Inca Empire Essay -- essays research papers fc

We know from history many various civilizations. Civilizations like Sumerian (4000 BC), Egyptian (3000 BC), Minoan (2000 BC), and Babylonian (1700 BC). Later, the Greek civilization, throughout the Macedonian empire, ranged as far east as northern India and as far south and west as Egypt. Then Romans were the rulers of the whole area from Constantinopole, to Palestine and North Africa to Britain. After centuries, the Vikings, people from what is now Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, established colonies in northern France, Sicily, England, and Ireland. During the 13th century AD, Mongols created a vast empire in Central Asia and the Mongol Empire controlled the expanse of territory from the Ural mountains in Russia to the Pacific Ocean. The same period of time another great civilization, called Ottoman Turks, was taking over most of North Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkan Peninsula. In America, Incas were the rulers of the largest native empire. Near the end of the 14th century the Inca empire began to expand from its initial base in the Cuzco region of the southern Andes, mountains of South America. Incas’ expansion ended with the Spanish invasion led by Francisco Pizarro in 1532. The Incas were the greatest indigenous civilization of the Americas. Within 100 years they had build a powerful empire, stretching the entire length of the Andeas, at a distance of more than 5,500 km. It was probably the greatest empire of its time life anywhere in the world, if we imagine that they had built a road system that extended some 30,000 to 40,000 km, unrivaled until the invention of the automobile, they possessed great skills in medicine, and they had a fully controlled social, political, and economical organization, although they lacked basic concepts such as the written language, the wheel, the steel, and the horse. In common with other Andean cultures, the Incas left no written records. Their history and their culture are known chiefly from the oral traditions preserved through the generations by official â€Å"memmorizers† and from the written records composed from them after the Spanish conquest (Inca 375). The official language of the Inca Empire was the Quechua language. Eventhough the Spanish destroyed most Quechua cities and religious centers when they conquered the Inca Empire, many aspects of their way of life survive. There are about 10 million people in Per... ...of the Andes, and many thousands of tourists every year go there to see the impressive stone architecture the Incas erected among spectacular scenery. Because of records made by early Spanish and native chroniclers, we also know more about the Incas than about any earlier culture of the Andes. And, fortunately, through documentary research and archaeology, we continue to learn even more about the Incas and their achievements, such as their great road system, impressive architecture, elaborate ceremonies, and more. BIBLIOGRAPHY: â€Å"Inca Empire†. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 1999, ed. Pages: 1-12. â€Å"Quechua†. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 1999, ed. Pages: 1-3. â€Å"Inca†. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1984, Greek, ed. Pages: 375-380. Rosso, Francesco. â€Å"Inca Empire†. Histrory. Papyrus Press ed. Athens: Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation. (1969): 119-133. Lost Civilizations. Incas: Lords of Gold and Glory. New Jersey: Time Life Books, 1992. â€Å"The Incas: A Pictorial Tribute To the Art & Culture of The Incas" - by a native of Ecuador. http://www.colourprep.com/jorge/incas/incas.htm. â€Å"Inca†. Broadcast November 24, 1997, 7:00-9:00 PM. Http://www.historychannel.com

