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There are 182 places in the U.S. that have the word “Christmas” in their names. Christmas Valley is one of them.

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Navy Pier, East Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL, USA

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Navy Pier, East Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL, USA

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Navy Pier, East Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL, USA

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Chicago is the birthplace of the first ever ferris wheel, which was 264-feet tall and debuted in the 1893 World’s Fair and was demolished shortly after in 1906. Today the 150-foot tall (15 story high) one at Navy Pier is modeled after the original one.

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Many new cemeteries have been created in the nearby town of Colma, which is known for having more dead residents than live ones

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Coldest Average Temperature - Barrow, Alaska, holds the record for coldest average temperature. In the lower 48, Mount Washington, New Hampshire, followed closely by International Falls, Minnesota, holds that distinction

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Worlds Tallest Roller Coaster - Kingda Ka, New Jersey (45 stories tall)

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Holds the record for the highest recorded temperature in the US at a whopping 134 degrees Fahrenheit, or 56,7 degrees Celsius.

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The original capital of the United States was Philadelphia and Washington D.C. became the capital in 1790.

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Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA 94129, USA

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Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA 94129, USA

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Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA 94129, USA

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1. The world’s longest pedestrian bridge is 120 years old and located in Poughkeepsie, NY. It is 1.25 miles long. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is considered to be the most famous bridge in America, as it was completed in 1937 as the longest suspension bridge in the world (it held that title for nearly 30 years; the span length has since been surpassed by 8 other bridges).

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Holds the U.S. record for average days of the year above 99 degrees Fahrenheit. It's one of the hottest average temperature places.

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is where the continental US' coldest temperature was recorded at. It was recorded at -70 degrees Fahrenheit.

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The longest stone arch bridge in the world is the Rockville Bridge in Marysville, Pennsylvania, which was completed in 1902 and spans a total length of 3,820 feet. The bridge is currently used by the Norfolk Southern Railway and Amtrak.

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1000 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20224, Сједињене Државе

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1000 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20224, Сједињене Државе

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1000 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20224, Сједињене Државе

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The National Museum of American History
, the nation’s largest institution devoted to American history, where you can see the original Star-Spangled Banner, the desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, Abraham Lincoln’s gold pocket watch and even Dorothy’s ruby slippers.

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The Pentagon is the largest office building in the world.

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This is the place where the coldest temperature of the US was recorded, at -80 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Gateway Arch Trail, St. Louis, MO 63102, USA

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Gateway Arch Trail, St. Louis, MO 63102, USA

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Gateway Arch Trail, St. Louis, MO 63102, USA

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Tallest Monument - The Gateway Arch, St. Louis

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University Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

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1. Harvard was the first university in the United States and was founded in 1636 and is located in Cambridge, MA (a 10 minute drive outside of Boston). It’s considered to be the second best university in the world, right after MIT. Its former students are Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Conan O’Brien, former Presidents George W. Bush and B. Obama.

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Alaska has a longer coastline than all of the other 49 U.S. states put together.

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Tallest Building - One World Trade Center, New York City

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West Quoddy Head, Lubec, Мејн, Сједињене Државе

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West Quoddy Head, Lubec, Maine, United States

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West Quoddy Head, Lubec, Maine, United States

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Lowest Point - Death Valley, in California, is the lowest point in the USA measuring 282 feet below sea level.

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Hollywood Bowl Walkway, Los Angeles, CA 90068, USA

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Hollywood Bowl Walkway, Los Angeles, CA 90068, USA

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Hollywood Bowl Walkway, Los Angeles, CA 90068, USA

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1. The world’s largest amphitheater is The Hollywood Bowl in LA. It opened in 1922 and holds a capacity of nearly 18,000. The famous band shell is featured in front of a backdrop of the Hollywood sign and the Hollywood Hills. It’s the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

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Сент Огастин, Флорида, Сједињене Државе

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Сент Огастин, Флорида, Сједињене Државе

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Сент Огастин, Флорида, Сједињене Државе

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Oldest City in the United States

This is a statistic that has many interpretations. St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565.

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Округ Кивено, Мичиген, Сједињене Државе

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Округ Кивено, Мичиген, Сједињене Државе

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Округ Кивено, Мичиген, Сједињене Државе

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Largest Body of Water
Lake Superior, located on the northern borders of the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, is the largest body of water in the United States and the largest freshwater lake in the world

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Southernmost Point in the USA - Ka Lae, Hawaii

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It is the oldest of at least 9 Chinatowns in the New York Metropolitan area.

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1.            The tallest mountain in the world is actually located in the United States - Mauna Kea, when measured from the seafloor.

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Mauna Kea ( or ; Hawaiian: [ˈmɐwnəˈkɛə]; abbreviation for Mauna a Wākea) is an inactive shield volcano on the island of Hawaiʻi. Its peak is 4,207.3 m (13,803 ft) above sea level, making it the highest point in Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is about 38 m (125 ft) higher than Mauna Loa, its more massive neighbor. Mauna Kea is unusually topographically prominent for its height: its wet prominence is fifteenth in the world among mountains, at 4,205 m (13,796 ft); its dry prominence is 9,330 m (30,610 ft). This dry prominence is greater than Mount Everest's height above sea level of 8,848.86 m (29,032 ft), and some authorities have labeled Mauna Kea the tallest mountain in the world, from its underwater base. Mauna Kea is ranked 8th by topographic isolation.

It is about one million years old and thus passed the most active shield stage of life hundreds of thousands of years ago. In its current post-shield state, its lava is more viscous, resulting in a steeper profile. Late volcanism has also given it a much rougher appearance than its neighboring volcanoes due to construction of cinder cones, decentralization of its rift zones, glaciation on its peak, and weathering by the prevailing trade winds. Mauna Kea last erupted 6,000 to 4,000 years ago and is now thought to be dormant.

In Hawaiian religion, the peaks of the island of Hawaiʻi are sacred. An ancient law allowed only high-ranking aliʻi to visit its peak. Ancient Hawaiians living on the slopes of Mauna Kea relied on its extensive forests for food, and quarried the dense volcano-glacial basalts on its flanks for tool production. When Europeans arrived in the late 18th century, settlers introduced cattle, sheep, and game animals, many of which became feral and began to damage the volcano's ecological balance. Mauna Kea can be ecologically divided into three sections: an alpine climate at its summit, a Sophora chrysophylla-Myoporum sandwicense (or māmane-naio) forest on its flanks, and an -Metrosideros polymorpha (or koa-ʻōhiʻa) forest, now mostly cleared by the former sugar industry, at its base. In recent years, concern over the vulnerability of the native species has led to court cases that have forced the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources to work towards eradicating all feral species on the volcano.

With its high elevation, dry environment, and stable airflow, Mauna Kea's summit is one of the best sites in the world for astronomical observation. Since the creation of an access road in 1964, thirteen telescopes funded by eleven countries have been constructed at the summit. The Mauna Kea Observatories are used for scientific research across the electromagnetic spectrum and comprise the largest such facility in the world. Their construction on a landscape considered sacred by Native Hawaiians continues to be a topic of debate to this day.

Mauna Kea is unusually topographically prominent for its height, with a wet prominence fifteenth in the world among mountains, and a dry prominence second in the world, after only Mount Everest. It is the highest peak on its island, so its wet prominence matches its height above sea level, at 4,207.3 m (13,803 ft). Because the Hawaiian Islands slope deep into the ocean, Mauna Kea has a dry prominence of 9,330 m (30,610 ft). This dry prominence is taller than Mount Everest's height above sea level of 8,848.86 m (29,032 ft), so Everest would have to include whole continents in its foothills to exceed Mauna Kea's dry prominence.

Given how much Mauna Kea protrudes from the Hawaiian Trough, some authorities have called it the tallest (as opposed to highest) mountain in the world, as measured from base to peak. Unlike prominence, base is loosely defined, which has resulted in numbers ranging from 9,966 m (32,696 ft) (roughly to the deepest point in the Hawaiian Trough) to 17,205 m (56,447 ft) (to the root of the mountain deep underground). On those examples, other mountains stake rivaling claims, such as Mount Lamlam claiming higher climb from base (11,528 m (37,820 ft), starting from Challenger Deep), and all of the Himalayan Mountains claiming tremendously deep roots. Greater rises could be measured from the Atacama Trench to the Andes Mountains, for example, the bottom of Richard's Deep (8,065 m (26,460 ft) deep) to the peak of the nearby Llullaillaco (6,739 m (22,110 ft) high) is 14,804 m (48,570 ft). Neither Mount Lamlam nor Llullaillaco have the dry prominence of Mauna Kea, because they do not extend into trenches in every direction.

Clickable imagemap of Hawaiʻi island showing the location of Mauna Kea, making up 22.8 percent of the island's surface area[4]

Mauna Kea is one of five volcanoes that form the island of Hawaiʻi, the largest and youngest island of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain. Of these five hotspot volcanoes, Mauna Kea is the fourth oldest and fourth most active. It began as a preshield volcano driven by the Hawaiʻi hotspot around one million years ago, and became exceptionally active during its shield stage until 500,000 years ago. Mauna Kea entered its quieter post-shield stage 250,000 to 200,000 years ago, and is currently active, having last erupted between 4,500 and 6,000 years ago. Mauna Kea does not have a visible summit caldera, but contains a number of small cinder and pumice cones near its summit. A former summit caldera may have been filled and buried by later summit eruption deposits.

Mauna Kea is over 32,000 km ³ (7,680 cu mi) in volume, so massive that it and its neighbor, Mauna Loa, depress the ocean crust beneath it by 6 km (4 mi).

Lava flows from Mauna Loa caught by one of the International Gemini Observatory's Cloudcams, which operates 24/7 near the snow-covered summit of Maunakea (the highest point in the image).(on 27 November 2022).

The volcano continues to slip and flatten under its own weight at a rate of less than 0.2 mm (0.01 in) per year. Much of its mass lies east of its present summit. It stands 4,207.3 m (13,803 ft) above sea level, about 38 m (125 ft) higher than its neighbor Mauna Loa, and is the highest point in the state of Hawaii.

Like all Hawaiian volcanoes, Mauna Kea has been created as the Pacific tectonic plate has moved over the Hawaiian hotspot in the Earth's underlying mantle. The Hawaii island volcanoes are the most recent evidence of this process that, over 70 million years, has created the 6,000 km (3,700 mi)-long Hawaiian Ridge-Emperor seamount chain. The prevailing, though not completely settled, view is that the hotspot has been largely stationary within the planet's mantle for much, if not all of the Cenozoic Era. However, while Hawaiian volcanism is well understood and extensively studied, there remains no definite explanation of the mechanism that causes the hotspot effect.

