The Mendip Hills are a range of limestone hills situated to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running east to west between Weston-super-Mare and Frome, the Hills overlook the Somerset Levels to the south and the Avon valley to the north. The hills give their name to the local government district of Mendip, which covers most of the area. The hills are largely carboniferous limestone, which is quarried at several sites. The higher, western, part of the Hills, has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) which gives it the same level of protection as a national park. The AONB is 200 km2 (80 sq mi). The Mendip Hills AONB Service and Somerset County Council's outdoor education centre is at the Charterhouse Centre near Blagdon. Mendip is home to a wide range of outdoor sports and leisure activities, many based on the particular geology of the area. It is recognised as a national centre for caving and cave diving. In addition to climbing and abseiling, the area is popular with hillwalkers and those interested in natural history.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendip_Hills

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1562:

Troops of Francis, Duke of Guise, massacred Huguenots in Wassy, France, starting the French Wars of Religion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Wars_of_Religion

1565:

The Portuguese founded Rio de Janeiro. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_de_Janeiro

1872:

Yellowstone National Park, located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, one of the first national parks in the world, was established. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_National_Park

1919:

Korea under Japanese rule: The Samil Movement began with numerous peaceful protests in Korea, but was brutally suppressed by the Japanese police and army. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1st_Movement

1954:

The 15-megaton hydrogen bomb Castle Bravo was detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in one of the worst cases of radioactive contamination ever caused by nuclear testing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Bravo

1956:

The NATO phonetic alphabet, today the most widely used spelling alphabet, was first implemented by the International Civil Aviation Organization. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

breviary (n): A book containing prayers, hymns, and so on for everyday use at the canonical hours http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/breviary

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step.

--Napoleon I of France http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France