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Voice of America

Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest of the U.S. international broadcasters. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content in 48 languages, which it distributes to affiliate stations around the world. Its targeted and primary audience is non-American outside of the US borders. As of November 2022, its reporting reached 326 million adults per week across all platforms. It is financed by the U.S. Agency for Global Media after the approval of the Congress.

VOA was established in 1942, and the VOA charter was signed into law in 1976 by U.S. President Gerald Ford. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent agency of the U.S. government. Funds are appropriated annually under the budget for embassies and consulates. As of 2022, VOA had a weekly worldwide audience of approximately 326 million (up from 237 million in 2016) and employed 961 staff with an annual budget of $267.5 million.

Voice of America is seen by some listeners as having a positive impact while others like lecturer Faizullah Jan of Pakistan's University of Peshawar see it as both that and in addition as American propaganda; it also serves US diplomacy.

Languages
The Voice of America website had five English-language broadcasts as of 2014 (worldwide, Learning English, Cambodia, Zimbabwe, and Tibet). Additionally, the VOA website has versions in 48 foreign languages.

Radio programs are marked with an "R"; TV programs with a "T":

 * 1) Afan Oromo R
 * 2) Albanian R, T
 * 3) Amharic R
 * 4) Armenian T
 * 5) Azerbaijani T
 * 6) Bambara R
 * 7) Bangla R, T
 * 8) Bosnian T
 * 9) Burmese R, T
 * 10) Cantonese R, T
 * 11) Dari Persian R, T
 * 12) French R, T
 * 13) Georgian R
 * 14) Haitian Creole R
 * 15) Hausa R
 * 16) Indonesian R, T
 * 17) Khmer R, T
 * 18) Kinyarwanda R
 * 19) Kirundi
 * 20) Korean R
 * 21) Kurdish R
 * 22) Lao R
 * 23) Lingala R
 * 24) Macedonian T
 * 25) Mandarin R, T
 * 26) Ndebele
 * 27) Pashto T
 * 28) Persian R, T
 * 29) Portuguese R
 * 30) Rohingya
 * 31) Russian T
 * 32) Sango R
 * 33) Serbian T
 * 34) Shona R
 * 35) Sindhi
 * 36) Somali R
 * 37) Spanish R, T
 * 38) Swahili R
 * 39) Thai R
 * 40) Tibetan R, T
 * 41) Tigrinya R
 * 42) Turkish T
 * 43) Ukrainian T
 * 44) Urdu R, T
 * 45) Uzbek R, T
 * 46) Vietnamese R, T
 * 47) Wolof
 * 48) English R, T

The number of languages varies according to the priorities of the United States government and the world situation.

American private shortwave broadcasting before World War II
Before World War II, all American shortwave radio stations were in private hands. Privately controlled shortwave networks included the National Broadcasting Company's International Network (or White Network), which broadcast in six languages, the Columbia Broadcasting System's Latin American international network, which consisted of 64 stations located in 18 countries, the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio, and General Electric which owned and operated WGEO and WGEA, both based in Schenectady, New York, and KGEI in San Francisco, all of which had shortwave transmitters. Experimental programming began in the 1930s, but there were fewer than 12 transmitters in operation.

In 1939, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission set the following policy, which was intended to enforce the US State Department's Good Neighbor Policy, but which some broadcasters felt was an attempt to direct censorship:

"A licensee of an international broadcast station shall render only an international broadcast service which will reflect the culture of this country and which will promote international goodwill, understanding and cooperation. Any program solely intended for, and directed to an audience in the continental United States does not meet the requirements for this service."

Around 1940, shortwave signals to Latin America were regarded as vital to counter Nazi propaganda. Initially, the US Office of the Coordinator of Information sent releases to each station, but this was seen as an inefficient means of transmitting news. The director of Latin American relations at the Columbia Broadcasting System was Edmund A. Chester, and he supervised the development of CBS's extensive "La Cadena de las Américas" radio network to improve broadcasting to South America during the 1940s.

World War II
Even before the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government's Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI) had already begun providing war news and commentary to the commercial American shortwave radio stations for use on a voluntary basis, through its Foreign Information Service (FIS) headed by playwright Robert E. Sherwood, who served as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speech writer and information advisor. Direct programming began a week after the United States' entry into World War II in December 1941, with the first broadcast from the San Francisco office of the FIS via General Electric's KGEI transmitting to the Philippines in English (other languages followed). The next step was to broadcast to Germany, which was called Stimmen aus Amerika ("Voices from America") and was transmitted on February 1, 1942. It was introduced by the “Battle Hymn of the Republic" and included the pledge: "Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about the war... The news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth." Roosevelt approved this broadcast, which then-Colonel William J. Donovan (COI) and Sherwood (FIS) had recommended to him. It was Sherwood who actually coined the term "The Voice of America" to describe the shortwave network that began its transmissions on February 1, from 270 Madison Avenue in New York City.

The Office of War Information, when organized in the middle of 1942, officially took over VOA's operations. VOA reached an agreement with the British Broadcasting Corporation to share medium-wave transmitters in Great Britain, and expanded into Tunis in North Africa and Palermo and Bari, Italy, as the Allies captured these territories. The OWI also set up the American Broadcasting Station in Europe. Asian transmissions started with one transmitter in California in 1941; services were expanded by adding transmitters in Hawaii and, after recapture, the Philippines.

By the end of the war, VOA had 39 transmitters and provided service in 40 languages. Programming was broadcast from production centers in New York and San Francisco, with more than 1,000 programs originating from New York. Programming consisted of music, news, commentary, and relays of U.S. domestic programming, in addition to specialized VOA programming. About half of VOA's services, including the Arabic service, were discontinued in 1945. In late 1945, VOA was transferred to the US Department of State.

Also included among the cultural diplomacy programming on the Columbia Broadcasting System was the musical show Viva America (1942–49) which featured the Pan American Orchestra and the artistry of several noted musicians from both North and South America, including Alfredo Antonini, Juan Arvizu, Eva Garza, Elsa Miranda, Nestor Mesta Chaires, Miguel Sandoval, John Serry Sr., and Terig Tucci. By 1945, broadcasts of the show were carried by 114 stations on CBS's "La Cadena de las Américas" network in 20 Latin American nations. These broadcasts proved to be highly successful in supporting President Roosevelt's policy of Pan-Americanism throughout South America during World War II.

Cold War
The VOA ramped up its operations during the Cold War. Foy Kohler, the director of VOA during the Cold War, strongly believed that the VOA was serving its purpose, which he identified as aiding in the fight against communism. He argued that the numbers of listeners they were getting such as 194,000 regular listeners in Sweden, and 2.1 million regular listeners in France, was an indication of a positive impact. As further evidence, he noted that the VOA received 30,000 letters a month from listeners all over the world, and hundreds of thousands of requests for broadcasting schedules. There was an analysis done of some of those letters sent in 1952 and 1953 while Kohler was still director. The study found that letter writing could be an indicator of successful, actionable persuasion. It was also found that broadcasts in different countries were having different effects. In one country, regular listeners adopted and practiced American values presented by the broadcast. Age was also a factor: younger and older audiences tended to like different types of programs, no matter the country. Kohler used all of this as evidence to claim that the VOA helped to grow and strengthen the free world. It also influenced the UN in their decision to condemn communist actions in Korea, and was a major factor in the decline of communism in the "free world, including key countries such as Italy and France. In Italy, the VOA did not just bring an end to communism, but it caused the country to Americanize. The VOA also had an impact behind the Iron Curtain. Practically all defectors during Kohler's time said that the VOA helped in their decision to defect. Another indication of impact, according to Kohler, was the Soviet response. Kohler argued that the Soviets responded because the VOA was having an impact. Based on Soviet responses, it can be presumed that the most effective programs were ones that compared the lives of those behind and outside the Iron Curtain, questions on the practice of slave labor, as well as lies and errors in Stalin's version of Marxism.

In 1947, VOA started broadcasting to the Soviet citizens in Russia under the pretext of countering "more harmful instances of Soviet propaganda directed against American leaders and policies" on the part of the internal Soviet Russian-language media, according to John B. Whitton's treatise, Cold War Propaganda. The Soviet Union responded by initiating electronic jamming of VOA broadcasts on April 24, 1949.

Charles W. Thayer headed VOA in 1948–49. Over the next few years, the U.S. government debated the best role of Voice of America. The decision was made to use VOA broadcasts as a part of U.S. foreign policy to fight the propaganda of the Soviet Union and other countries. The Arabic service resumed on January 1, 1950, with a half-hour program. This program grew to 14.5 hours daily during the Suez Crisis of 1956, and was six hours a day by 1958. Between 1952 and 1960, Voice of America used a converted U.S. Coast Guard cutter Courier as a first mobile broadcasting ship.

Control of VOA passed from the State Department to the U.S. Information Agency when the latter was established in 1953 to transmit worldwide, including to the countries behind the Iron Curtain and to the People's Republic of China. From 1955 until 2003, VOA broadcast American jazz on the Voice of America Jazz Hour. Hosted for most of that period by Willis Conover, the program had 30 million listeners at its peak. A program aimed at South Africa in 1956 broadcast two hours nightly, and special programs such as The Newport Jazz Festival were also transmitted. This was done in association with tours by U.S. musicians, such as Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington, sponsored by the State Department. From August 1952 through May 1953, Billy Brown, a high school senior in Westchester County, New York, had a Monday night program in which he shared everyday happenings in Yorktown Heights, New York. Brown's program ended due to its popularity: his "chatty narratives" attracted so much fan mail, VOA couldn't afford the $500 a month in clerical and postage costs required to respond to listeners' letters. During 1953, VOA personnel were subjected to McCarthyist policies, where VOA was accused by Senator Joseph McCarthy, Roy Cohn, and Gerard David Schine of intentionally planning to build weak transmitting stations to sabotage VOA broadcasts. However, the charges were dropped after one month of court hearings in February and March 1953.

Sometime around 1954, VOA's headquarters were moved from New York to Washington D.C. The arrival of cheap, low-cost transistors enabled the significant growth of shortwave radio listeners. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, VOA's broadcasts were deemed controversial, as Hungarian refugees and revolutionaries thought that VOA served as a medium and insinuated the possible arrival of the Western aid.

