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Transhumance

Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (vertical transhumance), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Generally only the herds travel, with a certain number of people necessary to tend them, while the main population stays at the base. In contrast, horizontal transhumance is more susceptible to being disrupted by climatic, economic, or political change.

Traditional or fixed transhumance has occurred throughout the inhabited world, particularly Europe and western Asia. It is often important to pastoralist societies, as the dairy products of transhumance flocks and herds (milk, butter, yogurt and cheese) may form much of the diet of such populations. In many languages there are words for the higher summer pastures, and frequently these words have been used as place names: e.g. hafod in Wales and shieling in Scotland, or alp in Germany, Austria and German-speaking regions of Switzerland.

Etymology and definition
The word transhumance comes from French and derives from the Latin words trans "across" and humus "ground". Transhumance developed on every inhabited continent. Although there are substantial cultural and technological variations, the underlying practices for taking advantage of remote seasonal pastures are similar.

Transhumance is a "form of pastoralism or nomadism". Khazanov categorizes nomadic forms of pastoralism into five groups as follows: "pure pastoral nomadism", "semi-nomadic pastoralism", "semi-sedentary pastoralism", "distant-pastures husbandry" and "seasonal transhumance". Eickelman does not make a distinction between transhumant pastoralism and seminomadism, but he clearly distinguishes between nomadic pastoralism and seminomadism.

In prehistory
Transhumance was practised in Europe in prehistoric times. Isotope studies of livestock bones show that animals were sometimes moved seasonally. However it is a world-wide phenomenon.

Hill people develop indigenous knowledge and must have survived over generations by acquiring sufficient skills to thrive in hill and mountain regions. Most drovers are conversant with subsistence agriculture, pastoralism as well as forestry and frozen water and fast-stream management. There have been many prehistoric climate change events which impacted such cultures.

Balkans
In the Balkans, Albanians, Greek Sarakatsani, Eastern Romance (Romanians, Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians and Istro-Romanians) and Turkish Yörük peoples traditionally spent summer months in the mountains and returned to lower plains in the winter. When the area was part of the Austro-Hungary and Ottoman Empires, borders between Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia were relatively unobstructed. In summer, some groups went as far north as the Balkan Mountains, and they would spend the winter on warmer plains in the vicinity of the Aegean Sea.

The Morlach or Karavlachs were a population of Eastern Romance shepherds ("ancestors" of the Istro-Romanians) who lived in the Dinaric Alps (western Balkans in modern use), constantly migrating in search of better pastures for their sheep flocks. But as national states appeared in the area of the former Ottoman Empire, new state borders were developed that divided the summer and winter habitats of many of the pastoral groups. These prevented easy movement across borders, particularly at times of war, which have been frequent.

Poland
In Poland it is called redyk, it is the ceremonial departure of shepherds with their flocks of sheep and shepherd dogs, to graze in the mountain pastures (spring redyk), as well as their return from grazing (autumn redyk). In the local mountain dialect, autumn redyk is called uosod, which comes from the Polish word "uosiadć" (ôsawiedź), to return sheep to individual farms. There is also a theory that it comes from the word uozchod (ôzchod), which means the separation of sheep from individual gazdōwek (farms). In this word, there may have been a complete loss of the pronunciation of ch, which in the Podhale dialect (Poland) in this type of positions is pronounced as a barely audible h (so-called sonorous h), similarly to the word schować, which in the highlander language is pronounced as sowa. In the Memoir of the Tatra Society from 1876, the way in which this is done is described: "(...) they herd sheep from the entire village to one agreed place, give them to the shepherds and shepherds one by one, then mix them together and count the number of the whole herd (flock). ) pieces is (what they call "the reading"). The reading is done in such a way that one juhas, holding the chaplet in his hand, puts one bead for each ten sheep counted. The second one takes one sheep from the flock and, as he lets it out of the fenced barracks, counts: one, two, three, etc. up to ten, and after each ten he calls out: "desat"

The leading of the sheep was preceded by magical procedures that were supposed to protect them from bad fate and from being enchanted. For this purpose, bonfires were lit and sheep were led through the fire. It began with the resurrection of the "holy fire" in the kolyba (shepherd's hut). Custom dictated that from that day on, it was to be kept burning continuously by the main shepherd – the shepherd. Next, the sheep were led around a small chevron or spruce tree stuck in the ground – the so-called mojka (which was supposed to symbolize the health and strength of everyone present in the hall[6]) and they were fumigated with burning herbs and a połazzka brought to the sałasz[4]. This was intended to cleanse them of diseases and prevent misfortune[4]. Then the flock was herded around it three times, which was intended to concentrate the sheep into one group and prevent individual animals from escaping. Baca's task was to pull the sheep behind him, helping himself with salt which he sprinkled on the flock. With the help of dogs and whistles, the Juhasi encouraged the herd and made sure that the sheep followed the shepherd. Sheep that fell outside the circle boded ill. It was believed that the number of sheep that fell outside the circle would die in the coming season.

