, which they could defend from their citadels, but the Corsican republic controlled the rest of the island from Corte, its capital. Following the French conques ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torra Di Mortella
The Tower of Mortella ( co, Torra di Mortella) is a ruined Genoese tower on Corsica, located on the coast near Punta Mortella ( Myrtle Point) in the commune of Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse. It was a progenitor of the numerous Martello towers the British built in the 19th century throughout their empire. History The Italian architect Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino designed the Tour de Mortella and Colonel Giorgio Doria directed the construction between 1563 and 1564. It was one of a series of coastal defences constructed by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 and 1620 to repulse attacks by Barbary pirates. On 7 February 1794, two British warships, (74 guns) and (32 guns), unsuccessfully attacked the tower at Mortella Point; the tower eventually fell to land-based forces under Major-General David Dundas and Lieutenant-General John Moore after two days of heavy fighting. Late in the previous year, the tower's French defenders had abandoned the tower after (32 guns) had fired ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
