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April 9, 2013

Distinctive Culture In The Southern United States

The United States shares a common culture throughout its entire territory, but there are some distinct features of the culture of the Southern United States. Its immigrant history, agricultural past, and conservative values set it apart from other regions in the USA.



Commonly referred to as the American South or Dixie, the Southern United States stretches from Maryland across to Texas and down to Florida, encompassing all states in that area. These states were historically very dependent on agriculture and slave labor. In fact, millions of African slaves were brought to the American South in the years before the American Civil War to work on plantations, especially cotton plantations. Although racial relations have continued to be strained in some parts of the South, this ethnic diversity has also led to the development of a unique Southern culture that includes African, European, and Native American influences.

The Southern United States contributes to world heritage through its important history related to slavery. As the generations have passed since slavery was abolished, it has become more obvious that the culture of black slaves has been permanently etched into modern Dixie cultural. This is especially notable in the culture of Southern music with styles such as blues, jazz, rock and roll, and spiritual being developed mostly in the American South. The religious culture of the South is one of the strongest in the United States and includes the Bible Belt, a region in which church attendance is especially high, particularly in Protestant and evangelical churches. The highest rate of church attendance has also contributed to the strong conservative values that the South still clings to today.

April 6, 2013

The United States of America is a multicultural nation in which the grand majority of the population is born from immigrants. Often described as a cultural melting pot, the USA has influenced pop culture around the world and attracted new citizens with the American Dream.



Perhaps the greatest contribution to world heritage from the United States is the international export of pop culture. This has been possible because of the massive number of different cultural influences which are combined with the general American population. Dozens of languages and religions are spoken and practiced throughout the USA by both locals and immigrants. While the majority of Americans are of European descent, there are also many whose ethnic background is African, Asian, and Latin American. Pop culture from the USA is exported around the world through television, movies, music, art, and other forms of entertainment.

One of the unique features of culture in the United States is the promotion of the American Dream. This social concept is the idea that all Americans have social mobility; they have the power to climb the social ladder and achieve financial success if they are willing to work hard for it. The USA is one of the few countries in the world that has a powerful individualistic culture in which each individual strives for personal success instead of group or family success. Because this social structure as set forth by the American Dream is very different from other cultures throughout the world, the United States have attracted a staggering number of international immigrants ever since its independence.

April 2, 2013

The Many Islands Of Oceania

Oceania is the geographical region that encompasses many islands of the southern Pacific Ocean including Australia and New Zealand. There is a considerable amount of ethnic, linguistic, and biodiversity in this relatively small region of the world made up of small, yet beautiful, island nations.



Oceania can be further broken down into several regional zones such as Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Polynesia is triangular information and is usually established using the islands of Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand as its three points. Although many different languages are spoken throughout the islands found in this region, they all share similar roots. The people of these lands also share similar cultures; the largest ethnic groups include the Maori, Hawaiians and Samoans. It has been discovered that some of the native peoples of Polynesia eventually reached sub-Antarctic islands including the Antipodes Islands where shard pottery was found.

The Maori are an indigenous group from Polynesia that is well known in New Zealand. They have a long history in the region and in the country, particularly because of their problems with European settlers. Although the ethnic group is now rather small, there are still many indigenous Maoris living in New Zealand. There is much notable art throughout the greater Oceania region including the mysterious Moai heads carved into gigantic stones on Easter Island. Some of the most commonly observed art in the Oceania region includes painting, wood carving, stone carving, tattooing, and petroglyphs. Much of this art was originally used in cultural rituals but has survived until today as part of world heritage.

March 27, 2013

The Natural Wonders Of South America

There is an incredible level of diversity throughout the lands of South America, both geographically and culturally. As a continent, its level of biodiversity is incredibly high thanks to a wide range of habitats including rain forests, rivers, mountains, and deserts being spread throughout its nations.
The Amazon rain forest, a large portion of which is located in the South American country of Brazil, is one of the most biodiverse places on earth. It is the largest rainforest and features the Amazon River, the largest river by volume on the planet. There are several different animal species that can only be found in South America including the anaconda, piranha, vicuna, llama, tapir, and jaguar. The Galapagos Islands, which are located off the coast of Ecuador, are also home to many endangered species that are not found anywhere else on the planet. More than 97% of those islands are conserved as a national park and are protected from damage that could be done by humans or harmful tourism practices.

South America contributes to world heritage in many ways since it is home to a long list of remarkable aspects of nature. Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest waterfall on Earth; much farther south in the continent you can also find Iguazu falls, an amazing waterfall cascade on the border of Brazil and Argentina, which has been named one of the New Seven World Natural Wonders. The Atacama Desert, also found in South America, is the driest place on Earth. Lake Titcaca, on the border of Bolivia and Peru, is the highest navigable lake in the world. This is just a short list of the many natural wonders that South America offers to the world’s heritage.

March 24, 2013

Middle East Religious and Linguistic Heritage

The Middle East is a term that is often interchanged with the Near East to describe the area of Western Asia that is generally centered on the Arabian Peninsula. This relatively small region is home to the world’s most noteworthy religions and several common languages.

The history of the Middle East, or Near East, can be traced far back into ancient times due to the fact that this area has always been a center of events that have an international impact. When it comes to religion, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity were all originated in this area by ancient peoples. Although they are the three most commonly mentioned religions from the Middle East, others exist including Zoroastrianism, Mandaeism, the Druze faith, and the Baha’i faith. There are many lands and architectural structures throughout this region that have been a source of contention between different religious groups for centuries due to their importance in different faiths and belief systems which constitute a considerable part of world heritage.

Another way in which the Middle East has contributed to world heritage is through language. Arabic is the most widely spoken languages in the area although there are many dialects of this tongue. Other languages that can be heard spoken by large ethnic groups include Persian, Berber, Turkish, Kurdish, and Urdu. Some European languages, such as English and French, are being taught in schools in the area and are even used as the principle spoken language in some parts of this culturally diverse region. The Middle East has a wealth of cultural, linguistic, and religious history to share with the world.

March 21, 2013

Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska


Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska is commonly known as ‘The Heart of Alaska’. It does not only composed mountains of the wilderness but also the region of Dall sheep the preserve of the threatened species.

The place was also well-known as the grassland of mammoths thousands of years ago (11,000 to 13,500). It is breathtakingly superb, beautiful and spectacular because of its untamed landscapes, snow peaked Mt. McKinley, Aurora Borealis or Northern lights, Gold Panning, Wonder Lake, Dall sheep, grizzly bears, young grizzly bears, foxes, lynxes, black bears, beavers, wolverines, hoary marmots, arctic ground squirrels, bull mooses, caribous, snowshoe hares, martens, and other animals like birds (i.e. Artic Warblers, wheaters, ptarmigan, pine grosbeaks, gyrfalcon, owls, hawks, golden eagle). The Denali National Park and Preserve has 6 million acres of land, the tallest peak of 20,320 ft, with 2,500 ft treeline, willows, spruces, shrubs, more than 450 of flowering species (i.e. Bluebell, gentian, Fireweed, lupine, goldenrod), mosses, fungi, algae, grasses, ferns, wild blueberries, soap berries, and so forth.

During summer time, there are roughly over 400,000 travelers that wish to catch a glimpse of Mt. McKinley. There are many bus rides ('Traveling 'Green') on Park Road that you could catch if you wish to have a trip. You could see the amazing scenery, the wildlife and the solitude that you want. There are park newspapers wherein you could find the guidelines if you plan for a trip during summertime. Plus, the web pages could give you some useful tips for your 'green adventure'. You would find that you would have a great summer adventure that you’ve been looking for.