Throughout the Cold War, many of the targeted countries' governments sponsored jamming of VOA broadcasts, which sometimes led critics to question the broadcasts' actual impact. For example, in 1956, Polish People's Republic stopped jamming VOA transmissions, but People's Republic of Bulgaria continued to jam the signal through the 1970s. In 1966 Edward R. Murrow said that: "The Russians spend more money jamming the Voice of American than we have to spend for the entire program of the entire Agency. They spend about $125 million ($0 in current dollar terms) a year jamming it." Chinese-language VOA broadcasts were jammed beginning in 1956 and extending through 1976. However, after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, interviews with participants in anti-Soviet movements verified the effectiveness of VOA broadcasts in transmitting information to socialist societies. The People's Republic of China diligently jams VOA broadcasts. Cuba has also been reported to interfere with VOA satellite transmissions to Iran from its Russian-built transmission site at Bejucal. David Jackson, former director of Voice of America, noted: "The North Korean government doesn't jam us, but they try to keep people from listening through intimidation or worse. But people figure out ways to listen despite the odds. They're very resourceful."

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, VOA covered some of the era's most important news, including Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech and Neil Armstrong's 1969 first walk on the Moon, which drew an audience estimated at between 615 and 750 million people. In 1973, due to the détente policies in the Cold War, Soviet jamming of the VOA ceased; it restarted in 1979.

In the early 1980s, VOA began a $1.3 billion rebuilding program to improve broadcast with better technical capabilities. During the implementation of the Martial law in Poland between 1981 and 1983, VOA's Polish broadcasts expanded to seven hours daily. Throughout the 1980s, VOA focused on covering events from the 'American hinterland', such as 150th anniversary of the Oregon Trail. Also in the 1980s, VOA also added a television service, as well as special regional programs to Cuba, Radio Martí and TV Martí. Cuba has consistently attempted to jam such broadcasts and has vociferously protested U.S. broadcasts directed at Cuba. In September 1980, VOA started broadcasting to Afghanistan in Dari and in Pashto in 1982. In 1981, VOA opened a bureau in Beijing, China. The next year, it began regular exchanges with Radio Peking.

In 1985, VOA Europe was created as a special service in English that was relayed via satellite to AM, FM, and cable affiliates throughout Europe. With a contemporary format including live disc jockeys, the network presented top musical hits as well as VOA news and features of local interest (such as "EuroFax") 24 hours a day. VOA Europe was closed down without advance public notice in January 1997 as a cost-cutting measure. It was followed by VOA Express, which from July 4, 1999, revamped into VOA Music Mix. Since November 1, 2014, stations are offered VOA1 (which is a rebranding of VOA Music Mix).

In 1989, Voice of America expanded its Mandarin and Cantonese programming to reach the millions of Chinese and inform the country about the pro-democracy movement within the country, including the demonstration in Tiananmen Square. Starting in 1990, the U.S. consolidated its international broadcasting efforts, with the establishment of the Bureau of Broadcasting.

Post–Cold War
With the breakup of the Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe, VOA added many additional language services to reach those areas. This decade was marked by the additions of services in Standard Tibetan, Kurdish (to Iran and Iraq), Serbo-Croatian (Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian), Macedonian, and Rwanda-Rundi.

In 1993, the Clinton administration advised cutting funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as it believed post-Cold War information and influence was not needed in Europe. This plan was not well received, and US President Bill Clinton then proposed the compromise of the International Broadcasting Act, which he signed into law in 1994. This law established the International Broadcasting Bureau as a part of the United States Information Agency (USIA), and established the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) with oversight authority, which took control from the Board for International Broadcasters which previously had overseen funding for RFE/RL. In 1998, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act was signed into law, and mandated that the BBG become an independent federal agency as of October 1, 1999. This act also abolished the USIA, and merged most of its functions into those of the State Department.

In 1994, Voice of America became the first broadcast-news organization to offer continuously updated programs on the Internet.

Cuts in services
The Arabic Service was abolished in 2002 and replaced by a new radio service, called the Middle East Radio Network or Radio Sawa, with an initial budget of $22 million. Radio Sawa offered mostly Western and Middle Eastern popular songs with periodic brief news bulletins. Today, the network has expanded to television with Alhurra and to various social media and websites. On May 16, 2004, Worldnet, a satellite television service, was merged into the VOA network.

Radio programs in Russian ended in July 2008. In September 2008, VOA eliminated the Hindi-language service after 53 years. Broadcasts in Ukrainian, Serbian, Macedonian, and Bosnian also ended. These reductions were part of American efforts to concentrate more resources to broadcast to the Muslim world. In September 2010, VOA began radio broadcasts in Sudan. As U.S. interests in South Sudan grew, there was a desire to provide people with free information.

In 2013, VOA ended foreign-language transmissions on shortwave and medium wave to Albania, Georgia, Iran, and Latin America, as well as English-language broadcasts to the Middle East and Afghanistan. This was done due to budget cuts. On July 1, 2014, VOA cut most of its English-language transmissions to Asia, as well as shortwave transmissions in Azerbaijani, Bengali, Khmer, Kurdish, Lao, and Uzbek. The following month, the Greek service ended after 72 years on air.

Russia
In January 2016, upon his arrival in Moscow, Russian authorities detained and then deported Jeff Shell, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that oversees the Voice of America, despite his having a valid Russian visa. Russian authorities did not explain their actions.

In December 2017, under a new directive from Russia's Kremlin after a new law was passed by the State Duma (Russia's lower house of parliament) and the upper house Federation Council and signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Voice of America was deemed a "foreign agent" under the Russian foreign agent law. In June 2021, the Russian news agency TASS reported that Russia's state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor complained that the foreign agent Voice of America radio station challengingly refused to observe Russian law because it had not established a Russian legal entity. Roskomnadzor also said that VOA was as a foreign agent "obliged to mark their content and provide information about all aspects of their activity, including a detailed description of contacts with the authorities."

In March 2022, VOA and other news broadcasters, including the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Deutsche Welle were blocked in Russia, as after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian authorities increased censorship of independent journalism, anti-war protests, and dissenting voices. Nevertheless, many Russians have used VPNs and other software to get around Russian government blocks. As of March 2022, VOA broadcasts were reaching people in Russia and the region through TV, FM and medium wave radio, digital, and direct-to-home satellite. In May 2023, Russia banned acting VOA chief Yolanda Lopez from ever entering the country.

List of directors

 * 1941–1942 Robert E. Sherwood (Foreign Information Service)

 * 1) 1942–1943: John Houseman
 * 2) 1943–1945: Louis G. Cowan
 * 3) 1945–1946: John Ogilvie
 * 4) 1948–1949: Charles W. Thayer
 * 5) 1949–1952: Foy D. Kohler
 * 6) 1952–1953: Alfred H. Morton
 * 7) 1953–1954: Leonard Erikson
 * 8) 1954–1956: John R. Poppele
 * 9) 1956–1958: Robert E. Burton
 * 10) 1958–1965: Henry Loomis
 * 11) 1965–1967: John Chancellor
 * 12) 1967–1968: John Charles Daly
 * 13) 1969–1977: Kenneth R. Giddens
 * 14) 1977–1979: R. Peter Straus
 * 15) 1980–1981: Mary G. F. Bitterman
 * 16) 1981–1982: James B. Conkling
 * 17) 1982: John Hughes
 * 18) 1982–1984: Kenneth Tomlinson
 * 19) 1985: Gene Pell
 * 20) 1986–1991: Dick Carlson
 * 21) 1991–1993: Chase Untermeyer
 * 22) 1994–1996: Geoffrey Cowan
 * 23) 1997–1999: Evelyn S. Lieberman
 * 24) 1999–2001: Sanford J. Ungar
 * 25) 2001–2002: Robert R. Reilly
 * 26) 2002–2006: David S. Jackson
 * 27) 2006–2011: Danforth W. Austin
 * 28) 2011–2015: David Ensor
 * 29) 2016–2020: Amanda Bennett
 * 30) 2020–2021: Robert R. Reilly
 * 31) 2021–present: vacant

Agencies
Voice of America has been a part of several agencies. From its founding in 1942 to 1945, it was part of the Office of War Information, and then from 1945 to 1953 as a function of the State Department. VOA was placed under the U.S. Information Agency in 1953. When the USIA was abolished in 1999, VOA was placed under the BBG which is an autonomous U.S. government agency, with bipartisan membership. The Secretary of State has a seat on the BBG. The BBG was established as a buffer to protect VOA and other U.S.-sponsored, non-military, international broadcasters from political interference. It replaced the Board for International Broadcasting (BIB) that oversaw the funding and operation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a branch of VOA.

52 Documentary
In 2021, Voice of America launched 52 Documentary, a series that publishes weekly films about human experiences. They publish on the streaming app, VOA+, and YouTube. Films average 10–15 minutes and are translated with captions in several languages, including Russian, Persian, Mandarin, Urdu, and English. Euna Lee directs the program.

Smith–Mundt Act
From 1948 until its amendment in 2013, Voice of America was forbidden to broadcast directly to American citizens, pursuant to § 501 of the Smith–Mundt Act. The intent of the 1948 legislation was to protect the American public from propaganda by its own government and to avoid any competition with private American companies. The act was amended via the passage of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013. The amendment was intended to adapt the law to the Internet and to allow American citizens access to VOA content.

VOA charter
Under the Eisenhower administration in 1959, VOA Director Henry Loomis commissioned a formal statement of principles to protect the integrity of VOA programming and define the organization's mission, and was issued by Director George V. Allen as a directive in 1960 and was endorsed in 1962 by USIA director Edward R. Murrow. The principles were signed into law (Public Laws 94-350 and 103–415) on July 12, 1976, by President Gerald Ford. It reads: "The long-range interests of the United States are served by communicating directly with the peoples of the world by radio. To be effective, the Voice of America must win the attention and respect of listeners. These principles will therefore govern Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts. 1. VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive. 2. VOA will represent America, not any single segment of American society, and will therefore present a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions. 3. VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussions and opinion on these policies."