Lava flows from Mauna Kea overlapped in complex layers with those of its neighbors during its growth. Most prominently, Mauna Kea is built upon older flows from Kohala to the northwest, and intersects the base of Mauna Loa to the south. The original eruptive fissures ( rift zones) in the flanks of Mauna Kea were buried by its post-shield volcanism. Hilo Ridge, a prominent underwater rift zone structure east of Mauna Kea, was once believed to be a part of the volcano; however, it is now understood to be a rift zone of Kohala that has been affected by younger Mauna Kea flows.

The shield-stage lavas that built the enormous main mass of the volcano are tholeiitic basalts, like those of Mauna Loa, created through the mixing of primary magma and subducted oceanic crust. They are covered by the oldest exposed rock strata on Mauna Kea, the post-shield alkali basalts of the Hāmākua Volcanics, which erupted between 250,000 and 70-65,000 years ago. The most recent volcanic flows are hawaiites and mugearites: they are the post-shield Laupāhoehoe Volcanics, erupted between 65,000 and 4,000 years ago. These changes in lava composition accompanied the slow reduction of the supply of magma to the summit, which led to weaker eruptions that then gave way to isolated episodes associated with volcanic dormancy. The Laupāhoehoe lavas are more viscous and contain more volatiles than the earlier tholeiitic basalts; their thicker flows significantly steepened Mauna Kea's flanks. In addition, explosive eruptions have built cinder cones near the summit. These cones are the most recent eruptive centers of Mauna Kea. Its present summit is dominated by lava domes and cinder cones up to 1.5 km (0.9 mi) in diameter and hundreds of meters tall.

Mauna Kea is the only Hawaiian volcano with distinct evidence of glaciation. Similar deposits probably existed on Mauna Loa, but have been covered by later lava flows. Despite Hawaii's tropical location, during several past ice ages a drop of a degree in temperature allowed snow to remain at the volcano's summit through summer, triggering the formation of an ice cap. There are three episodes of glaciation that have been recorded from the last 180,000 years: the Pōhakuloa (180-130 ka), Wāihu (80-60 ka) and Mākanaka (40-13 ka) series. These have extensively sculpted the summit, depositing moraines and a circular ring of till and gravel along the volcano's upper flanks. Subglacial eruptions built cinder cones during the Mākanaka glaciation, most of which were heavily gouged by glacial action. The most recent cones were built between 9000 and 4500 years ago, atop the glacial deposits, although one study indicates that the last eruption may have been around 3600 years ago.

At their maximum extent, the glaciers extended from the summit down to between 3,200 and 3,800 m (10,500 and 12,500 ft) of elevation. A small body of permafrost, less than 25 m (80 ft) across, was found at the summit of Mauna Kea before 1974, and may still be present. Small gullies etch the summit, formed by rain- and snow-fed streams that flow only during winter melt and rain showers. On the windward side of the volcano, stream erosion driven by trade winds has accelerated erosion in a manner similar to that on older Kohala.

Mauna Kea is home to Lake Waiau, the highest lake in the Pacific Basin. At an altitude of 3,969 m (13,022 ft), it lies within the Puʻu Waiau cinder cone and is the only alpine lake in Hawaii. The lake is very small and shallow, with a surface area of 0.73 ha (1.80 acres) and a depth of 3 m (10 ft) when fullest. Radiocarbon dating of samples at the base of the lake indicates that it was clear of ice 12,600 years ago. Hawaiian lava types are typically permeable, preventing lake formation due to infiltration. Either sulfur-bearing steam altered the volcanic ash to low-permeability clays, or explosive interactions between rising magma and groundwater or surface water during phreatic eruptions formed exceptionally fine ash that reduced the permeability of the lake bed.

No artesian water was known on the island of Hawaiʻi until 1993 when drilling by the University of Hawaiʻi tapped an artesian aquifer more than 300 m (980 ft) below sea level, that extended more than 100 m (330 ft) of the borehole's total depth. The borehole had drilled through a compacted layer of soil and lava where the flows of Mauna Loa had encroached upon the exposed Mauna Kea surface and had subsequently been subsided below sea level. Isotopic composition shows the water present to have been derived from rain coming off Mauna Kea at higher than 2,000 m (6,600 ft) above mean sea level. The aquifer's presence is attributed to a freshwater head within Mauna Kea's basal lens. Scientists believe there may be more water in Mauna Kea's freshwater lens than current models may indicate. Two more boreholes were drilled on Mauna Kea in 2012, with water being found at much higher elevations and shallower depths than expected. Donald Thomas, director of the University of Hawaiʻi's Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes believes one reason to continue study of the aquifers is due to use and occupancy of the higher elevation areas, stating: "Nearly all of these activities depend on the availability of potable water that, in most cases, must be trucked to the Saddle from Waimea or Hilo - an inefficient and expensive process that consumes a substantial quantity of our scarce liquid fuels."

The last eruption of Mauna Kea was about 4,600 years ago (about 2600 BC); because of this inactivity, Mauna Kea is assigned a United States Geological Survey hazard listing of 7 for its summit and 8 for its lower flanks, out of the lowest possible hazard rating of 9 (which is given to the extinct volcano Kohala). Since 8000 BC lava flows have covered 20% of the volcano's summit and virtually none of its flanks.

Despite its dormancy, Mauna Kea is expected to erupt again. Based on earlier eruptions, such an event could occur anywhere on the volcano's upper flanks and would likely produce long lava flows, mostly of ʻaʻā, 15-25 km (9-16 mi) long. Long periods of activity could build a cinder cone at the source. Although not likely in the next few centuries, such an eruption would probably result in little loss of life but significant damage to infrastructure.

A stone structure or ahu facing Mauna Kea, on Saddle Road between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa

The first Ancient Hawaiians to arrive on Hawaiʻi island lived along the shores, where food and water were plentiful. Settlement expanded inland to the Mauna Loa - Mauna Kea region in the 12th and early 13th centuries. Archaeological evidence suggests that these regions were used for hunting, collecting stone material, and possibly for spiritual reasons or for astronomical or navigational observations. The mountain's plentiful forest provided plants and animals for food and raw materials for shelter. Flightless birds that had previously known no predators became a staple food source.

Early settlement of the Hawaiian islands led to major changes to local ecosystems and many extinctions, particularly amongst bird species. Ancient Hawaiians brought foreign plants and animals, and their arrival was associated with increased rates of erosion. The prevailing lowland forest ecosystem was transformed from forest to grassland; some of this change was caused by the use of fire, but the prevailing cause of forest ecosystem collapse and avian extinction on Hawaiʻi appears to have been the introduction of the Polynesian (or Pacific) rat.

The five volcanoes of Hawaiʻi are revered as sacred mountains; and Mauna Kea's summit, the highest, is the most sacred.[citation needed ] For this reason, a (ancient Hawaiian law) restricted visitor rights to high-ranking aliʻi. Hawaiians associated elements of their natural environment with particular deities. In Hawaiian mythology, the summit of Mauna Kea was seen as the "region of the gods", a place where benevolent spirits reside. Poliʻahu, deity of snow, also resides there. "Mauna Kea" is an abbreviation for Mauna a Wākea and means "white mountain," in reference to its seasonally snow-capped summit.

Around AD 1100, natives established adze quarries high up on Mauna Kea to extract the uniquely dense basalt (generated by the quick cooling of lava flows meeting glacial ice during subglacial eruptions) to make tools. Volcanic glass and gabbro were collected for blades and fishing gear, and māmane wood was preferred for the handles. At peak quarry activity after AD 1400, there were separate facilities for rough and fine cutting; shelters with food, water, and wood to sustain the workers; and workshops creating the finished product.

Lake Waiau provided drinking water for the workers. Native chiefs would also dip the umbilical cords of newborn babies in its water, to give them the strength of the mountain. Use of the quarry declined between this period and contact with Americans and Europeans. As part of the ritual associated with quarrying, the workers erected shrines to their gods; these and other quarry artifacts remain at the sites, most of which lie within what is now the Mauna Kea Ice Age Reserve.

This early era was followed by cultural expansion between the 12th and late 18th century. Land was divided into regions designed for the immediate needs of the populace. These ahupuaʻa generally took the form of long strips of land oriented from the mountain summits to the coast. Mauna Kea's summit was encompassed in the ahupuaʻa of Kaʻohe, with part of its eastern slope reaching into the nearby Humuʻula. Principal sources of nutrition for Hawaiians living on the slopes of the volcano came from the māmane- naio forest of its upper slopes, which provided them with vegetation and bird life. Bird species hunted included the ʻuaʻu ( Pterodroma sandwichensis), nēnē ( Branta sandvicensis), and palila ( Loxioides bailleui). The lower koa- ʻōhiʻa forest gave the natives wood for canoes and ornate bird feathers for decoration.

View of the mountain from Mauna Loa Observatory

There are three accounts of foreigners visiting Hawaiʻi before the arrival of James Cook, in 1778. However, the earliest Western depictions of the isle, including Mauna Kea, were created by explorers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Contact with Europe and America had major consequences for island residents. Native Hawaiians were devastated by introduced diseases; port cities including Hilo, Kealakekua, and Kailua grew with the establishment of trade; and the adze quarries on Mauna Kea were abandoned after the introduction of metal tools.

In 1793, cattle were brought by George Vancouver as a tribute to King Kamehameha I. By the early 19th century, they had escaped confinement and roamed the island freely, greatly damaging its ecosystem. In 1809 John Palmer Parker arrived and befriended Kamehameha I, who put him in charge of cattle management on the island. With an additional land grant in 1845, Parker established Parker Ranch on the northern slope of Mauna Kea, a large cattle ranch that is still in operation today. Settlers to the island burned and cut down much of the lower native forest for sugarcane plantations and houses.

Maunakea, one of the volcanoes constituting the island of Hawai'i, is an inactive shield volcano and one of the tallest mountains on Earth at an elevation of 4205 meters (13,786 feet).

The Saddle Road, named for its crossing of the saddle-shaped plateau between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, was completed in 1943, and eased travel to Mauna Kea considerably.

The Pohakuloa Training Area on the plateau is the largest military training ground in Hawaiʻi. The 108,863-acre (44,055 ha) base extends from the volcano's lower flanks to 2,070 m (6,790 ft) elevation, on state land leased to the US Army since 1956. There are 15 threatened and endangered plants, three endangered birds, and one endangered bat species in the area.

Mauna Kea has been the site of extensive archaeological research since the 1980s. Approximately 27 percent of the Science Reserve had been surveyed by 2000, identifying 76 shrines, 4 adze manufacturing workshops, 3 other markers, 1 positively identified burial site, and 4 possible burial sites. By 2009, the total number of identified sites had risen to 223, and archaeological research on the volcano's upper flanks is ongoing. It has been suggested that the shrines, which are arranged around the volcano's summit along what may be an ancient snow line, are markers for the transition to the sacred part of Mauna Kea. Despite many references to burial around Mauna Kea in Hawaiian oral history, few sites have been confirmed. The lack of shrines or other artifacts on the many cinder cones dotting the volcano may be because they were reserved for burial.

