The Metacomet Ridge of southern New England, United States, is a narrow and steep fault-block mountain ridge known for its extensive cliff faces, scenic vistas, microclimate ecosystems, and communities of plants considered rare or endangered. An important recreation resource located within 10 miles (16 km) of a population corridor of over 2.5 million people, the ridge is home to four long distance hiking trails and over a dozen parks and recreation areas including several state and nationally recognized historic sites. Because of its natural, historic, and recreational value, the ridge has been the focus of ongoing conservation efforts involving municipal, state, and national agencies as well as nearly two dozen non-profit organizations.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

636:

Rashidun forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid took control of Syria and Palestine in the Battle of Yarmouk, marking the first great wave of Muslim conquests after the death of Muhammad. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yarmouk

917:

Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars: Bulgarians led by Tsar Simeon I drove the Byzantines out of Thrace with a decisive victory in the Battle of Achelous. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Achelous_%28917%29

1882:

The 1812 Overture by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was first performed at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_Overture

1989:

A dredger collided with a pleasure boat on the River Thames in London, causing the latter to sink in just thirty seconds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marchioness_disaster

1998:

The Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Sudan was destroyed by a missile attack launched by the United States in retaliation for the August 7 U.S. embassy bombings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Shifa_pharmaceutical_factory

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

basileiolatry (n): King-worship http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/basileiolatry

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The grand design of nature perceived broadly in four dimensions, including the forces that move the universe and created man, with special focus on evolution in our own biosphere, is something intrinsically good that it is right to preserve and enhance, and wrong to destroy and degrade. --Roger Wolcott Sperry http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Wolcott_Sperry