"Firewall"
The Voice of America Firewall was put in place with the 1976 VOA Charter and laws passed in 1994 and 2016 as a way of ensuring the integrity of VOA's journalism. This policy fights against propaganda and promotes unbiased and objective journalistic standards in the agency. The charter is one part of this firewall and the other laws assist in ensuring high standards of journalism.

"Two-source rule"
According to former VOA correspondent Alan Heil, the internal policy of VOA News is that any story broadcast must have two independently corroborating sources or have a staff correspondent witness an event.

VOA Radiogram
VOA Radiogram was an experimental Voice of America program that started in March 2013 and ended in June 2017, which transmitted digital text and images via shortwave radiograms. There were 220 editions of the program, transmitted each weekend from the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station. The audio tones that comprised the bulk of each 30-minute program were transmitted via an analog transmitter, and could be decoded using a basic AM shortwave receiver with freely downloadable software of the Fldigi family. This software was available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD systems. Broadcasts could also be decoded using the free TIVAR app from the Google Play store using any Android device. The mode used most often on VOA Radiogram, for both text and images, was MFSK32, but other modes were also occasionally transmitted. The final edition of VOA Radiogram was transmitted during the weekend of June 17–18, 2017, a week before the retirement of the program producer from VOA. An offer to continue the broadcasts on a contract basis was declined, so a follow-on show called Shortwave Radiogram began transmission on June 25, 2017, from the WRMI transmitting site in Okeechobee, Florida.

 * Shortwave Radiogram program schedule

Transmission facilities
The Bethany Relay Station, operational from 1944 to 1994, was based on a 625 acre site in Union Township (now West Chester Township) in Butler County, Ohio, near Cincinnati. Major transmitter upgrades first were undertaken around 1963, when shortwave and medium-wave transmitters were built, upgraded, or rebuilt. The site is now a recreational park with a Voice of America museum. Other former sites include California (Dixon and Delano), Hawaii, Okinawa, Liberia (Monrovia), Costa Rica, Belize, and at least two in Greece (Kavala and Rhodos).

Between 1983 and 1990, VOA made significant upgrades to transmission facilities in Botswana (Selebi-Phikwe), Morocco, Thailand (Udon Thani), Kuwait, and São Tomé (Almas). Some of them are shared with Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia.

VOA and USAGM continue to operate shortwave radio transmitters and antenna farms at International Broadcasting Bureau Greenville Transmitting Station (known as "Site B") in the United States, close to Greenville, North Carolina. They do not use FCC-issued call signs, since the FCC does not regulate communications by other federal government agencies. The International Broadcasting Bureau also operates transmission facilities on São Tomé and Tinang, Concepcion, Tarlac, Philippines for VOA.

Abdul Malik Rigi interview
On April 2, 2007, Abdul Malik Rigi, the leader of Jundullah, an Iranian Muslim Sunni Salafi militant group with possible links to al-Qaeda, appeared on Voice of America's Persian-language service. The interview was condemned by the Iranian government. Jundullah was linked to attacks on both Iranian military and civilians. Rigi was captured by the Iranian security services and executed in 2010 in Evin Prison in Tehran.

Tibetan alleged protester
In February 2013, a documentary released by China Central Television interviewed a Tibetan alleged self-immolator who failed to kill himself. The interviewee said he was motivated by Voice of America's broadcasts of commemorations of people who committed suicide in political self-immolation. VOA denied instigating self-immolations and demanded that the Chinese station retract its report.

Trump presidency politicization efforts
After the January 2017 inauguration of US President Donald Trump, tweets by Voice of America (one of which was later removed) seemed to support the widely criticized statements by White House press secretary Sean Spicer about the crowd size and biased media coverage. This raised concerns over possible attempts by Trump to politicize VOA. This amplified already growing propaganda concerns over the provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, signed into law by Barack Obama, which gave the powers of the board of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which was relegated to an advisory role, to a CEO appointed by the president. Trump sent two of his political aides to the agency to aid its CEO during the transition to the Trump administration. Criticism was raised over Trump's choice of aides; Matthew Schuck was a staff writer for right-wing website The Daily Surge until 2015, while Matthew Ciepielowski was a field director at the conservative libertarian advocacy group Americans for Prosperity. VOA officials responded with assurances that they would not become "Trump TV". BBG head John F. Lansing told NPR that it would be illegal for the administration to tell VOA what to broadcast, while VOA director Amanda Bennett stressed that while "government-funded", the agency is not "government-run".

On April 10, 2020, the White House published an article in its daily newsletter critical of VOA coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Emails revealed in a Freedom of Information Act request showed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) press official Michawn Rich had sent a memo to agency employees stating in part, "as a rule, do not send up [interview] requests for [VOA contributor] Greta Van Susteren or anyone affiliated with Voice of America", referencing the White House story. On April 30, The Washington Post, referring to Steven L. Herman who covered the White House for VOA, reported Vice President Mike Pence's office "threatened to retaliate against a reporter who revealed that Pence's office had told journalists they would need masks for Pence's visit to the Mayo Clinic – a requirement Pence himself did not follow."

On June 3, 2020, the US Senate confirmed Michael Pack, a conservative documentaries filmmaker and close ally of Steve Bannon, to serve as head of the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA. Subsequently, Director Bennet and deputy director Sandy Sugawara resigned from VOA. CNN reported on June 16 that plans for a leadership shakeup at VOA were being discussed, including the possibility that controversial former White House aide Sebastian Gorka would be given a leadership role at VOA. On June 17, the heads of VOA's Middle East Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Open Technology Fund were all fired, their boards were dissolved, and external communications from VOA employees were made to require approval from senior agency personnel in what one source described as an "unprecedented" move, while Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, like Pack a Bannon ally, was rumored to be in line to head the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Four former members of the advisory boards filed suit challenging Pack's standing to fire them. On July 9, NPR reported VOA would not renew the work visas of dozens of non-resident reporters, many of whom could face repercussions in their home countries. In late July, four contractors and the head of VOA's Urdu-language service were suspended after a video featuring extensive clips from a Muslim-American voter conference, including a campaign message from then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, was determined not to meet editorial standards and taken down.

On August 12, 2020, USAGM chief financial officer Grant Turner and general counsel David Kligerman were removed from their positions and stripped of their security clearances, reportedly for their opposition to what Turner called "gross mismanagement", along with four other senior agency officials. Politico reported on August 13 that Trump administration official and former shock jock Frank Wuco had been hired as a USAGM senior advisor, responsible for auditing the agency's office of policy and research. As a radio host, Wuco issued insults and groundless claims against former US President Barack Obama, CIA Director John O. Brennan, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. VOA's Twitter account during this period featured stories favorable to Vice President Mike Pence and White House advisor Ivanka Trump.

In response to Pack's August 27 interview with The Federalist website, a group of VOA journalists sent a letter to VOA Acting Director Elez Biberaj complaining that Pack's "comments and decisions 'endanger the personal security of VOA reporters at home and abroad, as well as threatening to harm U.S. national security objectives.'" VOA's response was that "it would not respond directly to the letter because it was 'improper' and 'failed to follow procedure.' Instead, the leadership of USAGM and VOA 'are handling the choice of complaint transmission as an administrative issue,' which suggested that the journalists could face sanctions for their letter," according to The Washington Post. In the same story, the Post reported that VOA Spanish-language service White House correspondent's Brigo Segovia's interview with an official about the administration's response to Pack's personnel and other moves had been censored and his own access to VOA's computer system restricted.

On July 20, 2020, District of Columbia attorney general Karl A. Racine filed suit under the District's Nonprofit Corporations Act to reverse Pack's replacement of the Open Technology Fund (OTF) board. Beginning in August 2020, OTF came under increasing pressure from Peck and USAGM leadership. According to Axios, this was related to OTF's reluctance to extend grants to Falun Gong-related enterprises working on technology directed against China's Great Firewall; The New York Times noted Falun Gong and its Epoch Times media group frequently supported the Trump administration. On August 18, USAGM announced it was setting up its own Office of Internet Freedom with less strict grant requirements and began soliciting OTF's grantees to apply to the new office. On August 20, OTF sued USAGM in the US Court for Federal Claims for withholding nearly $20 million in previously agreed grant funds. On October 15, summary judgment was granted nullifying Pack's attempt to replace the OTF board.

On September 29, six senior USAGM officials filed a whistleblower complaint in which they alleged that Pack or one of his aides had ordered research conducted into the voting history of at least one agency employee, which would be a violation of laws protecting civil servants from undue political influence. NPR reported that two Pack aides had compiled a report on VOA White House bureau chief Steven L. Herman's social media postings and other writings in an attempt to charge him with a conflict of interest, and that the agency released a conflict of interest policy stating in part that a "journalist who on Facebook 'likes' a comment or political cartoon that aggressively attacks or disparages the President must recuse themselves from covering the President." A preliminary injunction issued on November 20 barred Pack "from making personnel decisions involving journalists at the networks; from directly communicating with editors and journalists employed by them; and from investigating any editors or news stories produced by them," and characterized the investigation of Herman as an "unconstitutional prior restraint" of his, his editors', and fellow journalists' free speech.

Suspended officials from Voice of America sued the agency news outlet on October 8. They accused Pack of using Voice of America as a vehicle to promote the personal agenda of President Trump and of violating a statutory firewall intended to prevent political interference with the agency, and they sought their reinstatement.

In June 2020, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign told Vox News that Biden would fire Pack if Biden won election. In November 2020, US District Court Judge Beryl Howell found Pack violated the First Amendment rights of Voice of America journalists.

In December 2020, The Washington Post reported that Pack was refusing to cooperate with President-elect Biden's transition team and, in an end run around the court order, had persuaded VOA Acting Director Biberaj to step down, replacing him with Robert Reilly, a former VOA director who had written critically of Muslims, gays, and lesbians. On December 19, 33 days before President-elect Biden's inauguration, Pack named Ted Lipien, a former VOA veteran journalist who headed the Polish Service during the final struggle for democracy in Poland in the 1980s and a former acting associate director of VOA who, according to NPR, "became a sharp critic of USAGM, VOA and the other affiliated networks on a pair of blogs" and "of the three network presidents affected, the only one without established partisan ties," as head of RFE/RL, and Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, a writer for Breitbart and The Washington Times who had claimed President Obama "hates America," as head of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. On December 30, NPR reported Pack was attempting to add contractual language that would make it impossible to fire the broadcasting board members he had installed for two years, after which they could only be fired "for cause." Reportedly the new contracts were withdrawn after inquiries from media and Congress.