David Douglas, a Scottish botanist who died on Mauna Kea in 1834

In pre-contact times, natives traveling up Mauna Kea were probably guided more by landscape than by existing trails, as no evidence of trails has been found. It is possible that natural ridges and water sources were followed instead. Individuals likely took trips up Mauna Kea's slopes to visit family-maintained shrines near its summit, and traditions related to ascending the mountain exist to this day. However, very few natives reached the summit, because of the strict placed on it.

In the early 19th century, the earliest notable recorded ascents of Mauna Kea included the following:

On August 26, 1823, Joseph F. Goodrich, an American missionary, made the first recorded ascent in a single day; however, a small arrangement of stones he observed suggested he was not the first human on the summit. He recorded four ecosystems as he travelled from base to summit, and also visited Lake Waiau.

On June 17, 1825, an expedition from HMS Blonde, led by botanist James Macrae, reached the summit of Mauna Kea. Macrae was the first person to record the Mauna Kea silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense), saying: "The last mile was destitute of vegetation except one plant of the Sygenisia tribe, in growth much like a Yucca, with sharp pointed silver coloured leaves and green upright spike of three or four feet producing pendulous branches with brown flowers, truly superb, and almost worth the journey of coming here to see it on purpose."

In January 1834, David Douglas climbed the mountain and described extensively the division of plant species by altitude. On an unrelated traverse, from Kamuela to Hilo in July, he was found dead in a pit intended to catch wild cattle. Although murder was suspected, it was probably an accidental fall. The site, Ka lua kauka , is marked by the Douglas fir trees named for him.

In 1881, Queen Emma traveled to the peak to bathe in the waters of Lake Waiau during competition for the role of ruling chief of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.

On August 6, 1889, E.D. Baldwin left Hilo and followed cattle trails to the summit.

In February 2021, Victor Vescovo and Clifford Kapono made the first ascent of Mauna Kea from its subaerial base 16,785 ft below sea level using the submersible Limiting Factor, then ocean kayaks from above the mountain base 27 miles to the shoreline, then bicycles to a camp at about 9000 ft altitude from which they then walked to the 13,802 ft summit (a total gain of 30,587 ft).

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries trails were formed, often by the movement of game herds, that could be traveled on horseback. However, vehicular access to the summit was practically impossible until the construction of a road in 1964, and it continues to be restricted. Today, multiple trails to the summit exist, in various states of use.

Hawaiʻi's geographical isolation strongly influences its ecology. Remote islands like Hawaiʻi have a large number of species that are found nowhere else (see Endemism in the Hawaiian Islands). The remoteness resulted in evolutionary lines distinct from those elsewhere and isolated these endemic species from external biotic influence, and also makes them especially vulnerable to extinction and the effects of invasive species. In addition the ecosystems of Hawaiʻi are under threat from human development including the clearing of land for agriculture; an estimated third of the island's endemic species have already been wiped out. Because of its elevation, Mauna Kea has the greatest diversity of biotic ecosystems anywhere in the Hawaiian archipelago. Ecosystems on the mountain form concentric rings along its slopes due to changes in temperature and precipitation with elevation. These ecosystems can be roughly divided into three sections by elevation: alpine- subalpine, montane, and basal forest.

Contact with Americans and Europeans in the early 19th century brought more settlers to the island, and had a lasting negative ecological effect. On lower slopes, vast tracts of koa-ʻōhiʻa forest were converted to farmland. Higher up, feral animals that escaped from ranches found refuge in, and damaged extensively, Mauna Kea's native māmane-naio forest. Non-native plants are the other serious threat; there are over 4,600 introduced species on the island, whereas the number of native species is estimated at just 1,000.

Mauna Kea silversword (Argyroxiphium sandwicense sandwicense) growing near the volcano's summit

The summit of Mauna Kea lies above the tree line, and consists of mostly lava rock and alpine tundra. An area of heavy snowfall, it is inhospitable to vegetation, and is known as the Hawaiian tropical high shrublands. Growth is restricted here by extremely cold temperatures, a short growing season, low rainfall, and snow during winter months. A lack of soil also retards root growth, makes it difficult to absorb nutrients from the ground, and gives the area a very low water retention capacity.

Plant species found at this elevation include Styphelia tameiameiae, Taraxacum officinale, Tetramolopium humile, Agrostis sandwicensis, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Trisetum glomeratum, , Sonchus oleraceus, and Coprosma ernodiodes. One notable species is Mauna Kea silversword ( Argyroxiphium sandwicense var. sandwicense), a highly endangered endemic plant species that thrives in Mauna Kea's high elevation cinder deserts. At one stage reduced to a population of just 50 plants, Mauna Kea silversword was thought to be restricted to the alpine zone, but in fact has been driven there by pressure from livestock, and can grow at lower elevations as well.

The Mauna Kea Ice Age Reserve on the southern summit flank of Mauna Kea was established in 1981. The reserve is a region of sparsely vegetated cinder deposits and lava rock, including areas of aeolian desert and Lake Waiau. This ecosystem is a likely haven for the threatened ʻuaʻu ( Pterodroma sandwichensis) and also the center of a study on wēkiu bugs ( Nysius wekiuicola).

Wēkiu bugs feed on dead insect carcasses that drift up Mauna Kea on the wind and settle on snow banks. This is a highly unusual food source for a species in the genus , which consists of predominantly seed-eating insects. They can survive at extreme elevations of up to 4,200 m (13,780 ft) because of natural antifreeze in their blood. They also stay under heated surfaces most of the time. Their conservation status is unclear, but the species is no longer a candidate for the Endangered Species List; studies on the welfare of the species began in 1980. The closely related lives on Mauna Loa. Wolf spiders (Lycosidae) and forest tent caterpillar moths have also been observed in the same Mauna Kea ecosystem; the former survive by hiding under heat-absorbing rocks, and the latter through cold-resistant chemicals in their bodies. Several native moths are also present near the summit including Agrotis helela and Agrotis kuamauna.

Māmane-naio forest

A pair of māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) trees

The forested zone on the volcano, at an elevation of 2,000-3,000 m (6,600-9,800 ft), is dominated by māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) and naio (Myoporum sandwicense), both endemic tree species, and is thus known as māmane-naio forest. Māmane seeds and naio fruit are the chief foods of the birds in this zone, especially the palila ( Loxioides bailleui). The palila was formerly found on the slopes of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Hualālai, but is now confined to the slopes of Mauna Kea-only 10% of its former range-and has been declared critically endangered.

The largest threat to the ecosystem is grazing by feral sheep, cattle ( Bos primigenius), and goats ( Capra hircus) introduced to the island in the late 18th century. Feral animal competition with commercial grazing was severe enough that a program to eradicate them existed as far back as the late 1920s, and continued through to 1949. One of the results of this grazing was the increased prevalence of herbaceous and woody plants, both endemic and introduced, that were resistant to browsing. The feral animals were almost eradicated, and numbered a few hundred in the 1950s. However, an influx of local hunters led to the feral species being valued as game animals, and in 1959 the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, the governing body in charge of conservation and land use management, changed its policy to a sustained-control program designed to facilitate the sport.

Mouflon ( Ovis aries orientalis) was introduced from 1962 to 1964, and a plan to release axis deer ( Axis axis) in 1964 was prevented only by protests from the ranching industry, who said that they would damage crops and spread disease. The hunting industry fought back, and the back-and-forth between the ranchers and hunters eventually gave way to a rise in public environmental concern. With the development of astronomical facilities on Mauna Kea commencing, conservationists demanded protection of Mauna Kea's ecosystem. A plan was proposed to fence 25% of the forests for protection, and manage the remaining 75% for game hunting. Despite opposition from conservationists the plan was put into action. While the land was partitioned no money was allocated for the building of the fence. In the midst of this wrangling the Endangered Species Act was passed; the National Audubon Society and Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, claiming that they were violating federal law, in the landmark case Palila v. Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (1978).

The court ruled in favor of conservationists and upheld the precedence of federal laws before state control of wildlife. Having violated the Endangered Species Act, Hawaiʻi state was required to remove all feral animals from the mountainside. This decision was followed by a second court order in 1981. A public hunting program removed many of the feral animals, at least temporarily. An active control program is in place, though it is not conducted with sufficient rigor to allow significant recovery of the māmane-naio ecosystem. There are many other species and ecosystems on the island, and on Mauna Kea, that remain threatened by human development and invasive species.

The Mauna Kea Forest Reserve protects 52,500 acres (212 km ²) of māmane-naio forest under the jurisdiction of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources. Ungulate hunting is allowed year-round. A small part of the māmane-naio forest is encompassed by the Mauna Kea State Recreation Area.

The ʻalalā or Hawaiian crow (Corvus hawaiiensis) is a bird in the crow family. It is extinct in the wild, with plans to reintroduce the species into the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge.

A band of ranch land on Mauna Kea's lower slopes was formerly - Metrosideros polymorpha (koa-ʻōhiʻa) forest. Its destruction was driven by an influx of European and American settlers in the early 19th century, as extensive logging during the 1830s provided lumber for new homes. Vast swathes of the forest were burned and cleared for sugarcane plantations. Most of the houses on the island were built of koa, and those parts of the forest that survived became a source for firewood to power boilers on the sugarcane plantations and to heat homes. The once vast forest had almost disappeared by 1880, and by 1900, logging interests had shifted to Kona and the island of Maui. With the collapse of the sugar industry in the 1990s, much of this land lies fallow but portions are used for cattle grazing, small-scale farming and the cultivation of eucalyptus for wood pulp.

The Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge is a major koa forest reserve on Mauna Kea's windward slope. It was established in 1985, covering 32,733 acres (13,247 ha) of ecosystem remnant. Eight endangered bird species, twelve endangered plants, and the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat ( Lasiurus cinereus semotus) have been observed in the area, in addition to many other rare biota. The reserve has been the site of an extensive replanting campaign since 1989. Parts of the reserve show the effect of agriculture on the native ecosystem, as much of the land in the upper part of the reserve is abandoned farmland.

Bird species native to the acacia koa-ʻōhiʻa forest include the Hawaiian crow ( Corvus hawaiiensis), the ʻakepa ( Loxops coccineus), Hawaii creeper ( Oreomystis mana), ʻakiapōlāʻau ( Hemignathus munroi), and Hawaiian hawk ( Buteo solitarius), all of which are endangered, threatened, or near threatened; the Hawaiian crow in particular is extinct in the wild, but there are plans to reintroduce the species into the Hakalau reserve.

