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Warrumbungle Range
The Warrumbungles is a mountain range in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The nearest town is Coonabarabran. The area is easiest accessed from the Newell Highway which is the major road link directly between Melbourne, Victoria and Brisbane, Queensland and cuts across inland New South Wales from the north to the south. As the range is between the moist eastern coastal zone and the dryer plains to the west, it has provided protection for flora and fauna suited to both habitats. There are over 120 bird species identified on the range, including lories and lorikeets, rosellas and parrots. The centre of the range has served as an area of protection for a healthy and content colony of grey kangaroos. These animals have become fairly tame due to constant visitor attention and are easily approached. The Siding Spring Observatory is located on Mount Woorut, an eastern peak. The area has little to no light pollution to disturb astronomical viewing. In 2016, the I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Local Government In Australia
Local government is the third level of government in Australia, administered with limited autonomy under the states and territories, and in turn beneath the federal government. Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia, and two referendums in 1974 and 1988 to alter the Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful. Every state/territory government recognises local government in its own respective constitution. Unlike the two-tier local government system in Canada or the United States, there is only one tier of local government in each Australian state/territory, with no distinction between counties and cities. The Australian local government is generally run by a council, and its territory of public administration is referred to generically by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the local government area or LGA, each of which encompasses multiple suburbs or localities often of different postcodes; however, stylised terms such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosella
Rosellas are in a genus that consists of six species and nineteen subspecies. These colourful parrots from Australia are in the genus ''Platycercus''. ''Platycercus'' means "broad-tailed" or "flat-tailed", reflecting a feature common to the rosellas and other members of the broad-tailed parrot tribe. Their diet is mainly seeds and fruit. Taxonomy The genus was described by naturalist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825; the name ''Platycercus'' derived from the Greek ''platykerkos'' meaning "broad-" or "flat-tailed", from ''platys'' "broad, wide, level, flat" and ''kerkos'' "tail of a beast"., , . The relationships with other parrots have been unclear, with the Australian ringneck (genus '' Barnardius'') cited as a closest relative by some, and the genus '' Psephotus'' by others; the plumage of the western rosella seen as a link to the latter genus. Early European settlers encountered the eastern rosella at Rose Hill, New South Wales, now Parramatta, and so they called it the R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shield Volcano
A shield volcano is a type of volcano named for its low profile, resembling a warrior's shield lying on the ground. It is formed by the eruption of highly fluid (low viscosity) lava, which travels farther and forms thinner flows than the more viscous lava erupted from a stratovolcano. Repeated eruptions result in the steady accumulation of broad sheets of lava, building up the shield volcano's distinctive form. Shield volcanoes are found wherever fluid low-silica lava reaches the surface of a rocky planet. However, they are most characteristic of ocean island volcanism associated with hot spots or with continental rift volcanism. They include the largest volcanoes on earth, such as Tamu Massif and Mauna Loa. Giant shield volcanoes are found on other planets of the Solar System, including Olympus Mons on Mars and Sapas Mons on Venus. Etymology The term 'shield volcano' is taken from the German term ''Schildvulkan'', coined by the Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in 1888 an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Parks And Wildlife Service (New South Wales)
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is a directorate of the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment responsible for managing most of the protected areas in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Despite its name the NPWS is a state agency rather than a national one, with similarly named counterparts fulfilling comparable functions in other states and territories. History The NPWS was established in 1967 when the Fauna Protection Panel and the Parks and Reserves Branch of the NSW Lands Department were amalgamated under Lands Minister Tom Lewis . Lewis also established a charity, the National Parks Foundation, to assist the NPWS in raising funds for conservation. The first Director of the NPWS was Sam P. Weems, formerly of the US National Park Service. Seven years after the founding of the NPWS, various state laws regulating flora and fauna were consolidated together into the ''National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974'', which remains the enabling legi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) because they are the most resistant minerals to weathering processes at the Earth's surface. Like uncemented sand, sandstone may be any color due to impurities within the minerals, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, certain colors of sandstone have been strongly identified with certain regions. Rock formations that are primarily composed of sandstone usually allow the percolation of water and other fluids and are porous enough to store large quantities, making them valuable aquifers and petroleum reservoirs. Quartz-bearing sandstone can be changed into quartzite through metamorphism, usually related to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Rogaining Championships