On January 11, 2021, VOA interim director Reilly ordered veteran reporter Patsy Widakuswara off the White House beat. Earlier that day, Widakuswara had followed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo out of the building after his speech criticizing the VOA and his VOA-sponsored interview with VOA Director Robert Reilly during which reporters were not allowed to ask questions. Widakuswara asked Pompeo what he was doing to repair the international reputation of the U.S. and whether he regretted saying there would be a second Trump administration. The theme of the preceding interview with VOA Director Robert Reilly was reportedly the dangers of censorship. In response, dozens of VOA journalists, including Widakuswara, wrote and circulated a petition calling on Reilly and public affairs specialist Elizabeth Robbins to resign. In a statement, U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks and ranking member Michael McCaul said, "Absent a legitimate reason for this move, which has not been provided, we believe she should be reinstated". Widakuswara was reinstated to the White House beat after President Biden requested the resignation of Michael Pack.

On January 19, the nonprofit Government Accountability Project, representing fired USAGM employees and whistleblowers, sent a letter to the congressional foreign affairs committees, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, and the Inspector General of the US Department of State. The letter said that Pack had hired the McGuireWoods law firm to investigate USAGM employees and the OTF at a cost of over $2 million in the last quarter of 2020, bypassing US government investigators including USAGM's own Office of Human Resources, and called for further investigation of what it termed a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars. The Washington Post later reported that a second law firm, Caplin & Drysdale, had also been granted a similar no-bid contract in possible violation of federal contracting regulations for a total cost of $4 million.

Also on January 19, the last full day of the Trump presidency, Pack named a slate of five directors to head each of the three USAGM boards for RFE/RL, Radio Free Asia, and Middle East Broadcasting Networks: conservative radio talk show host Blanquita Cullum, Liberty Counsel officer Johnathan Alexander, former White House staffer Amanda Milius, conservative writer Roger Simon, and Center for the National Interest Fellow Christian Whiton.

The following day, Pack resigned at the request of the Biden administration. On January 21, Shapiro resigned from the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Biden named veteran VOA journalist Kelu Chao to replace Pack. Chao in turn dismissed Riley and Robbins from VOA, naming Yolanda Lopez, another VOA veteran, as acting director; Lopez had also been reassigned in the wake of the Pompeo interview. On January 22, the Biden administration fired Victoria Coates and her deputy Robert Greenway from the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, naming Kelley Sullivan as acting head.

Guo Wengui interview
On April 19, 2017, the VOA Mandarin Service interviewed Chinese real estate tycoon Guo Wengui in a live broadcast. The government of China warned VOA representatives not to interview Guo about his "unsubstantiated allegations". The interview was scheduled by the team for 3 hours. After Guo alleged that he had evidence of corruption among the members of the Politburo Standing Committee of China, the highest political authority of China, the interview was abruptly cut off by VOA leadership, after one hour and 17 minutes. Guo's allegations involved Fu Zhenhua and Wang Qishan (a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, and the leader of the anti-graft movement).

On August 27, four U.S. Congressmen requested that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) conduct an investigation into the interruption. The OIG investigation concluded that the VOA leadership decision to curtail the Guo interview was based solely on journalistic best practices, rather than due to any pressure from the Chinese government. Another investigation, by Mark Feldstein, Chair of Broadcast Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park, concluded that "VOA’s senior management did its best to make decisions consistent with journalism’s best practices and industry standards,” and “was not improperly influenced by the Chinese government or anyone else. The failure [of the VOA Mandarin Service interview team] to comply with leadership's instructions during the Guo interview 'was a colossal and unprecedented violation of journalistic professionalism and broadcast industry standards.'" The Feldstein report also noted that "There had been a grossly negligent approach" by the VOA Mandarin Service interview team to pre-interview vetting, and failure to "corroborate the authenticity of Guo's evidence or interview other sources," in violation of industry standards. The VOA Mandarin Service interview team apparently "demonstrated greater loyalty to its source than to its employer  –  at the expense of basic journalistic standards of accuracy, verification, and fairness," the Feldstein report concluded.

Relay station used as a CIA black site
It has been reported that a Voice of America relay station in Udon Thani Province, Thailand was used as a CIA black site referred to as "Cat's Eye" or "Detention Site Green".

Horn of Africa service
The Amharic Service was started in 1982. From 1982 to 1986, the VOA service had a mix of staff consisting of former members of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) and US-educated staff without strong political involvement in the 1974 Ethiopian Revolution and the associated student movement of the revolutionary period. Reporting was mostly critical of the Derg led by Mengistu Haile Mariam.

The 1986 to 1996 phase was according to Annette Sheckler, who became head of the VOA Horn of Africa Service in December 1998, opposed to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF)/Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), which took control of Ethiopia in 1991. According to Sheckler, the reporting became more politicized due to the loss of qualified staff, the role of EPRP-supporting staff being opposed to the TPLF government, and the role of former Derg officials who were recruited to the Service. US ambassadors to Ethiopia Mark Bass, Irvin Hicks, and David Shinn objected to what they saw as a lack of balance in the Service. Sheckler believed the Chief of the Horn of Africa service's EPRP background was a factor in what she viewed as imbalanced reporting. Broadcasts in Tigrinya and Oromo were added in addition to Amhara. Sheckler sees the 18-month period during 1996–98, with a new temporary service Chief, as having become "essentially ungovernable" with a "legacy of personal animosity, hostility and complete lack of professionalism". Sheckler described the June 1998 phase of the Eritrean–Ethiopian War as exacerbating ethnic conflicts within the service. Sheckler wrote memos to VOA leadership describing her assessment of serious problems in the service, and was fired on November 20, 1998, officially for "a lack of professional journalistic ethics"; she describes the reason for her firing as "telling the truth".

Peter Heinlein led the service from 2012 to 2014. In 2013, he wrote a complaint about his view of problems in the service. He saw a significant flaw being the confusion of roles in which translators, untrained in the principles and methods of journalism, took on the role of journalists. The service was mostly seen as anti-Ethiopian government until 2018, when Negussie Mengesha, the head of the VOA Africa division for several years, met the newly appointed Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed.

In May 2021, several former employees accused VOA's Amharic service, under the leadership of Negussie Mengesha, of being biased in favor of the government of Abiy Ahmed, including failing to report on atrocities committed during the Tigray War. VOA journalist Jason Patinkin said that he had reported the problems "at every level of the VOA hierarchy". Patinkin resigned from the service, saying that VOA had "sided with the perpetrators both by commission and omission" of "potential crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and perhaps even genocide".

In June 2021, Mail & Guardian reported on an investigation based on "hundreds of internal memos and interviews with about a dozen former and current members" of the VOA Horn of Africa service. Mail & Guardian stated that during the Tigray War, the only major foreign news service that was not harassed by Ethiopian security services was VOA. VOA gave frequent coverage to the Mai Kadra massacre, mostly attributed to Tigrayan youth and documented by Amnesty International, while later focusing on the Ethiopian government's dismissal of Amnesty International's report on the Axum massacre rather than on the methods and content of the report itself. During 107 meetings of the Horn of Africa service from November 4, 2020, to April 30, 2021, during the Tigray War, most (81%) of the meetings did not have approvals by Tizita Belachew, head of the service, or by Solomon Abate, of stories on the war that included Tigrayan points of view; a majority of the stories only showed government or military officials' points of view; a fifth of the meetings had no reports on the war. Instructions emailed to staff stated that the terms "civil war" and "war" were forbidden in reporting on the Tigray War, with Scott Stearns writing on 14 November, according to Mail & Guardian, "There are to be no deviations from these instructions by any member of any Africa division language service on any platform."

Twitter label controversy
After Elon Musk acquired social media platform Twitter, in April 2023 National Public Radio's main Twitter account was briefly designated as "US state-affiliated media", a label typically reserved for foreign media outlets that directly represented the point of view of their respective governments, like Russia's RT and China's Xinhua. A few days later, Twitter changed the designation of NPR's account from "state-affiliated" to "government-funded". Twitter then added the label to other sources such as PBS, the BBC, and Voice of America, which all three objected to. VOA criticized the decision, stating "the label gives the impression that VOA is not an independent outlet," and that "its editorial independence is protected by regulations and a firewall."

Hamas coverage
After the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, an email was sent to Voice of America staff from the associate editor for news standards with guidance related to how to refer to the actions ("terrorist acts" or "acts of terror") and advice about how to refer to individual members of Hamas, i.e. to use the term "terrorist" only in direct quotes from sources. At the time, VOA was not the only news outlet with journalists discussing how to objectively refer to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Six Republican members of Congress signed a letter sent by Senator Bill Hagerty, which criticized and strongly objected to the editorial guidance about how to refer to individual members of Hamas. USAGM chief executive Amanda Bennett sent a letter to the senators to clarify that the VOA email was guidance only, and "There is no policy prohibiting the use of the words 'terror,' 'terrorism,' or 'terrorist'" at VOA, and stating the news organizations within USAGM "counsel care and attention in the use of the words but do not place any restrictions on the appropriate use."

China
A study was done on Chinese students in America. It found that through the VOA, they disapproved of the actions of the Chinese government. Another study was done on Chinese scholars in America, and found that the VOA had an effect on their political beliefs. Their political beliefs did not change in relation to China, though, as they did not tend to believe the VOA's reports on China.

Kurdistan and Iran
VOA's service in Iran had a negative impact on Kurds and Kurdistan according to the publication Kurdish Life in 2000. They claimed that the VOA exacerbated the conflict between the Talabani and the Barzani. They further claimed that the VOA covered up wrongful imprisonments, wrongful arrests, and the building of extremist mosques. According to the same publication, Kurds were being turned into fanatics, and a new generation of terrorists was forming because of the VOA. They claimed the VOA was doing this to help PUK.