Sunset over four telescopes of the Mauna Kea Observatories. From left to right: the Subaru Telescope, the twin Keck I and II telescopes, and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility.

Mauna Kea's summit is one of the best sites in the world for astronomical observation due to favorable observing conditions. The arid conditions are important for submillimeter and infrared astronomy for this region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The summit is above the inversion layer, keeping most cloud cover below the summit and ensuring the air on the summit is dry, and free of atmospheric pollution. The summit atmosphere is exceptionally stable, lacking turbulence for some of the world's best astronomical seeing. The very dark skies resulting from Mauna Kea's distance from city lights are preserved by legislation that minimizes light pollution from the surrounding area; the darkness level allows the observation of faint astronomical objects. These factors historically made Mauna Kea an excellent spot for stargazing.

In the early 1960s, the Hawaiʻi Island Chamber of Commerce encouraged astronomical development of Mauna Kea, as economic stimulus; this coincided with University of Arizona astronomer Gerard Kuiper's search for sites to use newly improved detectors of infrared light. Site testing by Kuiper's assistant Alika Herring in 1964 confirmed the summit's outstanding suitability. An intense three-way competition for NASA funds to construct a large telescope began between Kuiper, Harvard University, and the University of Hawaiʻi (UH), which only had experience in solar astronomy. This culminated in funds being awarded to the "upstart" UH proposal. UH rebuilt its small astronomy department into a new Institute for Astronomy, and in 1968 the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources gave it a 65-year lease for all land within a 4 km (2.5 mi) radius of its telescope, essentially that above 11,500 ft (3,505 m). On its completion in 1970, the UH 88 in (2.2 m) was the seventh largest optical/infrared telescope in the world.

Mauna Kea from the summit of Haleakalā on Maui, approximately 78 mi (126 km) away

By 1970, two 24 in (0.6 m) telescopes had been constructed by the US Air Force and Lowell Observatory. In 1973, Canada and France agreed to build the 3.6 m CFHT on Mauna Kea. However, local organisations started to raise concerns about the environmental impact of the observatory. This led the Department of Land and Natural Resources to prepare an initial management plan, drafted in 1977 and supplemented in 1980. In January 1982, the UH Board of Regents approved a plan to support the continued development of scientific facilities at the site. In 1998, 2,033 acres (823 ha) were transferred from the observatory lease to supplement the Mauna Kea Ice Age Reserve. The 1982 plan was replaced in 2000 by an extension designed to serve until 2020: it instituted an Office of Mauna Kea Management, designated 525 acres (212 ha) for astronomy, and shifted the remaining 10,763 acres (4,356 ha) to "natural and cultural preservation". This plan was further revised to address concern expressed in the Hawaiian community that a lack of respect was being shown toward the cultural values of the mountain.

Today the Mauna Kea Science Reserve has 13 observation facilities, each funded by as many as 11 countries. There are nine telescopes working in the visible and infrared spectrum, three in the submillimeter spectrum, and one in the radio spectrum, with mirrors or dishes ranging from 0.9 to 25 m (3 to 82 ft). In comparison, the Hubble Space Telescope has a 2.4 m (7.9 ft) mirror, similar in size to the UH88, now the second smallest telescope on the mountain.

A "Save Mauna Kea" movement believes development of the mountain to be sacrilegious. Native Hawaiian non-profit groups such as Kahea, concerned with cultural heritage and the environment, also oppose development for cultural and religious reasons. The multi-telescope "outrigger" proposed in 2006 was eventually canceled. A planned new telescope, the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), has attracted controversy and protests. The TMT was approved in April 2013. In October 2014, the groundbreaking ceremony for the telescope was interrupted by protesters causing the project to temporarily halt. In late March 2015, demonstrators blocked access of the road to the summit again. On April 2, 2015, 300 protestors were gathered near the visitor's center when 12 people were arrested with 11 more arrested at the summit. Among the concerns of the protest groups are the land appraisals and Native Hawaiians consultation. Construction was halted on April 7, 2015, after protests expanded over the state. After several halts, the project has been voluntarily postponed. Governor Ige announced substantial changes to the management of Mauna Kea in the future but stated the project can move forward. The Supreme Court of Hawaiʻi approved the resumption of construction on October 31, 2018. Protestors have posted online petitions as a reaction against the Thirty Meter Telescope. The online petition titled "The Immediate Halt to the Construction of the TMT Telescope" was posted to Change.org on July 14, 2019. The online petition has currently gathered over 278,057 signatures worldwide. Some protesters have also called for the impeachment of Hawaiian Governor David Ige because of his support for the Thirty Meter Telescope. On July 18, 2019, an online petition titled "Impeach Governor David Ige" had been posted to Change.org and has currently gathered over 62,562 signatures.

As of late 2021, construction plans are currently on hold due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a shift in funding for the project that may see federal funds made available through the National Science Foundation. The controversy surrounding construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope continues. Independent polls commissioned by local media organizations show consistent support for the project in the islands with over two thirds of local residents supporting the project. These same polls indicate Native Hawaiian community support remains split with about half of Hawaiian respondents supporting construction of the new telescope.

A July 2022 state law responds to the protests by shifting control over the master land lease from the University of Hawaii to the new Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority (MKSOA). The MKSOA is a 12-member board (11 voting members and 1 non-voting member) which includes representatives from the university, astronomers and native Hawaiians and it was created with the aim of finding a balance between the conflicting interests of astronomers and native Hawaiians. It is placed within the Hawaii department of land and natural resources and will be the principal authority for the management of state-managed lands within the Mauna Kea lands after a 5-year transition period from the university starting on July 1, 2023. During the transition period, the MKSOA and the university will jointly manage the land while the authority develops a management plan to govern land uses, human activities, and overall operations. Once the transition period is up in 2028, the authority's responsibilities will include issuing new land use permits which will be important as the current master lease ends in 2033, and any observatories which don't come up with new leases by the time of its expiration will be decommissioned.

Mauna Kea has an alpine climate ( ET). Due to the influence of its tropical latitude, temperature swings are very low. Frosts are common year round, but the average monthly temperature remains above freezing throughout the year.

Snow may fall at an altitude of 11,000 ft (3,353 m) and above in any month, but occurs most often from October to April.

A weather station was operated from 1972 to 1982; however, only 33 months within this period have temperature records; many years only have data for two months. The temperatures presented below are smoothed averages, not the raw numbers recorded by NOAA.

Mauna Kea from the Saddle Road near Hilo

Mauna Kea's coastline is dominated by the Hamakua Coast, an area of rugged terrain created by frequent slumps and landslides on the volcano's flank. The area includes several recreation parks including Kalopa State Recreation Area, Wailuku River State Park and Akaka Falls State Park.

There are over 3,000 registered hunters on Hawaii island, and hunting, for both recreation and sustenance, is a common activity on Mauna Kea. A public hunting program is used to control the numbers of introduced animals including pigs, sheep, goats, turkey, pheasants, and quail. The Mauna Kea State Recreation Area functions as a base camp for the sport. Birdwatching is also common at lower levels on the mountain. A popular site is Kīpuka Puʻu Huluhulu, a kīpuka on Mauna Kea's flank that formed when lava flows isolated the forest on a hill.

Four observatories from the summit (left to right): UKIRT, UH88, Gemini North, and CFHT

Mauna Kea's great height and the steepness of its flanks provide a better view and a shorter hike than the adjacent Mauna Loa. The height with its risk of altitude sickness, weather concerns, steep road grade, and overall inaccessibility make the volcano dangerous and summit trips difficult. Until the construction of roads in the mid-20th century, only the hardy visited Mauna Kea's upper slopes; hunters tracked game animals, and hikers traveled up the mountain. These travelers used stone cabins constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s as base camps, and it is from these facilities that the modern mid-level Onizuka Center for International Astronomy telescope support complex is derived. The first Mauna Kea summit road was built in 1964, making the peak accessible to more people.

Today, multiple hiking trails exist, including the Mauna Kea Trail, and by 2007 over 100,000 tourists and 32,000 vehicles were going each year to the Visitor Information Station (VIS) adjacent to the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy. The Mauna Kea Access Road is paved up to the Center at 2,804 m (9,199 ft). One study reported that around a third of visitors and two-thirds of professional astronomers working on the mountain have experienced symptoms of acute altitude sickness. Visitors to the mountain should prepare ahead of time by acclimating at a lower elevation or using a prescription medicine like Diamox. It is strongly recommended to use a four-wheel drive vehicle to drive all the way to the top. Brakes often overheat on the way down and there is no fuel available on Mauna Kea. A free Star Gazing Program was previously held at the VIS every night from 6-10 pm, with the program canceled due to both a change in operating hours and closure due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Between 5,000 and 6,000 people visit the summit of Mauna Kea each year, and to help ensure safety, and protect the integrity of the mountain, a ranger program was implemented in 2001.

Ciotti, Joseph E. "Historical Views of Mauna Kea: From the Vantage Points of Hawaiian Culture and Astronomical Research," Hawaiian Journal of History, 45 (2011), 147-66.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mauna Kea ( or ; Hawaiian: [ˈmɐwnəˈkɛə]; abbreviation for Mauna a Wākea) is an inactive shield volcano on the island of Hawaiʻi. Its peak is 4,207.3 m (13,803 ft) above sea level, making it the highest point in Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth.

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Њујорк, Сједињене Државе

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Њујорк, Сједињене Државе

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Њујорк, Сједињене Државе

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Largest City by Population
With more than eight million residents, New York City is the largest city in the United States by population

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The Liberty Bell was last rung on George Washington’s Birthday in 1846. It received its fatal crack a few hours later.

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Liberty Bell

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

Interactive map pinpointing the bell's location

Coordinates | 39°56′58″N 75°9′1″W﻿ / ﻿39.94944°N 75.15028°W Coordinates: 39°56′58″N 75°9′1″W﻿ / ﻿39.94944°N 75.15028°W

Location

Liberty Bell Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Designer | Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Type | Tower bell
Material | 70% Copper, 20% Tin, 10% other metals
Width | 3.82 ft (1.16 m) (circumference is 12 ft (3.7 m) around the lip, 7.5 ft (2.3 m) around the crown)
Height | About 4 ft (1.2 m)
Completion date | 1752 (Recast 1753 by Pass and Stow)
Website | Liberty Bell Center
Weight | 2,080 pounds (940 kg)

The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Once placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence Hall), the bell today is located across the street in the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park. The bell was commissioned in 1751 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from the London firm of Lester and Pack (known subsequently as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry), and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof", a Biblical reference from the Book of Leviticus (25:10). The bell first cracked when rung after its arrival in Philadelphia, and was twice recast by local workmen John Pass and John Stow, whose last names appear on the bell. In its early years, the bell was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens about public meetings and proclamations.