The stay in the pasture (hala) begins on St. Wojciech's Day, (April 23), and ends on St. Michael the Archangel's Day (September 29).

This method of sheep grazing is a relic of transhumant agriculture, which was once very common in the Carpathians.(Carpathian transhumance agriculture).

In the pastoral culture in Poland, Redyk was perceived as the greatest village festival. Farmers who gave their sheep to a shepherd for the entire season, before grazing in the pastures, listed them (most often by marking them with notches on the shepherd's stick, stick or beam), marked them and placed them in a basket made of tynin[4]. In the Memoir of the Tatra Society from 1876, the way in which this is done is described: "(...) they herd sheep from the entire village to one agreed place, give them to the shepherds and shepherds one by one, then mix them together and count the number of the whole herd (flock).

The sheep of all the shepherds were gathered in one place at the foot of the mountains, and then one large herd was driven to the szalas[7]. The entrance to the hala was also particularly emphasized: there was shooting, honking and shouting all the way. This was intended to drive away evil spirits from their animals and to keep the entire herd together.

At the end of the ceremony, there was music and dancing together. The musicians played traditional instruments: gajdas and violins. To the accompaniment of music, the Sałashniks performed the oldest individual dance – the owiedziok, the owczarza, the kolomajka, the swinszczok, the masztołka.

Redyk included many local practices, rituals and celebrations. In modern time it is mainly a part of local traditional entertainment. The modern spring and autumn Redyk (sheep drive) has the character of a folkloric spectacle addressed to locals and tourists, but also to the highlanders themselves, who to identify with their traditions. Sometimes common redyk was organised also in Czechia, Slovakia and Romania. In Poland, the organisers was the Transhumant Pastoral Foundation.

Wales
In most parts of Wales, farm workers and sometimes the farmer would spend the summer months at a hillside summer house, or hafod, where the livestock would graze. During the late autumn the farm family and workers would drive the flocks down to the valleys, and stay at the main house or hendref.

This system of transhumance has generally not been practised for almost a century; it continued in Snowdonia after it ceased elsewhere in Wales, and remnants of the practice can still be found in rural farming communities in the region to this day. Both "Hafod" and "Hendref" survive in Wales as place names and house names and in one case as the name of a raw milk cow cheese (Hafod). Today, cattle and sheep that summer on many hill farms are still transported to lowland winter pastures, but by truck rather than being driven overland.

Scotland
In many hilly and mountainous areas of Scotland, agricultural workers spent summer months in bothies or shielings (àirigh or ruighe in Scottish Gaelic). Major drovers' roads in the eastern part of Scotland include the Cairnamounth, Elsick Mounth and Causey Mounth. This practice has largely stopped, but was practised within living memory in the Hebrides and in the Scottish Highlands. Today much transhumance is carried out by truck, with upland flocks being transported under agistment to lower-lying pasture during winter.

England
Evidence exists of transhumance being practised in England since at least mediaeval times, from Cornwall in the south-west, through to the north of England. In the Lake District, hill sheep breeds, such as the Herdwick and Swaledale are moved between moor and valley in summer and winter. This led to a trait and system known as "hefting" (from Welsh hefod). whereby sheep and flock remain in the farmer's allotted area (heaf) of the commons, which is still practised. However, in England, it is all taken from the Welsh tradition and was only practiced on a very small domestic scale, unlike elsewhere in Europe.

Ireland
In Ireland, transhumance is known as "booleying". Transhumance pastures were known as buaile, variously anglicised as booley, boley, bouley or boola. These names survive in many place names such as Buaile h'Anraoi in Kilcommon parish, Erris, North Mayo, where the landscape still clearly shows the layout of the rundale system of agriculture. The livestock, usually cattle, was moved from a permanent lowland village to summer pastures in the mountains. The appearance of "Summerhill" (Cnoc an tSamhraidh) in many place names also bears witness to the practice. This transfer alleviated pressure on the growing crops and provided fresh pasture for the livestock. Mentioned in the Brehon Laws, booleying dates back to the Early Medieval period or even earlier. The practice was widespread in the west of Ireland up until the time of the Second World War. Seasonal migration of workers to Scotland and England for the winter months superseded this ancient system, together with more permanent emigration to the United States.