Pakistan
The VOA's DEEWA Radio airs in Pakistan. Although in 2015 some listeners were suspicious that the program was promoting an American agenda, others said they were experiencing a positive effect. Some listeners felt that the programs were giving a voice to the voiceless, giving them a sense of empowerment. In 2018, the Pakistani authorities blocked the website of VOA's Pashto and Urdu language radio service.

Russia
In response to the request of the United States Department of Justice that RT register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Russia's Justice Ministry Konovalov labeled Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as foreign agents in December 2017.

Turkey
On June 30, 2022, the Turkish media watchdog, Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), blocked access to VOA's website amerikaninsesi.com in Turkey because VOA had not applied for the necessary licence, which would subject VOA to certain obligations. The RTÜK regulation requires foreign news outlets that publish in Turkey to apply for publication licenses, mandates that at least half of the media organization be owned by a Turkish citizen, and would force VOA to remove content deemed inappropriate by RTÜK. VOA Turkish subsequently broadcast over a different VOA website domain name, voaturkce.com, which in August 2023 was blocked as well. VOA said that "Given VOA's status as a public service international broadcaster legally required to provide 'accurate, objective, and comprehensive' news coverage to its global audience, VOA cannot comply with any directive intended to enable censorship." VOA Turkey, after it was blocked, shared instructions on its social media accounts as to how to use VPN to access its content.

title: Voice of America


text:
Henry Aldrich

Henry Aldrich (15 January 1648 – 14 December 1710) was an English theologian, philosopher, architect, and composer.

Life
Aldrich was educated at Westminster School under Dr Richard Busby. In 1662, he entered Christ Church, Oxford, and in 1689 was made Dean in succession to the Roman Catholic John Massey, who had fled to the Continent. In 1692, he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford until 1695. In 1702, he was appointed Rector of Wem in Shropshire, but continued to reside at Oxford, where he died on 14 December 1710. He was buried in Christ Church Cathedral without any memorial, at his own request. However, a medallion portrait memorial was erected to his memory in 1732 in Oxford Cathedral sculpted by Henry Cheere.

Works
Henry Aldrich was a man of unusually varied gifts. A classical scholar of fair merits, he is best known as the author of a little book on logic (Artis Logicæ Compendium ). Although not innovative in the field of Logic itself (it closely follows Peter of Spain's Summulae Logicales), its insistent use by generations of Oxford students has shown it to be of great synthetic and didactic value: the Compendium continued to be read at Oxford (in Mansel's revised edition) until long past the middle of the 19th century.

Aldrich also composed a number of anthems and church services of high merit, and adapted much of the music of Palestrina and Carissimi to English words with great skill and judgment. To him we owe the well-known catch, "Hark, the bonny Christ Church bells."

Evidence of his skill as an architect may be seen in the church and campanile of All Saints Church, Oxford, and in three sides of the so-called Peckwater Quadrangle of Christ Church, which were erected after his designs. He bore a great reputation for conviviality', and wrote a humorous Latin version of the popular ballad A soldier and a sailor, A tinker and a tailor, etc.

Another specimen of his wit is furnished by the following epigram of the five reasons for drinking:

 * If on my theme I rightly think,
 * There are five reasons why men drink:—
 * Good wine; a friend; because I'm dry;
 * Or lest I should be by and by;
 * Or — any other reason why.

This epigram is a translation of the following Latin dictum attributed by the Menagiana to Jacques Sirmond:

 * Si bene quid memini, causae sunt quinque bibendi;
 * Hospitis adventus, praesens sitis atque futura,
 * Aut vini bonitas, aut quaelibet altera causa.

Aldrich had a large personal library of ca. 3000 books, 8000 pieces of music, and 2000 engravings which he bequeathed to Christ Church upon his death. His engravings constitute one of the earliest surviving English collections in this field.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Henry Aldrich


text:
Leidenfrost effect

The Leidenfrost effect is a physical phenomenon in which a liquid, close to a solid surface of another body that is significantly hotter than the liquid's boiling point, produces an insulating vapor layer that keeps the liquid from boiling rapidly. Because of this repulsive force, a droplet hovers over the surface, rather than making physical contact with it. The effect is named after the German doctor Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost, who described it in A Tract About Some Qualities of Common Water.

This is most commonly seen when cooking, when drops of water are sprinkled onto a hot pan. If the pan's temperature is at or above the Leidenfrost point, which is approximately 193 C for water, the water skitters across the pan and takes longer to evaporate than it would take if the water droplets had been sprinkled onto a cooler pan.

Details

The effect can be seen as drops of water are sprinkled onto a pan at various times as it heats up. Initially, as the temperature of the pan is just below 100 C, the water flattens out and slowly evaporates, or if the temperature of the pan is well below 100 C, the water stays liquid. As the temperature of the pan rises above 100 C, the water droplets hiss when touching the pan, and these droplets evaporate quickly. When the temperature exceeds the Leidenfrost point, the Leidenfrost effect appears. On contact with the pan, the water droplets bunch up into small balls of water and skitter around, lasting much longer than when the temperature of the pan was lower. This effect works until a much higher temperature causes any further drops of water to evaporate too quickly to cause this effect.

The effect happens because, at temperatures at or above the Leidenfrost point, the bottom part of the water droplet vaporizes immediately on contact with the hot pan. The resulting gas suspends the rest of the water droplet just above it, preventing any further direct contact between the liquid water and the hot pan. As steam has much poorer thermal conductivity than the metal pan, further heat transfer between the pan and the droplet is slowed down dramatically. This also results in the drop being able to skid around the pan on the layer of gas just under it.

The temperature at which the Leidenfrost effect appears is difficult to predict. Even if the volume of the drop of liquid stays the same, the Leidenfrost point may be quite different, with a complicated dependence on the properties of the surface, as well as any impurities in the liquid. Some research has been conducted into a theoretical model of the system, but it is quite complicated.

The effect was also described by the Victorian steam boiler designer, William Fairbairn, in reference to its effect on massively reducing heat transfer from a hot iron surface to water, such as within a boiler. In a pair of lectures on boiler design, he cited the work of Pierre Hippolyte Boutigny (1798–1884) and Professor Bowman of King's College, London, in studying this. A drop of water that was vaporized almost immediately at 168 C persisted for 152 seconds at 202 C. Lower temperatures in a boiler firebox might evaporate water more quickly as a result; compare Mpemba effect. An alternative approach was to increase the temperature beyond the Leidenfrost point. Fairbairn considered this, too, and may have been contemplating the flash steam boiler, but considered the technical aspects insurmountable for the time.

The Leidenfrost point may also be taken to be the temperature for which the hovering droplet lasts longest.

It has been demonstrated that it is possible to stabilize the Leidenfrost vapor layer of water by exploiting superhydrophobic surfaces. In this case, once the vapor layer is established, cooling never collapses the layer, and no nucleate boiling occurs; the layer instead slowly relaxes until the surface is cooled.

Droplets of different liquids with different boiling temperatures will also exhibit a Leidenfrost effect with respect to each other and repel each other.

The Leidenfrost effect has been used for the development of high sensitivity ambient mass spectrometry. Under the influence of the Leidenfrost condition, the levitating droplet does not release molecules, and the molecules are enriched inside the droplet. At the last moment of droplet evaporation, all the enriched molecules release in a short time period and thereby increase the sensitivity.

A heat engine based on the Leidenfrost effect has been prototyped; it has the advantage of extremely low friction.

The effect also applies when the surface is at room temperature but the liquid is cryogenic, allowing liquid nitrogen droplets to harmlessly roll off exposed skin. Conversely, the inverse Leidenfrost effect lets drops of relatively warm liquid levitate on a bath of liquid nitrogen.

Leidenfrost point

The Leidenfrost point signifies the onset of stable film boiling. It represents the point on the boiling curve where the heat flux is at the minimum and the surface is completely covered by a vapor blanket. Heat transfer from the surface to the liquid occurs by conduction and radiation through the vapour. In 1756, Leidenfrost observed that water droplets supported by the vapor film slowly evaporate as they move about on the hot surface. As the surface temperature is increased, radiation through the vapor film becomes more significant and the heat flux increases with increasing excess temperature.

The minimum heat flux for a large horizontal plate can be derived from Zuber's equation,

$${{\frac{q}{A}}_{min}}=C{{h}_{fg}}{{\rho }_{v}}{{\left[ \frac{\sigma g\left( {{\rho }_{L}}-{{\rho }_{v}} \right)}{{{\left( {{\rho }_{L}}+{{\rho }_{v}} \right)}^{2}}} \right]}^{{}^{1}\!\!\diagup\!\!{}_{4}\;}}$$

where the properties are evaluated at saturation temperature. Zuber's constant, $$C$$, is approximately 0.09 for most fluids at moderate pressures.

Heat transfer correlations
The heat transfer coefficient may be approximated using Bromley's equation,

$$h=C{{\left[ \frac{k_{v}^{3}{{\rho }_{v}}g\left( {{\rho }_{L}}-{{\rho }_{v}} \right)\left( {{h}_{fg}}+0.4{{c}_{pv}}\left( {{T}_{s}}-{{T}_{sat}} \right) \right)}{{{D}_{o}}{{\mu }_{v}}\left( {{T}_{s}}-{{T}_{sat}} \right)} \right]}^{{}^{1}\!\!\diagup\!\!{}_{4}\;}}$$

where $${{D}_{o}}$$ is the outside diameter of the tube. The correlation constant C is 0.62 for horizontal cylinders and vertical plates, and 0.67 for spheres. Vapor properties are evaluated at film temperature.