Although no immediate announcement was made of the Second Continental Congress's vote for independence—and so the bell could not have rung on July 4, 1776, related to that vote—bells were rung on July 8 to mark the reading of the United States Declaration of Independence. While there is no contemporary account of the Liberty Bell ringing, most historians believe it was one of the bells rung. After American independence was secured, the bell fell into relative obscurity until, in the 1830s, the bell was adopted as a symbol by abolitionist societies, who dubbed it the "Liberty Bell".

The bell acquired its distinctive large crack some time in the early 19th century—a widespread story claims it cracked while ringing after the death of Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835. The bell became famous after an 1847 short story claimed that an aged bellringer rang it on July 4, 1776, upon hearing of the Second Continental Congress's vote for independence. Although the bell did not ring for independence on that July 4, the tale was widely accepted as fact, even by some historians. Beginning in 1885, the city of Philadelphia—which owns the bell—allowed it to go to various expositions and patriotic gatherings. The bell attracted huge crowds wherever it went, additional cracking occurred, and pieces were chipped away by souvenir hunters. The last such journey occurred in 1915, after which the city refused further requests.

After World War II, Philadelphia allowed the National Park Service to take custody of the bell, while retaining ownership. The bell was used as a symbol of freedom during the Cold War and was a popular site for protests in the 1960s. It was moved from its longtime home in Independence Hall to a nearby glass pavilion on Independence Mall in 1976, and then to the larger Liberty Bell Center adjacent to the pavilion in 2003. The bell has been featured on coins and stamps, and its name and image have been widely used by corporations.

Founding (1751–1753)[edit]

Philadelphia's city bell had been used to alert the public to proclamations or civic danger since the city's 1682 founding. The original bell hung from a tree behind the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) and was said to have been brought to the city by its founder, William Penn. In 1751, with a bell tower being built in the Pennsylvania State House, civic authorities sought a bell of better quality that could be heard at a greater distance in the rapidly expanding city.[1] Isaac Norris, speaker of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, gave orders to the colony's London agent, Robert Charles, to obtain a "good Bell of about two thousands pound weight".[2]

We hope and rely on thy care and assistance in this affair and that thou wilt procure and forward it by the first good oppo as our workmen inform us it will be much less trouble to hang the Bell before their Scaffolds are struck from the Building where we intend to place it which will not be done 'till the end of next Summer or beginning of the Fall. Let the bell be cast by the best workmen & examined carefully before it is Shipped with the following words well shaped around it.

By Order of the Assembly of the Povince [sic] of Pensylvania [sic] for the State house in the City of Philada 1752

and Underneath

Proclaim Liberty thro' all the Land to all the Inhabitants thereof.-Levit. XXV. 10.[2]

The reference to Leviticus in Norris’s directive reflects the contemporaneous practice of assigning unique qualities to bells that reflected their particular composition and casting.[3]

Inscription[edit]

The inscription on the bell reads:

Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof Lev. XXV. v X.
By Order of the ASSEMBLY of the Province of PENSYLVANIA for the State House in PhiladA
Pass and Stow
Philada
MDCCLIII

At the time, "Pensylvania" was an accepted alternative spelling for "Pennsylvania." That spelling was used by Alexander Hamilton, a graduate of King's College (now Columbia University), in 1787 on the signature page of the Constitution of the United States.[4]

Robert Charles dutifully ordered the bell from Thomas Lester of the London bellfounding firm of Lester and Pack (known subsequently as the Whitechapel Bell Foundry)[5] for the sum of £150 13s 8d,[6] (equivalent to £22,994 in 2020[7]) including freight to Philadelphia and insurance. It arrived in Philadelphia in August 1752. Norris wrote to Charles that the bell was in good order, but they had not yet sounded it, as they were building a clock for the State House's tower.[8] The bell was mounted on a stand to test the sound, and at the first strike of the clapper, the bell's rim cracked. The episode would be used to good account in later stories of the bell;[9] in 1893, former President Benjamin Harrison, speaking as the bell passed through Indianapolis, stated, "This old bell was made in England, but it had to be re-cast in America before it was attuned to proclaim the right of self-government and the equal rights of men."[10] Philadelphia authorities tried to return it by ship, but the master of the vessel that had brought it was unable to take it on board.[11]

Two local founders, John Pass and John Stow, offered to recast the bell. Though they were inexperienced in bell casting, Pass had headed the Mount Holly Iron Foundry in neighboring New Jersey and came from Malta that had a tradition of bell casting. Stow, on the other hand, was only four years out of his apprenticeship as a brass founder. At Stow's foundry on Second Street, the bell was broken into small pieces, melted down, and cast into a new bell. The two founders decided that the metal was too brittle, and augmented the bell metal by about ten percent, using copper. The bell was ready in March 1753, and Norris reported that the lettering (that included the founders' names and the year) was even clearer on the new bell than on the old.[12]

City officials scheduled a public celebration with free food and drink for the testing of the recast bell. When the bell was struck, it did not break, but the sound produced was described by one hearer as like two coal scuttles being banged together. Mocked by the crowd, Pass and Stow hastily took the bell away and again recast it. When the fruit of the two founders' renewed efforts was brought forth in June 1753, the sound was deemed satisfactory, though Norris indicated that he did not personally like it. The bell was hung in the steeple of the State House the same month.[13]

The reason for the difficulties with the bell is not certain. The Whitechapel Foundry took the position that the bell was either damaged in transit or was broken by an inexperienced bell ringer, who incautiously sent the clapper flying against the rim, rather than the body of the bell.[14] In 1975, the Winterthur Museum conducted an analysis of the metal in the bell, and concluded that "a series of errors made in the construction, reconstruction, and second reconstruction of the Bell resulted in a brittle bell that barely missed being broken up for scrap".[15] The Museum found a considerably higher level of tin in the Liberty Bell than in other Whitechapel bells of that era, and suggested that Whitechapel made an error in the alloy, perhaps by using scraps with a high level of tin to begin the melt instead of the usual pure copper.[16] The analysis found that, on the second recasting, instead of adding pure tin to the bell metal, Pass and Stow added cheap pewter with a high lead content, and incompletely mixed the new metal into the mold.[17] The result was "an extremely brittle alloy which not only caused the Bell to fail in service but made it easy for early souvenir collectors to knock off substantial trophies from the rim".[18]

Early days (1754–1777)[edit]

Dissatisfied with the bell, Norris instructed Charles to order a second one, and see if Lester and Pack would take back the first bell and credit the value of the metal towards the bill. In 1754, the Assembly decided to keep both bells; the new one was attached to the tower clock[20] while the old bell was, by vote of the Assembly, devoted "to such Uses as this House may hereafter appoint."[20] The Pass and Stow bell was used to summon the Assembly.[21] One of the earliest documented mentions of the bell's use is in a letter from Benjamin Franklin to Catherine Ray dated October 16, 1755: "Adieu. The Bell rings, and I must go among the Grave ones, and talk Politiks. [sic]"[22] The bell was rung in 1760 to mark the accession of George III to the throne.[21] In the early 1760s, the Assembly allowed a local church to use the State House for services and the bell to summon worshipers, while the church's building was being constructed.[22] The bell was also used to summon people to public meetings, and in 1772, a group of citizens complained to the Assembly that the bell was being rung too frequently.[21]

Despite the legends that have grown up about the Liberty Bell, it did not ring on July 4, 1776 (at least not for any reason connected with independence) since no public announcement was made of the Declaration of Independence until four days later, on July 8, 1776. When the Declaration was publicly read for the first time in Philadelphia, on July 8, 1776, there was a ringing of bells. While there is no contemporary account of Liberty Bell ringing, most authorities agree that it was among the bells that rang.[23][24][25] However, there is some chance that the poor condition of the State House bell tower prevented the bell from ringing.[24] According to John C. Paige, who wrote a historical study of the bell for the National Park Service, "We do not know whether or not the steeple was still strong enough to permit the State House bell to ring on this day. If it could possibly be rung, we can assume it was. Whether or not it did, it has come to symbolize all of the bells throughout the United States which proclaimed Independence."[26]

If the bell was rung, it would have been most likely rung by Andrew McNair, who was the doorkeeper both of the Assembly and of the Congress, and was responsible for ringing the bell. As McNair was absent on two unspecified days between April and November, it might have been rung by William Hurry, who succeeded him as doorkeeper for Congress.[27] Bells were also rung to celebrate the first anniversary of Independence on July 4, 1777.[24]

Hidden in Allentown (1777-1778)[edit]

After Washington's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia was defenseless, and the city prepared for what was seen as an inevitable British Army attack. Bells could easily be recast into munitions, and locals feared the Liberty Bell and other bells would meet this fate.

The bell was hastily taken down from the tower in September 1777, and sent by heavily guarded wagon train to Bethlehem and then to the Zion German Reformed Church in Northampton Town (present-day Allentown, Pennsylvania), where it was hidden under the church floor boards during the British occupation of Philadelphia.[28] The bell remained hidden in Allentown for nine months until its return to Philadelphia in June 1778, following the British retreat from Philadelphia on June 18, 1778.

Upon the bell's return to Philadelphia, the steeple of the State House was in poor condition, and was subsequently torn down and restored. The bell was placed in storage until 1785 when it was again mounted for ringing.[29]

Post-Revolutionary War (1779-1846)[edit]

Placed on an upper floor of the State House, the bell was rung in the early years of independence on the Fourth of July and on Washington's Birthday, as well as on Election Day to remind voters to hand in their ballots. It also rang to call students at the University of Pennsylvania to their classes at nearby Philosophical Hall. Until 1799, when the state capital was moved to Lancaster, it again rang to summon legislators into session.[30] When Pennsylvania, having no further use for its State House, proposed to tear it down and sell the land for building lots, the City of Philadelphia purchased the land, together with the building, including the bell, for $70,000, equal to $1,117,667 today.[31] In 1828, the city sold the second Lester and Pack bell to St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church, which was burned down by an anti-Catholic mob in the Philadelphia Nativist Riots of 1844. The remains of the bell were recast; the new bell is now located at Villanova University.[32]

It is uncertain how the bell came to be cracked; the damage occurred sometime between 1817 and 1846. The bell is mentioned in a number of newspaper articles during that time; no mention of a crack can be found until 1846. In fact, in 1837, the bell was depicted in an anti-slavery publication—uncracked. In February 1846 Public Ledger reported that the bell had been rung on February 23, 1846, in celebration of Washington's Birthday (as February 22 fell on a Sunday, the celebration occurred the next day), and also reported that the bell had long been cracked, but had been "put in order" by having the sides of the crack filed. The paper reported that around noon, it was discovered that the ringing had caused the crack to be greatly extended, and that "the old Independence Bell ... now hangs in the great city steeple irreparably cracked and forever dumb".[33]