Italy
In Southern Italy, the practice of driving herds to hilly pasture in summer was also known in some parts of the regions l and has had a long documented history until the 1950s and 1960s with the advent of alternative road transport. Drovers' roads, or tratturi, up to 100 m wide and more than 100 km long, permitted the passage and grazing of herds, principally sheep, and attracted regulation by law and the establishment of a mounted police force as far back as the 17th century. The tratturi remain public property and subject to conservation by the law protecting cultural heritage. The Molise region candidates the tratturi to the UNESCO as a world heritage.

Spain
Transhumance is historically widespread throughout much of Spain, particularly in the regions of Castile, Leon and Extremadura, where nomadic cattle and sheep herders travel long distances in search of greener pastures in summer and warmer climatic conditions in winter. Spanish transhumance is the origin of numerous related cultures in the Americas such as the cowboys of the United States and the Gauchos of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.

A network of droveways, or cañadas, crosses the whole peninsula, running mostly south-west to north-east. They have been charted since ancient times, and classified according to width; the standard cañada is between 37.5 to 75 m wide, with some cañadas reales (meaning royal droveways) being 800 m wide at certain points. The land within the droveways is publicly owned and protected by law.

In some high valleys of the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian Mountains, transhumant herding has been the main, or only, economic activity. Regulated passes and pasturage have been distributed among different valleys and communities according to the seasonal range of use and community jurisdiction. Unique social groups associated with the transhumant lifestyle are sometimes identified as a remnant of an older ethnic culture now surviving in isolated minorities, such as the "Pasiegos" in Cantabria, "Agotes" in Navarre, and "Vaqueiros de alzada" in Asturias and León.

The Pyrenees
Transhumance in the Pyrenees involves relocation of livestock (cows, sheep, horses) to high mountains for summer months, because farms in the lowland are too small to support a larger herd all year round. The mountain period starts in late May or early June, and ends in early October. Until the 1970s, transhumance was used mainly for dairy cows, and cheese-making was an important activity in the summer months. In some regions, nearly all members of a family decamped to higher mountains with their cows, living in rudimentary stone cabins for the summer grazing season. That system, which evolved during the Middle Ages, lasted into the 20th century. It declined and broke down under pressure from industrialisation, as people left the countryside for jobs in cities. However, the importance of transhumance continues to be recognised through its celebration in popular festivals.

The Mont Perdu / Monte Perdido region of the Pyrenees has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site by virtue of its association with the transhumance system of agriculture.

Scandinavian peninsula

In Scandinavia, transhumance is practised to a certain extent; however, livestock are transported between pastures by motorised vehicles, changing the character of the movement. The Sami people practise transhumance with reindeer by a different system than is described immediately below.

The common mountain or forest pasture used for transhumance in summer is called seter or bod / bua. The same term is used for a related mountain cabin, which was used as a summer residence. In summer (usually late June), livestock is moved to a mountain farm, often quite distant from a home farm, to preserve meadows in valleys for producing hay. Livestock is typically tended during the summer by girls and younger women, who also milk and make cheese. Bulls usually remain at the home farm. As autumn approaches and grazing is exhausted, livestock is returned to the farm.

In Sweden, this system was predominantly used in Värmland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Jämtland, Hälsingland, Medelpad and Ångermanland.

The practice was common throughout most of Norway, due to its highly mountainous nature and limited areas of lowland for cultivation. "The Gudbrandsdal area includes lateral valleys such as Gausdal, Heidal, Vinstra, and Ottadalen. This area comprises lowland parishes 200 m above sea-level and mountain parishes 800 m above sea-level, fertile soil in the main valley and barren summits in Rondane and Dovrefjell. Forests surround those farms, but higher up, woods give way to a treeless mountain plateau. This is the seterfjell, or summer farm region, once of vital importance both as summer pastureland and for haymaking."

While previously many farms had their own seters, it is more usual for several farmers to share a modernised common seter (fellesseter). Most of the old seters have been left to decay or are used as recreational cabins.