Water issues in the Middle East

There are several factors that have caused such high demand in the Middle East. The water level is a lot shorter than most places and is increasing all the time. The region suffers from droughts every few years. The development of water resources is not making any progress factors such as cost, dealing with neighbouring countries which all delay the progress. Farming results in the highest level of water consuming at 80% leaving 20% for the Middle East. Cities such as Amman in Jordan ration its piped supplies; tankers deport the water which costs more than the poor can pay. The level of population growth is also increasing, which results in rising standards of living increasing the demand of water. The regions water is constantly in dispute. The regions water is spilt which results in confrontation and disagreements. ‘Water Wars' are improbable as three of the disputed river basins due to the uneven military powers are not equal. Egypt and Israel are downstream, Turkey is upstream and Iraq and Syria are also downstream. MAP SHOWING THE ROUTE OF THE EUPHRATES RIVER The Turkish purpose to use the water for an irrigation project in south-eastern Anatolia, this project will result in Syria's and Iraq's share of the Euphrates by 40% and 60%. This scheme is planned to revitalise the economy of the south east of the country. Eventually 22 dams in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers will provide irrigation and hydroelectric power to transform the local economy. They hope to gain the support from European companies, but in 2002 companies where forced to withdraw from the project, nevertheless Turkey has still continued to develop the dam. The dam will provide a clear positive outcome to the Middle East region. The water will be stored in the dam reducing the water flow, gradually allowing water through to the areas. The dam will provide jobs to the local community; this development will help the poorer citizens. Long term profit and economical issues may increase over the years as its helping the future for the water problems in the Middle East. Migrants will move into the area which may vary to a positive or negative outcome. The dam's main function is to provide hydro-electric power, which is more environmentally friendly. This will provide electricity to communities located around the Middle East. The energy provided is eco friendly and is reliable without using precious fossil fuels. With the new dam created larger business may move into the area, providing primary products to be distributed to other countries. This may provide more business to trade with the countries, developing the countries economical distributions. Although smaller business may lose money and go out of business resulting unemployment. The land used to create the dam, has resulted in angry local people. The local people have now received compensation funds. The amount of money put into the dam has been lost to local people, especially the few powerful landlords who each stand to collect huge compensation funds. Changes in rivers cycles will be vastly effected, rivers will lose millions of mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ of water being irrigated into cities located downstream from the upstream contributories. The Agriculture use dropped in all the area's creating a regional water market resulting for people paying for the water use. One example is the Yarmouk River which has a mean discharge of 400 million mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ a year, and provides almost half of Jordan's surface-water resources. The water in this river, after allowing some 17million mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ a yr for downstream users in the neighbouring countries providing agricultural water needs in the Jordan valley. This example has improved in the water use; this is similar situation to other rivers in the Middle East. Discharge is evenly distributed but resulted in higher levels of Agriculture. Area's downstream have resulted in less water being transported and reduced. Syria dam prevents water flowing restricting water flow to places such as Baghdad. Syria and Iraq have agreed to work together, after problems with bombing back in 1979. The political consequences have resulted in countries signing with each other separating themselves which could lead to future wars. Water extraction from the Euphrates has resulted in the government gaining a profit for charging them for the use of the water. This has also lead to the negative sentiment and response from the poorer citizens. Escalating growth of rising business increasing in the regions resulted in higher proceeds in the area. The government had to make a decision and verdict to their own areas to what they felt was overall best towards the people and for the future. Reponses won't be positive either way but never less the decision were what was felt most paramount and preeminent at the time.

