Balch Creek is a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) tributary of the Willamette River in
the U.S. state of Oregon. Beginning at the crest of the Tualatin
Mountains, the creek flows generally east down a canyon and through
Forest Park, a large municipal park in Portland. It then enters a pipe
and remains underground until reaching the river. Danford Balch, after
whom the creek is named, settled a land claim along the creek in the
19th century, and was the first person legally hanged in Oregon. Basalt,
mostly covered by silt in the uplands and sediment in the lowlands,
underlies the Balch Creek watershed, which includes the Audubon Society
of Portland nature sanctuary. Mixed conifer forest with a well-developed
understory of shrubs and flowering plants is the natural vegetation.
Sixty-two species of mammals and more than 112 species of birds use
Forest Park. A small population of coastal cutthroat trout resides in
the stream, which in 2005 was the only major water body in Portland that
met state standards for bacteria, temperature, and dissolved oxygen.
Although nature reserves cover much of the upper and middle parts of the
watershed, industrial sites dominate the lower part.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balch_Creek>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
337:
After disposing of all relatives who possibly held a claim to
the throne, Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans jointly became
Roman emperors.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constans>
1488:
Anne became Duchess of Brittany, a central figure in the
struggle for influence that led to the union of Brittany and France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Brittany>
1739:
The Stono Rebellion, at the time the largest slave rebellion in
the Thirteen Colonies of British America, erupted near Charleston, South
Carolina.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stono_Rebellion>
1965:
Hurricane Betsy made its second landfall near New Orleans,
Louisiana, US, leaving 76 dead and becoming the first hurricane to cause
over $1 billion (unadjusted) in damage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Betsy>
1990:
Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lankan Army massacred at least
184 Tamil refugees in the Batticaloa District.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_Batticaloa_massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
huwasi:
(Hittite mythology) A sacred stone treated as a deity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/huwasi>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are many evils in this country. The only remedy for every
one of them is freedom for the nation.
--Kalki Krishnamurthy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kalki_Krishnamurthy>