The name for the common mountain pasture in most Scandinavian languages derives from the Old Norse term setr. In Norwegian, the term is sæter or seter; in Swedish, säter. The place name appears in Sweden in several forms as Säter and Sätra, and as a suffix: -säter, -sätra, -sätt and -sättra. Those names appear extensively across Sweden with a centre in the Mälaren basin and in Östergötland. The surname "Satter" is derived from these words.

In the heartland of the Swedish transhumance region, the most commonly used term is bod or bua (the word is also used for small storage houses and the like; it has evolved in English as booth); in modern Standard Swedish, fäbod.

The oldest mention of seter in Norway is in Heimskringla, the saga of Olaf II of Norway's travel through Valldal to Lesja.

Caucasus and northern Anatolia
In the heavily forested Caucasus and Pontic mountain ranges, various peoples still practice transhumance to varying degrees. During the relatively short summer, wind from the Black Sea brings moist air up the steep valleys, which supports fertile grasslands at altitudes up to 2500 m, and a rich tundra at altitudes up to 3500 m. Traditionally, villages were divided into two, three or even four distinct settlements (one for each season) at different heights of a mountain slope. Much of this rural life came to an end during the first half of the 20th century, as the Kemalist and later Soviet governments tried to modernise the societies and stress urban development, rather than maintaining rural traditions.

In the second half of the 20th century, migration for work from the Pontic mountains to cities in Turkey and western Europe, and from the northern Caucasus to Moscow, dramatically reduced the number of people living in transhumance. It is estimated, however, that tens of thousands of rural people still practice these traditions in villages on the northern and southwestern slopes of the Caucasus, in the lesser Caucasus in Armenia, and in the Turkish Black Sea region.

Some communities continue to play out ancient migration patterns. For example, the Pontic Greeks visit the area and the monastery Sumela in the summer. Turks from cities in Europe have built a summer retreat on the former yayla grazing land.

Transhumance related to sheep farming is still practised in Georgia. The shepherds with their flocks have to cross the 2826 m high Abano Pass from the mountains of Tusheti to the plains of Kakheti. Up until the dissolution of Soviet Union they intensively used the Kizlyar plains of Northern Dagestan for the same purpose.

Afghanistan
The central Afghan highlands of Afghanistan, which surround the Koh-i-Baba and continue eastward into the Hindu Kush range, there are very cold winters, and short and cool summers. These highlands have mountain pastures during summer, watered by many small streams and rivers. There are also pastures available during winter in the neighboring warm lowlands, which makes the region ideal for seasonal transhumance. The Afghan Highlands contain about 225,000 km2 of summer pasture, which is used by both settled communities and nomadic pastoralists like the Pashtun Kuchis. Major pastures in the region include the Nawur pasture in northern Ghazni Province (whose area is about 600 km2 at elevation of up to 3,350 m), and the Shewa pasture and the Little Pamir in eastern Badakhshan Province. The Little Pamir pasture, whose elevation is above 4000 m, is used by the Afghan Kyrgyz to raise livestock.

In Nuristan, the inhabitants live in permanent villages surrounded by arable fields on irrigated terraces. Most of the livestock are goats. They are taken up to a succession of summer pastures each spring by herdsmen while most of the villagers remain behind to irrigate the terraced fields and raise millet, maize, and wheat; work mostly done by the women. In the autumn after the grain and fruit harvest, livestock are brought back to spend the winter stall-fed in stables.

India
Jammu and Kashmir in India has the world's highest transhumant population as per a survey conducted by a team led by Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, IAS, Secretary to the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Tribal Affairs Department. The 1st Survey of Transhumance in 2021 captured details of 6,12,000 members of ethnic tribal communities viz Gujjars, Bakkerwals, Gaddis and Sippis. The survey was carried out for development and welfare planning for these communities notified as Scheduled tribes under the Constitution of India. Subsequent to the survey a number of flagship initiatives were launched by the Government for their welfare and development especially in sectors like healthcare, veterinary services, education, livelihood and transportation support for migration. Transhumance in Jammu and Kashmir is mostly vertical while some families in the plains of the Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts also practice lateral or horizontal transhumance. More than 85% of the migratory transhumant population moves within the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir while the remaining 15% undertakes inter-state movement to the neighbouring Punjab State and to the Ladakh Union territory. Gujjars – a migratory tribe – also sparsely inhabit several areas in parts of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The Gujjar-Bakkerwal tribe represents the highest transhumant population in the world and accounts for nearly 98% of the transhumant population in Jammu and Kashmir. The Bhotiya communities of Uttarakhand historically practiced transhumance. They would spend the winter months at low altitude settlements in the Himalayan foothills, gathering resources to trade in Tibet over the summer. In the summer, they would move up to high-altitude settlements along various river valleys. Some people would remain at these settlements to cultivate farms; some would head to trade marts, crossing high mountain passes into western Tibet, while some others would practice nomadic pastoralism. This historic way of life came to an abrupt halt due to the closure of the Sino-Indian border following the Sino-Indian War of 1962. In the decades following this war, transhumance as a way of life rapidly declined among the Bhotiya people.