For stable film boiling on a horizontal surface, Berenson has modified Bromley's equation to yield,

$$h=0.425{{\left[ \frac{k_{vf}^{3}{{\rho }_{vf}}g\left( {{\rho }_{L}}-{{\rho }_{v}} \right)\left( {{h}_{fg}}+0.4{{c}_{pv}}\left( {{T}_{s}}-{{T}_{sat}} \right) \right)}{{{\mu }_{vf}}\left( {{T}_{s}}-{{T}_{sat}} \right)\sqrt{\sigma /g\left( {{\rho }_{L}}-{{\rho }_{v}} \right)}} \right]}^{{}^{1}\!\!\diagup\!\!{}_{4}\;}}$$

For vertical tubes, Hsu and Westwater have correlated the following equation,

$$h{{\left[ \frac{\mu _{v}^{2}}{g{{\rho }_{v}}\left( {{\rho }_{L}}-{{\rho }_{v}} \right)k_{v}^{3}} \right]}^{{}^{1}\!\!\diagup\!\!{}_{3}\;}}=0.0020{{\left[ \frac{4m}{\pi {{D}_{v}}{{\mu }_{v}}} \right]}^{0.6}}$$

where m is the mass flow rate in $$l{{b}_{m}}/hr$$ at the upper end of the tube.

At excess temperatures above that at the minimum heat flux, the contribution of radiation becomes appreciable, and it becomes dominant at high excess temperatures. The total heat transfer coefficient is thus a combination of the two. Bromley has suggested the following equations for film boiling from the outer surface of horizontal tubes:

$${{h}^{{}^{4}\!\!\diagup\!\!{}_{3}\;}}={{h}_{conv}}^{{}^{4}\!\!\diagup\!\!{}_{3}\;}+{{h}_{rad}}{{h}^{{}^{1}\!\!\diagup\!\!{}_{3}\;}}$$

If $${{h}_{rad}}<{{h}_{conv}}$$,

$$h={{h}_{conv}}+\frac{3}{4}{{h}_{rad}}$$

The effective radiation coefficient, $${{h}_{rad}}$$ can be expressed as,

$${{h}_{rad}}=\frac{\varepsilon \sigma \left( T_{s}^{4}-T_{sat}^{4} \right)}{\left( {{T}_{s}}-{{T}_{sat}} \right)}$$

where $$\varepsilon $$ is the emissivity of the solid and $$\sigma $$ is the Stefan–Boltzmann constant.

Pressure field in a Leidenfrost droplet
The equation for the pressure field in the vapor region between the droplet and the solid surface can be solved for using the standard momentum and continuity equations. For the sake of simplicity in solving, a linear temperature profile and a parabolic velocity profile are assumed within the vapor phase. The heat transfer within the vapor phase is assumed to be through conduction. With these approximations, the Navier–Stokes equations can be solved to get the pressure field.

Leidenfrost temperature and surface tension effects
The Leidenfrost temperature is the property of a given set of solid–liquid pair. The temperature of the solid surface beyond which the liquid undergoes the Leidenfrost phenomenon is termed the Leidenfrost temperature. Calculation of the Leidenfrost temperature involves the calculation of the minimum film boiling temperature of a fluid. Berenson obtained a relation for the minimum film boiling temperature from minimum heat flux arguments. While the equation for the minimum film boiling temperature, which can be found in the reference above, is quite complex, the features of it can be understood from a physical perspective. One critical parameter to consider is the surface tension. The proportional relationship between the minimum film boiling temperature and surface tension is to be expected, since fluids with higher surface tension need higher quantities of heat flux for the onset of nucleate boiling. Since film boiling occurs after nucleate boiling, the minimum temperature for film boiling should have a proportional dependence on the surface tension.

Henry developed a model for Leidenfrost phenomenon which includes transient wetting and microlayer evaporation. Since the Leidenfrost phenomenon is a special case of film boiling, the Leidenfrost temperature is related to the minimum film boiling temperature via a relation which factors in the properties of the solid being used. While the Leidenfrost temperature is not directly related to the surface tension of the fluid, it is indirectly dependent on it through the film boiling temperature. For fluids with similar thermophysical properties, the one with higher surface tension usually has a higher Leidenfrost temperature.

For example, for a saturated water–copper interface, the Leidenfrost temperature is 257 C. The Leidenfrost temperatures for glycerol and common alcohols are significantly smaller because of their lower surface tension values (density and viscosity differences are also contributing factors.)

Reactive Leidenfrost effect

Non-volatile materials were discovered in 2015 to also exhibit a 'reactive Leidenfrost effect', whereby solid particles were observed to float above hot surfaces and skitter around erratically. Detailed characterization of the reactive Leidenfrost effect was completed for small particles of cellulose (~0.5 mm) on high temperature polished surfaces by high speed photography. Cellulose was shown to decompose to short-chain oligomers which melt and wet smooth surfaces with increasing heat transfer associated with increasing surface temperature. Above 675 C, cellulose was observed to exhibit transition boiling with violent bubbling and associated reduction in heat transfer. Liftoff of the cellulose droplet (depicted at the right) was observed to occur above about 750 C, associated with a dramatic reduction in heat transfer.

High speed photography of the reactive Leidenfrost effect of cellulose on porous surfaces (macroporous alumina) was also shown to suppress the reactive Leidenfrost effect and enhance overall heat transfer rates to the particle from the surface. The new phenomenon of a 'reactive Leidenfrost (RL) effect' was characterized by a dimensionless quantity, (φRL= τconv/τrxn), which relates the time constant of solid particle heat transfer to the time constant of particle reaction, with the reactive Leidenfrost effect occurring for 10−1< φRL< 10+1. The reactive Leidenfrost effect with cellulose will occur in numerous high temperature applications with carbohydrate polymers, including biomass conversion to biofuels, preparation and cooking of food, and tobacco use.

The Leidenfrost effect has also been used as a means to promote chemical change of various organic liquids through their conversion by thermal decomposition into various products. Examples include decomposition of ethanol, diethyl carbonate, and glycerol.

In popular culture
In Jules Verne's 1876 book Michael Strogoff, the protagonist is saved from being blinded with a hot blade by evaporating tears.

In the 2009 season 7 finale of MythBusters, "Mini Myth Mayhem", the team demonstrated that a person can wet their hand and briefly dip it into molten lead without injury, using the Leidenfrost effect as the scientific basis.

title: Leidenfrost effect


text:
Alton National Park

Alton is a national park in the Balonne Shire local government area of South West Queensland, Australia.

Geography
Alton National Park is 371 km west of Brisbane and 75 km east of St George, adjacent to Moonie Highway. It covers 5.58 km2 of land within the Brigalow Belt South bioregion. The park is divided by the Moonie Highway and surrounded by grazing properties. The average elevation of the terrain is 225 metres.

History
Alton National Park was declared in 1973. The area was preserved because it contains vegetation of limited occurrence, interesting plant species and attractive wildflowers. A total of four rare or threatened species have been identified within Alton. It is also home to 191 different species of animals.

Amenities
Alton has tourist potential, although at the moment visitors must be self-reliant. The park has no facilities for campers.

title: Alton National Park


text:
Astrebla Downs National Park

Astrebla Downs is a national park in Shire of Diamantina, Queensland, Australia.

Geography
Astrebla Downs is located in the Channel Country of outback Queensland, 1298 km west of Brisbane. The landscape is flat and barren with few trees. The average elevation of the terrain is 108 metres.

Animals
The park received an award in March 2007 by the WWF for being among the top 10 reserves of the decade. Recognition was given for the successful efforts to protect the bilby, an endangered mammal native to Australia. By 2008 it was estimated the park contained a bilby population of around 300. In 2009, a plague of long-haired rats descended on the park. The large numbers of rats attract feral cats to the area, which pose a threat to the bilby. Between 2011 and 2021, control measures have got rid of more than 3,000 cats, and 471 bilbies were spotted on a survey in June 2021.

The park is home to the kowari, a tiny carnivorous marsupial which is a vulnerable species in Queensland, also threatened by feral cats. The animal had not been photographed anywhere in around ten years before June 2021, when photographs were taken during a survey covering nearly 100 km of tracks, in which a record number – 14 – were spotted in the park. None have been spotted at the nearby Diamantina National Park since 2012.

Astrebla Downs is also home to the stripe-faced dunnart.

Birds
With Diamantina National Park, Astrebla Downs National Park forms part of the 7,627 km2 Diamantina and Astrebla Grasslands Important Bird Area, identified by BirdLife International as such because it is one of few sites known for the critically endangered night parrot. It also supports globally important populations of the plains-wanderer, Australian bustard, straw-necked ibis, white-necked heron, inland dotterel, Bourke's parrot, black and pied honeyeaters, gibberbird, Hall's babbler, chestnut-breasted quail-thrush, cinnamon quail-thrush and spinifexbird.

title: Astrebla Downs National Park


text:
Auburn River National Park

Auburn River National Park is a protected area in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It is in the north-east of the locality of Hawkwood extending into southern Dykehead.

Geography
The park is 277 km northwest of Brisbane. The park is located on the Auburn River, a tributary of the Burnett River, south-west of Mundubbera.

Auburn River National Park was established in 1964 and features a steep river gorge and hardwood forests. It contains some relics from a brief, unsuccessful goldrush in the late 19th century. Many species of birds, reptiles and mammals, such as the vulnerable brush-tailed rock-wallaby, live in habitats along the riverbank.

Camping is allowed on the northern banks of the river at a campground where some facilities are provided. Bush camping is also permitted.

Access is via Mundubbera-Durong Road.

Walking Tracks
Walks from Auburn River Camping Area

Gorge Lookout Walk (Class 3)

Distance: 600m return

Time: Allow 15 minutes

Riverbed and Rockpools Trail (Class 4)

Distance: 1.5 km return

Time: Allow 1 hour

Gorge-top Walk (Class 3)

Distance: 3.2 km

Time: Allow 1.5 hours

title: Auburn River National Park


text:
Barnard Island Group National Park

The Barnard Island Group is a protected area in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.

These are islands with a fascinating geological past, dating back 420 million years.

Six species of terns have been found nesting in the southern Barnard Islands, and twenty-three species of forest birds have a habitat here.

Geography
The park is 1296 km northwest of Brisbane. Islands within the group include Jessie Island and Kent Island.

title: Barnard Island Group National Park


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Barron Gorge National Park

Barron Gorge National Park is a protected area in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It lies predominantly within the locality of Barron Gorge.