The most common story about the cracking of the bell is that it happened when the bell was rung upon the 1835 death of the Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall. This story originated in 1876, when the volunteer curator of Independence Hall, Colonel Frank Etting, announced that he had ascertained the truth of the story. While there is little evidence to support this view, it has been widely accepted and taught. Other claims regarding the crack in the bell include stories that it was damaged while welcoming Lafayette on his return to the United States in 1824, that it cracked announcing the passing of the British Catholic Relief Act 1829, and that some boys had been invited to ring the bell, and inadvertently damaged it. David Kimball, in his book compiled for the National Park Service, suggests that it most likely cracked sometime between 1841 and 1845, either on the Fourth of July or on Washington's Birthday.[34]

The Pass and Stow bell was first termed "the Liberty Bell" in the New York Anti-Slavery Society's journal, Anti-Slavery Record. In an 1835 piece, "The Liberty Bell", Philadelphians were castigated for not doing more for the abolitionist cause. Two years later, in another work of that society, the journal Liberty featured an image of the bell as its frontispiece, with the words "Proclaim Liberty".[35] In 1839, Boston's Friends of Liberty, another abolitionist group, titled their journal The Liberty Bell. The same year, William Lloyd Garrison's anti-slavery publication The Liberator reprinted a Boston abolitionist pamphlet containing a poem entitled "The Liberty Bell" that noted that, at that time, despite its inscription, the bell did not proclaim liberty to all the inhabitants of the land.[36]

Becoming a symbol (1847–1865)[edit]

The Bellman Informed of the Passage of the Declaration of Independence, an 1854 depiction of the story of the Liberty Bell being rung on July 4, 1776

A great part of the modern image of the bell as a relic of the proclamation of American independence was forged by writer George Lippard. On January 2, 1847, his story "Fourth of July, 1776" appeared in the Saturday Courier.[37] The short story depicted an aged bellman on July 4, 1776, sitting morosely by the bell, fearing that Congress would not have the courage to declare independence. At the most dramatic moment, a young boy appears with instructions for the old man: to ring the bell. It was subsequently published in Lippard's collected stories.[38] The story was widely reprinted and closely linked the Liberty Bell to the Declaration of Independence in the public mind.[39] The elements of the story were reprinted in early historian Benson J. Lossing's The Pictorial Field Guide to the Revolution (published in 1850) as historical fact,[40] and the tale was widely repeated for generations after in school primers.[41]

In 1848, with the rise of interest in the bell, the city decided to move it to the Assembly Room (also known as the Declaration Chamber) on the first floor, where the Declaration and United States Constitution had been debated and signed.[42] The city constructed an ornate pedestal for the bell. The Liberty Bell was displayed on that pedestal for the next quarter-century, surmounted by an eagle (originally sculpted, later stuffed).[43] In 1853, President Franklin Pierce visited Philadelphia and the bell, and spoke of the bell as symbolizing the American Revolution and American liberty.[44] At the time, Independence Hall was also used as a courthouse, and African-American newspapers pointed out the incongruity of housing a symbol of liberty in the same building in which federal judges were holding hearings under the Fugitive Slave Act.[45]

In February 1861, then President-elect, Abraham Lincoln, came to the Assembly Room and delivered an address en route to his inauguration in Washington DC.[46] In 1865, Lincoln's body was returned to the Assembly Room after his assassination for a public viewing of his body, en route to his burial in Springfield, Illinois. Due to time constraints, only a small fraction of those wishing to pass by the coffin were able to; the lines to see the coffin were never less than 3 miles (4.8 km) long.[47] Nevertheless, between 120,000 and 140,000 people were able to pass by the open casket and then the bell, carefully placed at Lincoln's head so mourners could read the inscription, "Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."[46]

Traveling icon of freedom (1866–1947)[edit]

The Liberty Bell is paraded through the streets of Philadelphia in 1908, in a recreation of its 1777 journey to Allentown.

In 1876, Philadelphia city officials discussed what role the bell should play in the nation's Centennial festivities. Some wanted to repair it so it could sound at the Centennial Exposition being held in Philadelphia, but the idea was not adopted; the bell's custodians concluded that it was unlikely that the metal could be made into a bell that would have a pleasant sound, and that the crack had become part of the bell's character. Instead, a replica weighing 13,000 pounds (5,900 kg) (1,000 pounds for each of the original states) was cast. The metal used for what was dubbed "the Centennial Bell" included four melted-down cannons: one used by each side in the American Revolutionary War, and one used by each side in the Civil War. That bell was sounded at the Exposition grounds on July 4, 1876, was later recast to improve the sound, and today is the bell attached to the clock in the steeple of Independence Hall.[48] While the Liberty Bell did not go to the Exposition, a great many Exposition visitors came to visit it, and its image was ubiquitous at the Exposition grounds—myriad souvenirs were sold bearing its image or shape, and state pavilions contained replicas of the bell made of substances ranging from stone to tobacco.[49] In 1877, the bell was hung from the ceiling of the Assembly Room by a chain with thirteen links.[50]

Between 1885 and 1915, the Liberty Bell made seven trips to various expositions and celebrations. Each time, the bell traveled by rail, making a large number of stops along the way so that local people could view it.[51] By 1885, the Liberty Bell was widely recognized as a symbol of freedom, and as a treasured relic of Independence, and was growing still more famous as versions of Lippard's legend were reprinted in history and school books.[52] In early 1885, the city agreed to let it travel to New Orleans for the World Cotton Centennial exposition. Large crowds mobbed the bell at each stop. In Biloxi, Mississippi, the former President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis came to the bell. Davis delivered a speech paying homage to it, and urging national unity.[53] In 1893, it was sent to Chicago's World Columbian Exposition to be the centerpiece of the state's exhibit in the Pennsylvania Building.[54] On July 4, 1893, in Chicago, the bell was serenaded with the first performance of The Liberty Bell March, conducted by "America's Bandleader", John Philip Sousa.[55] Philadelphians began to cool to the idea of sending it to other cities when it returned from Chicago bearing a new crack, and each new proposed journey met with increasing opposition.[56] It was also found that the bell's private watchman had been cutting off small pieces for souvenirs. The city placed the bell in a glass-fronted oak case.[57] In 1898, it was taken out of the glass case and hung from its yoke again in the tower hall of Independence Hall, a room that would remain its home until the end of 1975. A guard was posted to discourage souvenir hunters who might otherwise chip at it.[58]

By 1909, the bell had made six trips, and not only had the cracking become worse, but souvenir hunters had deprived it of over one percent of its weight. (Its weight was reported as 2,080 lb (940 kg) in 1904.[59]) When, in 1912, the organizers of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition requested the bell for the 1915 fair in San Francisco, the city was reluctant to let it travel again. The city finally decided to let it go as the bell had never been west of St. Louis, and it was a chance to bring it to millions who might never see it otherwise.[60] However, in 1914, fearing that the cracks might lengthen during the long train ride, the city installed a metal support structure inside the bell, generally called the "spider."[61] In February 1915, the bell was tapped gently with wooden mallets to produce sounds that were transmitted to the fair as the signal to open it, a transmission that also inaugurated transcontinental telephone service.[62] Some five million Americans saw the bell on its train journey west.[63] It is estimated that nearly two million kissed it at the fair, with an uncounted number viewing it. The bell was taken on a different route on its way home; again, five million saw it on the return journey.[64] Since the bell returned to Philadelphia, it has been moved out of doors only five times: three times for patriotic observances during and after World War I, and twice as the bell occupied new homes in 1976 and 2003.[56][65] Chicago and San Francisco had obtained its presence after presenting petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of children. Chicago tried again, with a petition signed by 3.4 million schoolchildren, for the 1933 Century of Progress Exhibition and New York presented a petition to secure a visit from the bell for the 1939 New York World's Fair. Both efforts failed.[66]

In 1924, one of Independence Hall's exterior doors was replaced by glass, allowing some view of the bell even when the building was closed.[67] When Congress enacted the nation's first peacetime draft in 1940, the first Philadelphians required to serve took their oaths of enlistment before the Liberty Bell. Once the war started, the bell was again a symbol, used to sell war bonds.[68] In the early days of World War II, it was feared that the bell might be in danger from saboteurs or enemy bombing, and city officials considered moving the bell to Fort Knox, to be stored with the nation's gold reserves. The idea provoked a storm of protest from around the nation, and was abandoned. Officials then considered building an underground steel vault above which it would be displayed, and into which it could be lowered if necessary. The project was dropped when studies found that the digging might undermine the foundations of Independence Hall.[69] On December 17, 1944, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry offered to recast the bell at no cost as a gesture of Anglo-American friendship.[70] The bell was again tapped on D-Day, as well as in victory on V-E Day and V-J Day.[71]

Park Service administration (1948–present)[edit]

A crowd of tourists gathers around the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, July 1951

After World War II, and following considerable controversy, the City of Philadelphia agreed that it would transfer custody of the bell and Independence Hall, while retaining ownership, to the federal government. The city would also transfer various colonial-era buildings it owned. Congress agreed to the transfer in 1948, and three years later Independence National Historical Park was founded, incorporating those properties and administered by the National Park Service (NPS or Park Service).[72] The Park Service would be responsible for maintaining and displaying the bell.[73] The NPS would also administer the three blocks just north of Independence Hall that had been condemned by the state, razed, and developed into a park, Independence Mall.[72]

In the postwar period, the bell became a symbol of freedom used in the Cold War. The bell was chosen for the symbol of a savings bond campaign in 1950. The purpose of this campaign, as Vice President Alben Barkley put it, was to make the country "so strong that no one can impose ruthless, godless ideologies on us".[73] In 1955, former residents of nations behind the Iron Curtain were allowed to tap the bell as a symbol of hope and encouragement to their compatriots.[74] Foreign dignitaries, such as Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and West Berlin Mayor Ernst Reuter were brought to the bell, and they commented that the bell symbolized the link between the United States and their nations.[73] During the 1960s, the bell was the site of several protests, both for the civil rights movement, and by various protesters supporting or opposing the Vietnam War.[75]

Almost from the start of its stewardship, the Park Service sought to move the bell from Independence Hall to a structure where it would be easier to care for the bell and accommodate visitors. The first such proposal was withdrawn in 1958, after considerable public protest.[76] The Park Service tried again as part of the planning for the 1976 United States Bicentennial. The Independence National Historical Park Advisory Committee proposed in 1969 that the bell be moved out of Independence Hall, as the building could not accommodate the millions expected to visit Philadelphia for the Bicentennial.[77] In 1972, the Park Service announced plans to build a large glass tower for the bell at the new visitors center at South Third Street and Chestnut Street, two blocks east of Independence Hall, at a cost of $5 million, but citizens again protested the move. Instead, in 1973, the Park Service proposed to build a smaller glass pavilion for the bell at the north end of Independence Mall, between Arch and Race Streets. Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo agreed with the pavilion idea, but proposed that the pavilion be built across Chestnut Street from Independence Hall, which the state feared would destroy the view of the historic building from the mall area.[78] Rizzo's view prevailed, and the bell was moved to a glass-and-steel Liberty Bell Pavilion, about 200 yards (180 m) from its old home at Independence Hall, as the Bicentennial year began.[79]

During the Bicentennial, members of the Procrastinators' Club of America jokingly picketed the Whitechapel Bell Foundry with signs "We got a lemon" and "What about the warranty?" The foundry told the protesters that it would be glad to replace the bell—so long as it was returned in the original packaging.[11] In 1958, the foundry (then trading under the name Mears and Stainbank Foundry) had offered to recast the bell, and was told by the Park Service that neither it nor the public wanted the crack removed.[76] The foundry was called upon, in 1976, to cast a full-size replica of the Liberty Bell (known as the Bicentennial Bell) that was presented to the United States by the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II,[80] and was housed in the tower once intended for the Liberty Bell, at the former visitor center on South Third Street.[81]

Liberty Bell Center[edit]

The interior of the Liberty Bell chamber at the Liberty Bell Center. Independence Hall is in the background with the Liberty Bell visible in its steeple.