Iran
The Bakhtiari tribe of Iran still practised this way of life in the mid-20th century. All along the Zagros Mountains from Azerbaijan to the Arabian Sea, pastoral tribes move back and forth with their herds annually according to the seasons, between their permanent homes in the valley and one in the foothills.

The Qashqai (Kashkai) are a Turkic tribe of southern Iran, who in the mid-20th century still practised transhumance. The tribe was said to have settled in ancient times in the province of Fars, near the Persian Gulf, and by the mid-20th century lived beyond the Makran mountains. In their yearly migrations for fresh pastures, the Kashkai drove their livestock from south to north, where they lived in summer quarters, known as Yeilak, in the high mountains from April to October. They traditionally grazed their flocks on the slopes of the Kuh-e-Dinar, a group of mountains from 12,000 to 15,000 ft, part of the Zagros chain.

In autumn the Kashkai broke camp, leaving the highlands to winter in warmer regions near Firuzabad, Kazerun, Jerrè, Farashband, on the banks of the Mond River. Their winter quarters were known as Qishlaq. The migration was organised and controlled by the Kashkai Chief. The tribes avoided villages and towns, such as Shiraz and Isfahan, because their large flocks, numbering seven million head, could cause serious damage.

In the 1950s, the Kashkai tribes were estimated to number 400,000 people in total. There have been many social changes since that time.

Lebanon
Examples of fixed transhumance are found in the North Governorate of Lebanon. Towns and villages located in the Qadisha valley are at an average altitude of 1400 m. Some settlements, like Ehden and Kfarsghab, are used during summer periods from the beginning of June until mid-October. Inhabitants move in October to coastal towns situated at an average of 200 m above sea level. The transhumance is motivated by agricultural activities (historically by the mulberry silkworm culture). The main crops in the coastal towns are olive, grape and citrus. For the mountain towns, the crops are summer fruits, mainly apples and pears. Other examples of transhumance exist in Lebanon.

Kyrgyzstan
In Kyrgyzstan, transhumance practices, which never ceased during the Soviet period, have undergone a resurgence in the difficult economic times following independence in 1991. Transhumance is integral to Kyrgyz national culture. The people use a wool felt tent, known as the yurt or jailoo, while living on these summer pastures. It is symbolised on their national flag. Those shepherds prize a fermented drink made from mare's milk, known as kumis. A tool used in its production is the namesake for Bishkek, the country's capital city.

South and East Asia
Transhumance practices are found in temperate areas, above ≈1000 m in the Himalaya–Hindu Kush area (referred to below as Himalaya); and the cold semi-arid zone north of the Himalaya, through the Tibetan Plateau and northern China to the Eurasian Steppe.

Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan all have vestigial transhumance cultures. The Bamar people of Myanmar were transhumance prior to their arrival to the region. In Mongolia, transhumance is used to avoid livestock losses during harsh winters, known as zuds. For regions of the Himalaya, transhumance still provides mainstay for several near-subsistence economies – for example, that of Zanskar in northwest India, Van Gujjars and Bakarwals of Jammu and Kashmir in India, Kham Magar in western Nepal and Gaddis of Bharmaur region of Himachal Pradesh. In some cases, the distances travelled by the people with their livestock may be great enough to qualify as nomadic pastoralism.

Australia
In Australia, which has a large station (i.e., ranch) culture, stockmen provide the labour to move the herds to seasonal pastures.

Transhumant grazing is an important aspect of the cultural heritage of the Australian Alps, an area of which has been included on the Australian National Heritage List. Colonists started using this region for summer grazing in the 1830s, when pasture lower down was poor. The practice continued during the 19th and 20th centuries, helping make pastoralism in Australia viable. Transhumant grazing created a distinctive way of life that is an important part of Australia's pioneering history and culture. There are features in the area that are reminders of transhumant grazing, including abandoned stockman's huts, stock yards and stock routes.