Geography
The park is 1,404 km northwest of Brisbane and 2 km from Kuranda. Barron Gorge is part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is a 7.5 kilometre scenic cableway running above the Barron Gorge National Park in the Wet Tropics of Queensland's World Heritage Area north of Cairns which has won more than 25 awards. The Kuranda Scenic Railway line passes through the park with a station at Barron Falls. Two trains run from and return to Cairns daily. The original weir, constructed in 1934 at the top of the falls, is visible from the station lookout and Skyrail's Barron Falls Station lookouts.

Landforms
Barron Gorge formed where the Barron River passes over the eastern escarpment of the Atherton Tablelands. Barron Falls cascade 265 m to the gorge below. Two waterfalls—Stoney Creek Falls and Surprise Creek Falls—exist on tributaries of the Barron River within the park. Slopes around the gorge are steep with some at a 45° angle. This made construction of the railway hazardous. 23 people died during its construction.

History
In 1885, the explorer Archibald Meston described the Barron Falls in flood where the raging waters "rush together like wild horses as they enter the straight in the dread finish of their last race ... (where) the currents of air created by the cataract waved the branches of the trees hundreds of feet overhead ... the rock shook like a mighty steamer tumbling with the vibrations of the screw."

In 1935, the waters of the Barron River were harnessed in the Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station to generate Queensland's first hydroelectric power. Two hundred metres from the base of the Barron Falls an underground power station was carved into the cliff face. Water was delivered through pipes to drive the turbines, two 1,200 kW turbo-alternators. The substation, workshops and staff houses were built around the area now forming the Skyrail station.

The Djabugandji Bama (Aboriginal people) are the traditional owners of the area known as Djirri Nyundu Nyrrumba, which includes Barron Gorge National Park. Ownership of the park returned to its traditional owners on 17 December 2004. This is the first park in Queensland to have a native title determination. Visitors to the park have not faced any changes under the new owners but Aboriginals were then able to hold traditional religious ceremonies.

Flora and fauna
Bird's-nest fern and elkhorn ferns grow amongst Candlenut, Corkwood, Native olive and False Red Sandalwood trees at the bottom of the gorge.

The park forms part of the Wooroonooran Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports populations of a range of bird species endemic to Queensland's Wet Tropics. Noisy pittas and the orange-footed scrubfowl are two species of bird that may be commonly seen. The southern cassowary is occasionally spotted in the southern section of the park. Nocturnal animals are relatively common. These include a variety of possums and flying foxes as well as Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo and the northern quoll.

title: Barron Gorge National Park


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Bendidee National Park

Bendidee is a national park in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia.

Geography
The park is north east of Goondiwindi on the Darling Downs, 264 km west of Brisbane. The park is part of the Brigalow Belt South bioregion and lies within the water catchment areas of the Macintyre and Weir rivers. The park was established to conserve an area of remaining brigalow–belah plant communities. Bendidee State Forest is adjacent to the national park to its north. The elevation of the terrain is 245 metres.

Fauna
A total of five rare or threatened species have been identified within the park. 30 amphibians and reptiles as well as more than 89 invertebrates have been found at Bendidee, including the endangered Bull oak jewel butterfly. The most interesting inhabitants of the park are the legless lizard (Paradelma orientalis) and the small Dwyer's Hooded Snake (Parasuta dwyeri).

Amenities
The park provides for walking, bird watching and nature appreciation activities.

title: Bendidee National Park


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Kalkajaka National Park

Kalkajaka National Park is a 781 ha protected area in Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia.

Geography
The park is 25 km south west of Cooktown. It is managed and protected as a national park under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.

The main feature of the park is the mass of granite boulders, some the size of houses. The absence of soil between the boulders and rocks create a maze of gaps and passages, which can be used to penetrate inside the mountain. These rocks can become extremely hot.

The area has a bad reputation as numerous people and those searching for the missing have disappeared without trace. The Mulligan Highway marks the western border of the park.

Natural history
The national park’s distinctive hard black boulders (often termed granite) and range are composed of the igneous felsic intrusive Trevethan Granodiorite which is predominantly a white to grey, medium-grained, porphyritic biotite monzogranite to granodiorite. The age of the intrusive is Late Permian and has been dated from 259.1 to 251.9 million years old. The Trevethan Granodiorite was originally magma that slowly solidified under the earths crust.

The softer land surfaces above the solidified magma eroded away over time, leaving the magma's fractured top to be exposed as a mountain of grey granite boulders blackened by a film of microscopic blue-green algae growing on the exposed surfaces. Colder rains falling on the dark, heated granite boulders causes the boulders to progressively fracture, break, and slowly disintegrate, sometimes explosively.

Cultural history
Kalkajaka ("Black Mountain") is a heavily significant feature of the Kuku Nyungkal people's cultural landscape. Kalkajaka translates to "place of the spear".

Queensland's Department of Environment and Natural Resources has been advised of at least four sites of particular mythological significance within the area as follows:

''There are at least four sites of religious or mythological significance on the mountain. These are the Kambi, a large rock with a cave where flying-foxes are found; Julbanu, a big grey kangaroo-shaped rock looking toward Cooktown; Birmba, a stone facing toward Helenvale where sulphur-crested cockatoos are seen; and a taboo place called Yirrmbal near the foot of the range.''

Kalkajaka also features strongly in local, more non-Aboriginal cultural landscapes, some of which has also been described by Queensland's Department of Environment and Resource Management as follows:

''When European colonists arrived late last century, they added to the many Aboriginal legends of the area with a few of their own. Stories abound of people, horses and whole mobs of cattle disappearing into the labyrinth of rocks, never to be seen again''

It is believed that those who vanished most probably fell into one of the chasms under the rocks or after entering one of these places became lost. It is estimated only three in ten would survive such falls, wandering below the Earth's surface with only ground water streams and insects to nourish them. A minority group is referred to by colonists as the Outback Moles (perhaps in reference to New York's underground population).

Ecology
The park's mountains are located at the northernmost end of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, where world heritage listed wet tropical forests meet drier savanna woodlands - making it a natural refuge for once more widespread, now isolated relict fauna.

Queensland's Department of Environment and Resource Management advises, for instance, the relatively small, unusual "Black Mountain" environment is the world's only habitat for at least three animals: the Black Mountain boulderfrog or rock haunting frog (Cophixalus saxatilis); the Black Mountain skink (Carlia scirtetis); and the Black Mountain gecko (Nactus galgajuga). This makes the area one of Australia's most restricted habitats for endemic fauna.

Facilities
Camping is not permitted in the park. There are no walking tracks and no facilities for picnics. There is a viewing platform that features interpretive displays.

title: Kalkajaka National Park


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Blackbraes National Park

Blackbraes is a national park in Shire of Etheridge of Far North Queensland, Australia.

Geography
The park is 1265 km northwest of Brisbane, 170 km north of Hughenden, and 280 km west of Townsville. Two small sections are also located in the local government areas of Shire of Flinders, considered part of North West Queensland and Charters Towers Region which is part of North Queensland. The park occupies a majority of the southern portion of Lyndhurst but also the localities of Porcupine and Basalt.

The national park includes parts of the Einasleigh Uplands and the Gulf Plains bioregions. The predominant vegetation type is ironbark woodlands, which also provides habitat for gray kangaroos, an abundance of birds and many other native animals. The highest point of the Gregory Range is found within the park. The Gilbert-Einasleigh Rivers rise in the park.

Colder and wetter climate is present in relation to the surrounding country because the park is located 900 metres above sea level.

Amenities
Camping near Emu Swamp is permitted from March to November when it is mostly dry.

title: Blackbraes National Park


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Blackdown Tableland National Park

Blackdown Tableland is a national park in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia.

Geography
The park is in Central Queensland, 576 km northwest of Brisbane. The mountainous terrain of the tablelands provides a unique landscape featuring gorges, waterfalls and diverse vegetation.

The Blackdown Tableland is a 900 m sandstone plateau rising abruptly from the plains below. Many creeks on the Tableland have developed gorges and waterfalls along their courses, the most notable of which drains in to the spectacular Rainbow Falls (Gudda Gumoo) over a 40 m drop. Some of the creeks on the Tableland are catchment fed by rain and often dry up, and some are spring fed and always flow even just a small amount. The national park is located in the north east of the central Queensland sandstone belt.

The tablelands are positioned at the junction of the Shotover, Expedition and Dawson Ranges. Evidence of folding is shown in the rises and depressions amongst the ranges.

History
It is the traditional home of the Ghungalu people, whose rock art can be found in the park.

Wadja (also known as Wadjigu, Wadya, Wadjainngo, Mandalgu, and Wadjigun) is an Australian Aboriginal language in Central Queensland. The language region includes the local government areas of the Aboriginal Shire of Woorabinda and Central Highlands Region, including Blackdown Tableland, the Comet River, and the Expedition Range, and the towns of Woorabinda, Springsure and Rolleston.

Climate
The plateau has a more temperate, local climate than the surrounding plains, supporting open forests, heath, ferns, and a variety of plants and animals, several of which are not found anywhere else. Parts of the eastern tablelands have an average rainfall of 1,500 mm per year. Dense fog may shroud the plateau.

Facilities
Camping is permitted at Munall campground. There are walking tracks leading to lookouts, heritage sites and creeks. Picnic facilities are available at Yaddamen Dhina lookout.

Camping is available on Mimosa Creek in the Tableland, camping fees apply.

Access
Access to the area was very limited until a road was constructed in 1969 by the Queensland Forest Department. Entrance to the park is via a turn-off 11 km west of Dingo along the Capricorn Highway.

title: Blackdown Tableland National Park


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Blackwood National Park

Blackwood is a national park in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia.

Geography
The park is west of Mount Coolon in North Queensland, 924 km northwest of Brisbane. It is named after the Australian Blackwood tree species.

The parks is accessible via the Gregory Developmental Road. Blackwood was created to protect Brigalow Belt plant communities and includes landscapes of rugged hills and gorges, stony ridges and alluvial flats.

About 80 species of birds have been recorded in the park.

Restrictions
Camping and fires are not permitted within the park.

title: Blackwood National Park


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Bladensburg National Park

Bladensburg is a national park in Shire of Winton, Queensland, Australia. It includes an area once occupied by a sheep station called Bladensburg Station.