In 1995, the Park Service began preliminary work on a redesign of Independence Mall. Architects Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates developed a master plan with two design alternatives. The first proposed a block-long visitors center on the south side of Market Street, that would also house the Liberty Bell. This would have interrupted the mall's three-block vista of Independence Hall, and made the bell visible only from the south, i.e. Chestnut Street. The second alternative placed a similar visitors center on the north side of Market Street, also interrupting the mall's vista, with the bell in a small pavilion on the south side.[82] City planner Edmund Bacon, who had overseen the mall's design in the 1950s, saw preservation of the vista of Independence Hall as essential. He created his own plan that included a domed bell pavilion built north of Market Street.[83] Public reaction to the possibility of moving the Liberty Bell so far from Independence Hall was strongly negative. NPS announced that the bell would remain on the block between Chestnut and Market Streets.[84] Other plans were proposed, each had strengths and weaknesses, but the goal of all was to encourage visitors to see more of the historical park than just the Liberty Bell.[85]

South end of Liberty Bell Center with both the Liberty Bell and a reflection of Independence Hall, January 2022

The Olin Partnership was hired to create a new master plan for Independence Mall; its team included architect Bernard Cywinski, who ultimately won a limited design competition to design what was called the Liberty Bell Center (LBC). Cywinski's design was unveiled in early 1999. Significantly larger than the existing pavilion, allowing for exhibit space and an interpretive center,[86] the proposed LBC building also would cover about 15% of the footprint of the long-demolished President's House, the "White House" of George Washington and John Adams.[87] Archaeologists excavating the LBC's intended site uncovered remnants of the 1790–1800 executive mansion that were reburied.[88] The project became highly controversial when it was revealed that Washington's slaves had been housed only feet from the planned LBC's main entrance.[89] The Park Service refused to redesign the LBC building, or delay its construction.[90] Initially, NPS resisted interpreting the slaves and the slave quarters,[91] but after years of protest by Black activists, agreed.[92] The new facility that opened hours after the bell was installed on October 9, 2003, is adjacent to an outline of Washington's slave quarters marked in the pavement, with interpretive panels explaining the significance of what was found.[93] The GPS address is 526 Market Street.[94]

Inside the LBC, visitors pass through a number of exhibits about the bell before reaching the Liberty Bell itself. Due to security concerns following an attack on the bell by a visitor with a hammer in 2001, the bell is hung out of easy reach of visitors, who are no longer allowed to touch it, and all visitors undergo a security screening.[93]

A view of the Liberty Bell's mount, October 2009

Today, the Liberty Bell weighs 2,080 pounds (940 kg). Its metal is 70% copper and 25% tin, with the remainder consisting of lead, zinc, arsenic, gold, and silver. It hangs from what is believed to be its original yoke, made from American elm.[95] Although the crack in the bell appears to end at the abbreviation "Philada" in the last line of the inscription, that is merely the widened crack, filed out during the 19th century to allow the bell to ring. A hairline crack, extending through to the inside of the bell, continues towards the right and gradually moves to the top of the bell, through the word "and" in "Pass and Stow," then through the word "the" before the word "Assembly", and finally through the letters "rty" in the word "Liberty". The crack ends near the attachment with the yoke.[96]

Professor Constance M. Greiff, in her book tracing the history of Independence National Historical Park, wrote of the Liberty Bell:

[T]he Liberty Bell is the most venerated object in the park, a national icon. It is not as beautiful as some other things that were in Independence Hall in those momentous days two hundred years ago, and it is irreparably damaged. Perhaps that is part of its almost mystical appeal. Like our democracy it is fragile and imperfect, but it has weathered threats, and it has endured.[97]

Legacy and commemorations[edit]

In addition to the replicas that are seen at Independence National Historical Park, early replicas of the Liberty Bell include the so-called Justice Bell or Women's Liberty Bell, commissioned in 1915 by suffragists to advocate for women's suffrage. This bell had the same legend as the Liberty Bell, with two added words, "establish justice", words taken from the Preamble to the United States Constitution. It also had the clapper chained to the bell so it could not sound, symbolizing the inability of women, lacking the vote, to influence political events. The Justice Bell toured extensively to publicize the cause. After the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment (granting women the vote), the Justice Bell was brought to the front of Independence Hall on August 26, 1920, to finally sound. It remained on a platform before Independence Hall for several months before city officials required that it be taken away, and today is at the Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge.[98]

As part of the Liberty Bell Savings Bonds drive in 1950, 55 replicas of the Liberty Bell (one each for the 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories) were ordered by the United States Department of the Treasury and were cast in France by the Fonderie Paccard. The bells were to be displayed and rung on patriotic occasions.[99] Many of the bells today are sited near state capitol buildings.[99] Although Wisconsin's bell is now at its state capitol, initially it was sited on the grounds of the state's Girls Detention Center. Texas's bell is located inside the Academic Building on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station.[99] The Texas bell was presented to the university in appreciation of the service of the school's graduates.[99][100]

In 1950, too, an enlarged and slightly modified replica of the Liberty Bell, baptized Freedom Bell, was cast in England, brought to the United States, and toured the country as part of a "Crusade of Freedom". It was then shipped to Germany and installed in the tower of West Berlin's city hall. When Robert F. Kennedy visited the city in 1962, followed by his brother John F. Kennedy in June 1963, both drew a parallel between the Liberty Bell and the new Freedom Bell.[101]

The Liberty Bell appeared on a commemorative coin in 1926 to mark the sesquicentennial of American independence.[102] Its first use on a circulating coin was on the reverse side of the Franklin half dollar, struck between 1948 and 1963.[103] It also appeared on the Bicentennial design of the Eisenhower dollar, superimposed against the moon.[104]

On the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1926, the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp depicting the Liberty Bell for the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1926,[105] though this stamp actually depicts the replica bell erected at the entrance to the exposition grounds.[106] The Liberty Bell was chosen for the stamp design theme because the symbol was most representative of the nation's independence.[107] Since then the Liberty Bell has appeared on several other U.S. postage stamps,[108] including the first forever stamp, issued since 2007.[109]

An image of the Liberty Bell appears on the current $100 note. The image changes color, depending on the angle at which it is held.[110]

In 1962, the Liberty Bell Museum was erected in the basement of Zion United Church of Christ in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where the Liberty Bell was successfully hidden for nine months from September 1777 until June 1778 during the British Army's occupation of the colonial capital of Philadelphia.

The name "Liberty Bell" or "Liberty Belle" is commonly used for commercial purposes, and has denoted brands and business names ranging from a life insurance company to a Montana escort service.[111] Walt Disney World has a replica of the Liberty Bell that is in Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom. The replica was cast from the mold of the actual Liberty Bell in 1989.[99][112][113] A large outline of the bell hangs over the right-field bleachers at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, and is illuminated and swings back and forth and a bell sound is played whenever one of their players hits a home run or if the Phillies win that game.[114] This bell outline replaced one at the Phillies' former home, Veterans Stadium.[115]

On April 1, 1996, Taco Bell announced via ads and press releases that it had purchased the Liberty Bell and changed its name to the Taco Liberty Bell. The bell, the ads related, would henceforth spend half the year at Taco Bell corporate headquarters in Irvine, California. Outraged calls flooded Independence National Historical Park, and Park Service officials hastily called a press conference to deny that the bell had been sold. After several hours, Taco Bell admitted that it was an April Fools' Day joke. Despite the protests, company sales of tacos, enchiladas, and burritos rose by more than a half million dollars that week.[116]

See also[edit]

Liberty Bell Memorial Museum, located in Melbourne, Florida

Liberty Bell Museum, located in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Liberty Bell Ruby, a massive ruby sculpted into the shape of the Liberty Bell

The Mercury spacecraft that astronaut Gus Grissom flew on July 21, 1961, was dubbed Liberty Bell 7. Mercury capsules were somewhat bell-shaped, and this one received a painted crack to mimic the original bell. Liberty Bell 7 became the only Mercury capsule to suffer an integrity failure.

Margaret Buechner composed a work for chorus and orchestra, Liberty Bell, that incorporates a 1959 recording of the actual bell made by Columbia Records.

Freedom Bell in Berlin, Germany – given as a gift from Americans to the city of Berlin in 1950 as a symbol of the fight for freedom and against communism in Europe

The superhero Liberty Belle whose powers are derived from the ringing of the bell.

The Freedom Bell, American Legion twice-size replica that resides in front of Union Station in Washington, D.C. toured the United States aboard the 1975–76 Bicentennial American Freedom Train.

The Rhodesian Independence Bell, a replica of the Liberty Bell funded by American donors to commemorate Rhodesian independence

The Tsar Bell, an early 18th-century Russian bell famous for its massive size and its damaged state

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. ^ Nash, pp. 1–2

2. ^ Jump up to: a b Paige, pp. 2–3

3. ^ Dupré, Judith (2007). Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory (1st ed.). New York: Random House. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-4000-6582-0. OCLC 70046094. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.

4. ^ Paige, p. 9

5. ^ The Franklin Institute, p. 19

6. ^ One hundred fifty pounds, thirteen shillings and eightpence.

7. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved December 2, 2021.

8. ^ Kimball, p. 20

9. ^ Nash, p. 7

10. ^ Pierce, James Wilson (1893). Photographic History of the World's fair and Sketch of the City of Chicago. Baltimore: R. H. Woodward & Co. p. 491. Retrieved August 17, 2010. Liberty Bell.

11. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Liberty Bell". Whitechapel Bell Foundry. Archived from the original on May 7, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2010.

12. ^ Nash, p. 7–10

13. ^ Nash, pp. 10–11

14. ^ Nash, p. 9

15. ^ Hanson, p. 7

16. ^ Hanson, p. 5

17. ^ Hanson, p. 4

18. ^ Hanson, p. 3

19. ^ "No secret: Liberty Bell's Valley hideout gets Pa. historical marker," Lehigh Valley Live, March 11, 2020

20. ^ Jump up to: a b Nash, pp. 11–12

21. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kimball, pp. 31–32

22. ^ Jump up to: a b Paige, p. 13

23. ^ Kimball, pp. 32–33

24. ^ Jump up to: a b c Nash, pp. 17–18

25. ^ Fischer, p. 754

26. ^ Paige, p. 18

27. ^ Paige, pp. 17–18

28. ^ Nash, p. 19

29. ^ Kimball, p. 37

30. ^ Kimball, pp. 37–38

31. ^ Kimball, p. 38

32. ^ Kimball, p. 70

33. ^ Kimball, pp. 43–45

34. ^ Kimball, pp. 43–47

35. ^ Nash, p. 36

36. ^ Nash, pp. 37–38

37. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

38. ^ George Lippard (1847). The Rose of Wissahikon, Or, The Fourth of July, 1776: A Romance, Embracing the Secret History of the Declaration of Independence. G.B. Zieber & Company. pp. 63–. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2018.

39. ^ Kimball, p. 56

40. ^ Paige, p. 83

41. ^ de Bolla, p. 108

42. ^ Nash, p. 47

43. ^ Nash, pp. 50–51

44. ^ Kimball, p. 60

45. ^ Nash, pp. 48–49

46. ^ Jump up to: a b Hoch, Bradley R. (Summer 2004). "The Lincoln landscape: Looking for Lincoln's Philadelphia: A personal journey from Washington Square to Independence Hall". Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association. 25 (2): 59–70. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2010.

47. ^ Schwartz, Barry (2003). Abraham Lincoln and the Forge of National Memory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 40. ISBN 0-226-74198-2. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2010.

48. ^ Nash, pp. 63–65

49. ^ Nash, pp. 66–68

50. ^ Kimball, p. 68

51. ^ de Bolla, p. 111

52. ^ Nash, p. 77

53. ^ Nash, pp. 79–80

54. ^ Nash, pp. 84–85

55. ^ Nash, pp. 89–90

56. ^ Jump up to: a b Kimball, p. 69

57. ^ Nash, p. 98

58. ^ Paige, p. 43

59. ^ Ashmead, Henry Graham. "Philadelphia, the birthplace of the nation, the pivot of industry, the city of homes". Shelden – via Internet Archive.

60. ^ Nash, pp. 110–112

61. ^ The Franklin Institute, pp. 28–29

62. ^ Nash, p. 113

63. ^ Nash, p. 123

64. ^ Nash, pp. 113–115

65. ^ Paige, p. 54

66. ^ Nash, p. 140

67. ^ Paige, p. 57

68. ^ Nash, pp. 148–151

69. ^ Paige, pp. 64–65

70. ^ United Press, “Foundry Offers to Recast Liberty Bell”, San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Monday 18 December 1944, Volume 51, page 2.

71. ^ Kimball, p. 71

72. ^ Jump up to: a b Nash, pp. 172–173

73. ^ Jump up to: a b c Paige, p. 69

74. ^ Paige, p. 71

75. ^ Paige, pp. 76–78

76. ^ Jump up to: a b Paige, p. 72

77. ^ Paige, p. 78

78. ^ "New home sought for Liberty Bell". The New York Times. New York. September 4, 1973. p. 15. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2010.

79. ^ Wooten, James T. (January 1, 1976). "Move of Liberty Bell opens Bicentennial". The New York Times. New York. p. 1. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2010.

80. ^ Nash, pp. 177–178

81. ^ Greiff, pp. 214–215

82. ^ Stephan Salisbury, "Architects push proposal to ring Liberty Bell with visitors center," The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 2, 1996.

83. ^ Henry Magaziner, "A Debate: Imagining the Mall," The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 30, 1996.

84. ^ Revision of the Proposed Plan for Independence National Historical Park, "Alternate E-1: Site Specific Actions #10 – Liberty Bell" (Denver, CO: National Park Service, September 1996), p. 11.

85. ^ Thomas Hine, "Lost in Space on Philadelphia's Independence Mall," The New York Times, February 9, 1997.

86. ^ Laurie Olin, "Giving Form to a Creation Story—The Remaking of Independence Mall," in Rodolphe el-Khoury, ed., Liberty Bell Center, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (Philadelphia, PA: Oscar Riera Ojeda & Associates, 2006) ISBN 0-9746800-4-4

87. ^ "Footprints of LBC and President's House". Archived from the original on August 8, 2011.

88. ^ Faye Flam, "Formerly on Ice, Past Unearthed. The Icehouse Found in Philadelphia Gives Glimpse into Colonial History," The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 23, 2001.[1] Archived April 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

89. ^ Stephan Salisbury & Inga Saffron, "Echoes of Slavery at Liberty Bell Site," The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 24, 2002."Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

90. ^ Joann Loviglio, "Historians decry burying history for Liberty Bell," Associated Press, March 30, 2002."Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

91. ^ Stephan Salisbury, "Proposed wording on slave quarters draws fire," The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 31, 2002."Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

92. ^ Stephen Mihm, "Liberty Bell Plan Shows Freedom and Slavery," The New York Times, April 23, 2003.[2] Archived September 7, 2017, at the Wayback Machine

93. ^ Jump up to: a b Yamin, Rebecca (2008). Digging in the City of Brotherly Love: Stories from Philadelphia Archeology. New Haven, Ct.: Yale University Press. pp. 39–53. ISBN 978-0-300-10091-4. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2010.

94. ^ "Visiting the Liberty Bell Center – Independence National Historical Park". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.

95. ^ "The Liberty Bell" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 30, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2010.

96. ^ The Franklin Institute, p. 21

97. ^ Greiff, p. 14

98. ^ Nash, pp. 114–117

99. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Replicas of the Liberty Bell owned by U.S. state governments". Liberty Bell Museum. Archived from the original on May 30, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2010.

100. ^ "Academic Building and Rotunda". Texas A&M University. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.

101. ^ Daum, Kennedy in Berlin, pp. 44‒48, 53, 58, 138, 147, 165, 178, 183; Daum and Liebau, Die Freiheitsglocke ‒ The Freedom Bell.

102. ^ Hudgeons, p. 493

103. ^ Hudgeons, p. 389

104. ^ Hudgeons, p. 413

105. ^ Nash, p. 126

106. ^ Annual Report of the Postmaster General. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1926. p. 6.

107. ^ "Sesquicentennial Exposition Issue". Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.

108. ^ "Liberty Bell". Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Retrieved February 26, 2022.

109. ^ "Forever Stamp Fact Sheet". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2014.

110. ^ "$100". Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2017.

111. ^ Nash, p. 184

112. ^ Duncan, Gene. "Let Freedom Ring on Independence Day". Disney Parks Blog. Walt Disney Company. Archived from the original on May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.

113. ^ "Liberty Bell". Archived from the original on May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.

114. ^ Nash, p. 183

115. ^ Ahuja, Jay (2001). Fields of Dreams: A Guide to Visiting and Enjoying All 30 Major League Ballparks. Citadel Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-8065-2193-7. Retrieved August 11, 2010. bell veterans stadium.

116. ^ Nash, pp. 141–143

Bibliography[edit]

de Bolla, Peter (2008). The Fourth of July and the Founding of America. Woodstock, NY: The Overlook Press. ISBN 978-1-58567-933-1.

Andreas Daum, Kennedy in Berlin. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-521-85824-3.

Andreas Daum and Veronika Liebau, Die Freiheitsglocke in Berlin ‒ The Freedom Bell in Berlin. Berlin: Jaron, 2000, ISBN 978-3-89773-023-6.

Fischer, David Hackett (2005). Liberty and Freedom: A Visual History of America's Founding Ideas. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-516253-0.

The Franklin Institute. (1962). Report of the Committee for the Preservation of the Liberty Bell (Report). Philadelphia, PA: The Franklin Institute. (reprinted in The Journal of the Franklin Institute, Volume 275, Number 2, February 1963), obtained from Independence National Historical Park Library and Archive, 143 S. 3rd St., Philadelphia PA 19106

Greiff, Constance M. (1987). Independence: The Creation of a National Park. Philadelphia, Pa.: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-8047-4.

Hanson, Victor F.; Carlson, Janice H.; Papauchado, Karen .. (1975). Analysis of the Liberty Bell: Analytical Laboratory Report #379 (Report). Winterthur, DE: Winterthur Museum. (obtained from Independence National Historical Park Library and Archive, 143 S. 3rd St., Philadelphia PA 19106)

Hudgeons Jr., Tom (2009). The Official Blackbook Price Guides to United States Coins 2010 (48th ed.). New York, NY: Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-72318-6. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2020.

Kimball, David (2006). The Story of the Liberty Bell (revised ed.). Washington, DC: Eastern National (National Park Service). ISBN 0-915992-43-4.

Nash, Gary B. (2010). The Liberty Bell. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-13936-5.

Paige, John C. (1988). Kimball, David C. (ed.). The Liberty Bell: A Special History Study (Report). Denver, CO: National Park Service (Denver Service Center and Independence National Historical Park). (obtained from Independence National Historical Park Library and Archive, 143 S. 3rd St., Philadelphia PA 19106)

External links[edit]

Liberty Bell. Independence Hall Association

Liberty Bell Center. Independence National Historical Park. National Park Service official website

The Liberty Bell: From Obscurity to Icon, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan. National Park Service official website

Liberty Bell Center, National Park Service. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (architects) website. Retrieved 2010–03–16.

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Јакутат, Аљаска, Сједињене Државе

# data[].attributes.headline
Јакутат, Аљаска, Сједињене Државе

# data[].attributes.subject
Јакутат, Аљаска, Сједињене Државе

# data[].attributes.body
The Largest City by Area
Yakutat, Alaska, is the largest city in the U.S. by area.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Northernmost Point in the USA - Point Barrow, Alaska

# data[].attributes.location_name
Cape Wrangell, Аљаска, Сједињене Државе

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Jersey City, Њу Џерси, Сједињене Државе

# data[].attributes.body
The seven rays on the crown of the Statue of Liberty represent the seven continents.

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Mount McKinley, Аљаска, Сједињене Државе

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Also known as Denali, is located in Alaska. It rises to a height of more than 6,194 meters.