North Africa
The Berber people of North Africa were traditionally farmers, living in mountains relatively close to the Mediterranean coast, or oasis dwellers. However, the Tuareg and Zenaga of the southern Sahara practice nomadic transhumance. Other groups, such as the Chaouis, practised fixed transhumance.

Horn of Africa
In rural areas, the Somali and Afar of Northeast Africa also traditionally practise nomadic transhumance. Their pastoralism is centred on camel husbandry, with additional sheep and goat herding.

The classic, "fixed" transhumance is practiced in the Ethiopian Highlands. During the cropping season the lands around the villages are not accessible for grazing. For instance, farmers with livestock in Dogu'a Tembien organise annual transhumance, particularly towards remote and vast grazing grounds, deep in valleys (where the grass grows early due to temperature) or mountain tops. Livestock will stay there overnight (transhumance) with children and a few adults keeping them.

For instance, the cattle of Addi Geza'iti (2580 m) are brought every rainy season to the gorge of River Tsaliet (1930 m) that holds dense vegetation. The cattle keepers establish enclosures for the cattle and places for them to sleep, often in rock shelters. The cattle stay there until harvesting time, when they are needed for threshing, and when the stubble becomes available for grazing. Many cattle of Haddinnet and also Ayninbirkekin in Dogu'a Tembien are brought to the foot of the escarpment at Ab'aro. Cattle stay on there on wide rangelands. Some cattle keepers move far down to open woodland and establish their camp in large caves in sandstone.

East Africa
The Pokot community are semi-nomadic pastoralists who are predominantly found in northwestern Kenya and Amudat district of Uganda. The community practices nomadic transhumance, with seasonal movement occurring between grasslands of Kenya (North Pokot sub-county) and Uganda (Amudat, Nakapiripirit and Moroto districts) (George Magak Oguna, 2014).

The Maasai are semi-nomadic people located primarily in Kenya and northern Tanzania who have transhumance cultures that revolve around their cattle.

Nigeria
Fulani is the Hausa word for the pastoral peoples of Nigeria belonging to the Fulbe migratory ethnic group. The Fulani rear the majority of Nigeria's cattle, traditionally estimated at 83% pastoral, 17% village cattle and 0.3% peri-urban).

Cattle fulfil multiple roles in agro-pastoralist communities, providing meat, milk and draught power while sales of stock generate income and provide insurance against disasters. They also play a key role in status and prestige and for cementing social relationships such as kinship and marriage. For pastoralists, cattle represent the major household asset.

Pastoralism, as a livelihood, is coming under increased pressure across Africa, due to changing social, economic, political and environmental conditions. Prior to the 1950s, a symbiotic relationship existed between pastoralists, crop farmers and their environment with pastoralists practising transhumance. During the dry season, pastoralists migrated to the southern parts of the Guinea savannah zone, where there was ample pasture and a lower density of crop farmers. In the wet season, these areas faced high challenge from African animal trypanosomiasis transmitted by tsetse flies, so pastoralists would migrate to visit farmlands within the northern Sudan savannah zone, supplying dairy products to the local farming community. Reciprocally, the farming community supplied pastoralists with grain, and after the harvest, cattle were permitted to graze on crop residues in fields leaving behind valuable manure.

Angola
In Southern Angola, several peoples, chiefly the Ovambo and part of the Nyaneka-Khumbi, have cultures that are entirely organised according to the practice of transhumance.

Lesotho

The traditional economy of the Basotho in Lesotho is based on rearing cattle. They practise a seasonal migration between valley and high plateaus of the Maloti (basalt mountains of Lesotho). Pressure on pasture land has increased due to increases in population, as well as construction of large storage dams in these mountains to provide water to South Africa's arid industrial heartland. Growing pressure on pastures is contributing to degradation of sensitive grasslands and could contribute to sedimentation in man-made lakes. The traditional transhumance pattern has become modified.

South Africa
In South Africa the transhumance lifestyle of the Nama clan of the Khoikhoi continues in the Richtersveld, a montane-desert located close to the Atlantic coast in the northwestern area of the country. In this area, people move seasonally (three or four times per annum) with their herds of sheep and goats. Transhumance is based on small family units, which use the same camps each year.