History
Bladensburg lies in the area of what was once Koa tribal territory and, on white settlement, was taken over to run a sheep station, known as Bladensburg Station. This was the site of the alleged Bladensburg massacre, in which around 200 Aboriginal people were killed in c. 1872 at Skull Hole, on the head of Mistake Creek.

The 84,900 ha of national park were declared in 1984.

Geography
The park is 1152 km northwest of Brisbane, and just south of the town of Winton. The park features grassland plains, river flats, sandstone ranges and flat-topped mesas. The main watercourse in the park is the often dry Surprise Creek. During floods the creek becomes a braided channel.

The landscape to the south of the park has dissected tablelands with mesas and buttes and to the far south are flat sand plains.

Description
The park is now a protected area containing areas of high biodiversity. It is situated predominantly in the Goneaway Tablelands subregion of the Channel Country bioregion, but also contains some of the Mitchell Grass Downs bioregion. The original Bladensburg homestead, which was probably transported to the site some time in the 1910s, houses the park's visitor information centre today. Birds common to the area include the painted firetail, rufous-crowned emu-wren and rufous-throated honeyeater.

Attractions
The park contains dinosaur fossils as well as Aboriginal story places and ceremonial grounds.

Skull Hole, the site of the 1870s massacre of Aboriginal people, is preserved.

Facilities
Access to the park is by 16 km of road from Winton. Camping is permitted beside Surprise Creek. No water is available.

title: Bladensburg National Park


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Blue Lake National Park

Blue Lake National Park was a former protected area in Queensland, Australia, located on North Stradbroke Island about 44 km east of Brisbane. Blue Lake National Park is now a part of the Naree Budjong Djara National Park. Access was provided by road 9 km west of Dunwich.

In 1980, the national park was described as follows: Blue Lake is a watertable lake in the coastal sandmass of North Stradbroke Island. The National Park is included in the large North Stradbroke Island – Central Section Interim Listing (for the Register of the National Estate). The statement for that listing places its values in a broader context.

Although only relatively small, Blue Lake contains a diversity of habitats & species, including: Blue Lake, a boomerang-shaped watertable window lake; Tortoise Lagoon, a perched lake receding to swamp that fluctuates between swamp and a lagoon depending on rainfall; and other swamps; examples of dry sclerophyll forest, scrub heath, marshes, herbfields, associated linear swamps with surrounding eucalypt open forest and mallee heath. Such a wide range of features represents a large diversity of habitats.

Five major vegetation types have been mapped in the Blue Lake National Park: mid-high to tall open forest/woodlands dominated by Eucalyptus signata (Scribbly Gum), E. intermedia (Pink Bloodwood) and E. planchoniana (Planchon's Stringybark); sedgelands (freshwater swamps) dominated by Gahnia, Sieberana, and Baumea Spp.; tall to very tall mallee shrublands comprising Pink Bloodwood, Planchon's Stringybark, Banksia aemula (Wallum Banksia) and Scribbly Gum; closed heath of mixed shrubs including Empodisma minus; and tall to very tall open forest/woodland composed primarily of E. pilularis (Blackbutt).

The eastern tip of Blue Lake lies 1.75 km from the ocean at which point a white-sandy bottomed, fast flowing creek with steep fern covered banks, carries the Blue Lake overflow down to Eighteen Mile Swamp. Two creeks that flow permanently, and a swamp, drain into the lake. The deepest parts of the lake reach around 11m in depth.

Two crustacean species, three fresh water fish, one frog species, 12 insect species and one spider were found in the littoral of Blue Lake. Most of the littoral and planktonic insects found in Blue Lake are common and widespread throughout Australia.

The conservation park was classified in 2008 as being an IUCN Category II protected area. In 1980, it was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate.

title: Blue Lake National Park


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Bowling Green Bay National Park

Bowling Green Bay is a national park in the City of Townsville and Shire of Burdekin, Queensland, Australia, 1,103 km northwest of Brisbane, and 28 km south of Townsville and 59 km north of Ayr. It is a Ramsar Convention listed site. The park protects diverse range of habitats including the rugged, forested landscape surrounding Mount Elliot and Saddle Mountain as well as coastal estuaries between Cape Cleveland and Cape Bowling Green.

Landforms
Mount Elliot rises 1,342 m and has numerous creeks on its eastern slopes, of which, Alligator Creek is the most important. The creek is a popular place to swim and to watch birds drinking the creek's water or feeding on riparian vegetation.

The parks incorporates the floodplains of the Haughton River. This includes one of the largest wetlands on the east coast of Australia. The wetland arose as the coastal streams deposited material into the calm waters of Bowling Green Bay. It is composed of mud and sand flats, swamps, isolated hills, mangrove forests and inter-tidal flats. Behind the areas where mangroves grow are bare salt pan. These wide expanses are a unique characteristic of North Queensland wetlands produced by comparatively low rainfall and a short wet season that never washes the salt away.

Fauna
The brolga and magpie goose find habitat in the sedge swamps of Bowling Green Bay. The park is one of the best places to see the rarely observed zitting cisticola. Other bird species include the whistling duck, black duck, spoonbill, ibis and jabiru. Crocodiles are found in the estuarine and swamp areas.

Facilities
Camping in the park in permitted at the Alligator Creek campground. Bush camping is permitted at Cape Bowling Green. No open fires or domestic animals are permitted in the park.

Access
Access to the park is via the Bruce Highway. Cape Bowling Green is accessible via the village of Alva Beach.

title: Bowling Green Bay National Park


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Brampton Islands National Park

Brampton Islands is a national park in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia, 834 km northwest of Brisbane. The park covers much of Brampton Island and all of Carlisle Island.

The park features rainforests, sandy beaches and coral reefs. Walks exist to the summit and a circuit around the whole island. The 8.7 km circuit track leads visitors through open eucalypt forests, vine thickets, dry rainforests, grasslands and mangroves.

Camping is permitted on Carlisle Island which has some facilities. Marine stingers are found in the waters of the park between October and May.

One of the most striking features of the national park is Brampton Peak, which rises 214 metres above sea level.

Of the mammals in the park, koalas are represented, coastal sheath-tailed bat and black flying-fox.

title: Brampton Islands National Park


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Bribie Island National Park

Bribie Island National Park is an Australian national park in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, 68 kilometres (42 miles) north of Brisbane. The park covers approximately one third of Bribie Island. The tidal wetlands and areas of water around the islands are protected within the Moreton Bay Marine Park.

Visitors are attracted to the park for angling, boating and the views of the nearby Glass House Mountains.

This is a great place for bird watchers and lovers of spring wildflowers. The average altitude of the terrain is 10 metres.

Access
The beach is accessible by 4WD from Woorim on the east side of the island. However, in order to drive in the national park, one must first acquire a Vehicle Permit from either the Bongaree Caravan Park or the national parks website. There is also an Inland Track which goes from White Patch in Banksia Beach to the top of the Ocean Beach camping area.

Camping
There are several camping grounds in the Bribie Island Nation Park. These include: Poverty Creek, which has 12 campsites as well as an open camping ground which holds 80, Gallaghers Point which has six campsites, Mission Point which has 12 campsites which are only accessible by boat, Lime Pocket which has six campsites, also only accessible by boat and Ocean Beach which has 63 campsites. Mission Point has toilets, picnic tables and fireplaces.

A camping permit is required to camp at these sites which can be purchased from the Bongaree Caravan Park or the Queensland Department of Environment and Resources Management website. Generators are not permitted and visitors should bring their own firewood.

Wildlife
At dawn or dusk, kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, and emus can be seen roaming the island.

title: Bribie Island National Park


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Broad Sound Islands National Park

Broad Sound Islands National Park, also known as Broad Sounds Islands, is a national park in Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia, 709 km northwest of Brisbane. Estimated average altitude is 59 m above sea level.

The park covers 48 islands from Flock Pigeon Island (near Clairview on the mainland) through to High Peak Island (the furthest from any port). Four of the islands are officially known as Broad Sound Islands (Long, Tern, Quail and Wild Duck Islands), while many others form part of the larger island chain known as the Northumberland Islands.

Due to its remoteness and undisturbed nature, this park is a real paradise for nesting endangered species of flatback turtles.

The average summer temperature on the islands is 30 degrees, and the winter 23 degrees Celsius.

title: Broad Sound Islands National Park


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Brook Islands National Park

The Brook Islands National Park is a national park in Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia, 1246 km northwest of Brisbane, with an area of 0.9 km2. It was established in 1994 and comprises three islands (North, Tween and Middle) which lie off the coast 7 km north-east of Cape Richards on Hinchinbrook Island and 30 km east of the nearest mainland town of Cardwell. The fourth island of the Brooks group, South Island, is not part of the national park but is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Public access to the three islands in the national park is prohibited in order to protect breeding birds, especially the Torresian imperial-pigeon. The islands have no roads, walking tracks or other facilities. Popular activities in the waters around the islands are boating, snorkelling and fishing. The islands are managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. The Park's IUCN category is II.

Fauna
Up to 60,000 pied imperial-pigeons breed on the islands during summer, providing a spectacle to onlookers as they return to their nests each evening after foraging for rainforest fruits in the mainland and Hinchinbrook Island. Following regular illegal shooting of the birds there during the early and mid 20th Century, the population using the islands was subject to a long protection campaign and monitoring program by conservation activists Margaret and Arthur Thorsborne. There are also breeding colonies of bridled, black-naped, little, lesser crested and roseate terns. Beach stone-curlews breed on North Island beaches. The islands have been classified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because of the global importance of the site for pied imperial-pigeons and lesser crested terns.

History
Brook Island, the largest in the group, was in 1944 the venue for a series of British and American tests on the military uses of mustard gas. A documentary film Keen as Mustard, relating to these and other tests, was released by Film Australia in 1989.

title: Brook Islands National Park


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Bulleringa National Park

Bulleringa is a national park in Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia, 1,448 km northwest of Brisbane. The park protects a unique array of vegetation communities and wildlife. The average elevation of the terrain is 325 metres. 170 different species of animals and 360 species of plants have been recorded in the park.

Facilities
Bulleringa has no visitor facilities and there is no public access.

title: Bulleringa National Park