Zion National Park Geology

Designated as Utahs first national park in 1909, Zion is a breathtaking display of nearly 275 million years of geologic history. Its colorful  sedimentary cliffs, arches and canyons dominate the landscape for over 229 square miles and are a sight to behold for geologists and non-geologists alike. Colorado Plateau Zion shares a similar geologic background as the nearby Bryce Canyon  (~50 miles to the northeast) and Grand Canyon (~90 miles to the southeast) National Parks. These three natural features are all part of the  Colorado Plateau  physiographic region, a large, elevated layered cake of sedimentary deposits encompassing much of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. The region is remarkably stable, showing little of the deformation that characterizes the bordering Rocky Mountains to the east and the  Basin-and-Range  province to the south and west. The large crustal block is still being uplifted, meaning that the area is not immune to earthquakes. Most are minor, but a 5.8 magnitude  quake caused landslides and other damage in 1992.    The Colorado Plateau is sometimes referred to as the Grand Circle of National Parks, as the high plateau is also home to Arches, Canyonlands, Captiol Reef, Great Basin, Mesa Verde and Petrified Forest National Parks.   Bedrock is easily exposed along much of the plateau, thanks to the arid air and lack of vegetation. The undeformed sedimentary rock, dry climate and recent surface erosion  make this area one of the richest troves of Late Cretaceous dinosaur fossils in all of North America. The entire region is truly a mecca for geology and paleontology enthusiasts. The Grand Staircase   On the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau lies the Grand Staircase, a geologic sequence of steep cliffs and descending plateaus that stretches south from Bryce Canyon to the Grand Canyon. At their thickest point, the sedimentary deposits are well over 10,000 feet.   In this image, you can see that the elevation decreases in steps moving south from Bryce until it reaches the Vermillion and Chocolate Cliffs. At this point, it begins a gradual swell, gaining several thousand feet as it approaches the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The lowermost (and oldest) layer of sedimentary rock exposed at Bryce Canyon, the Dakota Sandstone, is the top (and youngest) layer of rock at Zion. Similarly, the lowest layer at Zion, the Kaibab Limestone, is the top layer of the Grand Canyon.  Zion is essentially the middle step in the Grand Staircase.   Zions Geologic Story Zion National Parks geologic history can be broken down into four main parts: sedimentation, lithification, uplift and erosion. Its  stratigraphic column is essentially a working timeline of the environments that existed there over the past 250 million years. The depositional environments at Zion follow the same general trend as the rest of the Colorado Plateau: shallow seas, coastal plains and sandy deserts. Around 275 million years ago, Zion was a flat basin near sea level. Gravel, mud and sand eroded down from nearby mountains and hills and was deposited by streams into this basin in a process known as sedimentation. The immense weight of these deposits forced the basin to sink, keeping the top at or near sea level.  Seas flooded the area during the Permian, Triassic and Jurassic periods, leaving carbonate deposits and evaporites in their wake.  Coastal plain environments present during the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic left behind mud, clay and alluvial sand.   Sand dunes appeared during the Jurassic and formed on top of each other, creating inclined layers in a process known as crossbedding. The angles and inclines of these layers show the direction of the wind during the time of deposition. Checkerboard Mesa, located in the Canyonlands Country of Zion, is a prime example of large-scale horizontal cross-bedding.   These deposits, separated as distinct layers, lithified into rock as mineral-laden water slowly made its way through it and cemented the sediment grains together. Carbonate deposits turned into limestone, while mud and clay turned into mudstone and shale, respectively. The sand dunes lithified into sandstone at the same angles at which they were deposited and are still preserved in those inclines today.   The area then rose several thousand feet, along with the rest of the Colorado Plateau, during the Neogene period. This uplift was caused by epeirogenic forces, which differ from orogenic forces in that they are gradual and occur over broad regions of land. Folding and deformation are not normally associated with an epeirogeny. The thick crustal block  that Zion was sitting on,  with over 10,000 feet of accumulated sedimentary rock,  remained stable during this uplift, tilting only slightly to the north.   Zions present day landscape was created by the erosional forces that resulted from this upheaval. The Virgin River, a tributary of the Colorado River, established its course as it traveled quickly down newly steepened gradients towards the ocean. Faster moving streams carried larger sediment and rock loads, which quickly cut away at the rock layers, forming deep and narrow canyons.   Rock Formations at Zion From top to bottom, or youngest to oldest, the visible rock formations at Zion are as follows:   Formation Period (mya) Depositional Environment Rock Type Approximate Thickness (in feet) Dakota Cretaceous (145-66) Streams Sandstone and conglomerate 100 Carmel Jurassic (201-145) Coastal desert and shallow seas Limestone, sandstone, siltstone and gypsum, with fossilized plants and pelecypods 850 Temple Cap Jurassic Desert Cross-bedded sandstone 0-260 Navajo Sandstone Jurassic Desert sand dunes with shifting winds Cross-bedded sandstone 2000 at max Kenyata Jurassic Streams Siltstone, mudstone sandstone, with dinosaur trackway fossils 600 Moenave Jurassic Streams and ponds Siltstone, mudstone and sandstone 490 Chinle Triassic (252-201) Streams Shale, clay and conglomerate 400 Moenkopi Triassic Shallow sea Shale, siltstone and mudstone 1800 Kaibab Permian (299-252) Shallow sea Limestone, with marine fossils Incomplete