The World Rogaining Championships are the championships of the International Rogaining Federation (IRF) and the pinnacle rogaining Rogaining is an orienteering sport of long distance cross-country navigation, involving both route planning and navigation between checkpoints using a variety of map types. In a rogaine, teams of two to five people choose which checkpoints to ... event in the world. The championships are organised by the national rogaining organisation chosen by the IRF as the host of that particular championships. World championship rogaines are always of 24 hours duration, and are conducted in accordance with standard rogaining rules. The team with the highest score in each of the three gender classes (Men's, Women's and Mixed teams) are declared the World Rogaining Champions. Within each gender class, all teams participate in the Open age category. Additionally, there are age sub-categories as follows: Junior (under 20), Veteran (over 40), Super Veteran (over ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dark-sky Preserve
A dark-sky preserve (DSP) is an area, usually surrounding a park or observatory, that restricts artificial light pollution. The purpose of the dark-sky movement is generally to promote astronomy. However, astronomy is certainly not the only objective of conserving a dark sky. A dark night sky is associated with many facets of history, philosophy, religion, societal development, poetry, song, mathematics, and science. Different terms have been used to describe the areas as national organizations have worked independently to create their programs. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) uses International Dark Sky Reserve (IDSR) and International Dark Sky Park (IDSP). A third designation, International Dark Sky Sanctuary, was introduced in 2015. History An International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) was founded in 1988 to reserve public or private land for an exquisite outlook of nocturnal territories and starry night skies. These reserves are specifically conserved for its sci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warrumbungle National Park
Warrumbungle National Park is a heritage listed national park located in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The national park is located approximately northwest of Sydney and contained within . The park attracts approximately visitors per annum. The national park is based on the geographical Warrumbungle Mountain Range, sometimes shortened to the Warrumbungles, and thus the park name is often heard in the plural. The park lies within the Pilliga Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because of its importance for a range of woodland bird species, many of which are threatened. Warrumbungle National Park was added to the Australian National Heritage List in December 2006. On 4 July 2016, the park was the first within Australia to be certified as a Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association. Access The nearest towns to the park are Baradine, Coonabarabran, Coonamble, Gilgandra, Gulargambone, and Tooraweenah. Access via Coona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Dark-Sky Association
The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is a United States-based non-profit organization incorporated in 1988 by founders David Crawford, a professional astronomer, and Tim Hunter, a physician/amateur astronomer. The mission of the IDA is "to preserve and protect the night time environment and our heritage of dark skies through quality outdoor lighting." Light pollution is the result of outdoor lighting that is not properly shielded, allowing light shine into the eyes and night sky. Direct light that shines into the eyes is called glare, and light directed into the night sky above the horizon causes skyglow. Lighting can also cause light trespass when it enters areas where unwanted (e.g. a neighbor's yard and windows). IDA was the first organization in the dark-sky movement, and is currently the largest. Principal approach IDA's principal approach is to raise awareness about the value of dark, star-filled night skies and encourage their protection and restoration through e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest include planets, natural satellite, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxy, galaxies, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole. Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history made methodical observations of the night sky. These include the Babylonian astronomy, Babylonians, Greek astronomy, Greeks, Indian astronomy, Indians, Egyptian astronomy, Egyptians, Chinese astronomy, Chinese, Maya civilization, Maya, and many anc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Pollution
Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day or night. Light pollution can be understood not only as a phenomenon resulting from a specific source or kind of pollution, but also as a contributor to the wider, collective impact of various sources of pollution. Although this type of pollution can exist throughout the day, its effects are magnified during the night with the contrast of darkness. It has been estimated that 83 percent of the world's people live under light-polluted skies and that 23 percent of the world's land area is affected by skyglow. The area affected by artificial illumination continues to increase. A major side-effect of urbanization, light pollution is blamed for compromising health, disrupting ecosystems, and spoiling aesthetic environments. Globally, it has incr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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