A portable, dome tent, called a Matjieshut (Afrikaans for "mat house") or Haru Oms (meaning "rush house" in Nama) is a feature of Khoikhoi culture. These dwellings are used in their seasonal camps in the Richtersveld. It consists of a frame traditionally covered with rush mats. In the 21st century, the people sometimes use a variety of manufactured materials. In recognition of its significance, the Richtersveld has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

North America
In the southern Appalachians of the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries, settlers often pastured livestock, especially sheep, on grassy bald mountain tops where wild oats predominate. Historians have speculated that these "balds" are remnants of ancient bison grazing lands (which were possibly maintained by early native peoples of North America). In the absence of transhumance, these balds have been becoming covered by forest since the late 20th century. It is unclear whether efforts will be made to preserve these historic managed ecosystems.

Transhumance, in most cases relying on use of public land, continues to be an important ranching practice in the western United States. In the northern areas, this tradition was based on moving herds to higher ground with the greening of highland pastures in spring and summer. These uplands are part of large public lands, often under the jurisdiction of the United States Forest Service. In the winter, herds use lowland steppe or desert, also often government land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.

In California and Texas, a greater proportion of the range is held as private land, due to differing historical development of these areas. The general pattern is that in summer, ranch families, hired shepherds, or hired cowboys travel to the mountains and stay in a line camp during the summer. They may also visit the upland ranch regularly, using trailers to transport horses for use in the high country.

Traditionally in the American West, shepherds spent most of the year with a sheep herd, searching for the best forage in each season. This type of shepherding peaked in the late nineteenth century. Cattle and sheep herds are generally based on private land, although this may be a small part of the total range when all seasons are included. Some farmers who raised sheep recruited Basque shepherds to care for the herds, including managing migration between grazing lands. Workers from Peru, Chile (often Native Americans), and Mongolia have now taken shepherd roles; the Basque have bought their own ranches or moved to urban jobs. Shepherds take the sheep into the mountains in the summer (documented in the 2009 film Sweetgrass) and out on the desert in the winter, at times using crop stubble and pasture on private land when it is available. There are a number of different forms of transhumance in the United States:

The Navajo began practicing transhumance in the 1850s, after they were forced out of their traditional homeland in the San Juan River valley. They maintain many sheep.

In California, the home ranch tends to have more private land, largely because of the legacy of the Spanish land grant system. For this reason, extensive acreages of Mediterranean oak woodlands and grasslands are stewarded by ranches whose economy depends on summer range on government land under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service.

South America
South American transhumance partially relies on "cowboy" counterparts, the gaucho of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and (with the spelling "gaúcho") southern Brazil, the llanero of Venezuela, and the huaso of Chile.

Transhumance is currently practised at least in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia, as well as in the Brazilian Pantanal. It mainly involves movement of cattle in the Pantanal and in parts of Argentina. In the Altiplano, communities of indigenous people depend on raising camelids, especially llamas. Herds of goats are managed by transhumance in North Neuquén and South Mendoza, while sheep are more used in the Patagonian plains. Criollos and indigenous peoples use transhumant practices in areas of South America.

title: Transhumance


text:
Paul William Roberts

Paul William Roberts (1950 – May 17, 2019) was a Canadian writer who spent many years in Toronto before moving to the Laurentians in Quebec upon losing his vision.

Born in Wales and educated at Exeter College, Oxford, where he gained a second in English Language and Literature, Roberts moved permanently to Canada in 1980. He lived for several years prior to this in India, where he taught at Bangalore University and studied Sanskrit at the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi.

While working on his first novel, The Palace of Fears, he worked as a television producer at the BBC, and then the CBC and Citytv in Toronto, and was one of the original cohosts of TVOntario's literature talk series Imprint. He covered both the 1991 and 2003 Iraq wars for Harper's, winning numerous awards and accolades, including the 2005 inaugural PEN 'Paul Kidd Award for Courage in Journalism'.

While known to be a friend of Harper's editor Lewis H. Lapham, whom he regards as a mentor, he was believed to be something of a recluse. His non-fiction writing has always received highly enthusiastic reviews, but is difficult to categorize, being more memoir, political critique and history than travelogue.

In 2008 Roberts lost vision in both eyes and was declared legally blind. Roberts had completed an historical novel on Queen Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent and several works of fiction and memoir when he died before publishing. He died on May 17, 2019

Political stance
Although praised by Noam Chomsky and others on the Left for his tireless opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and ongoing US policies in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, Roberts' criticisms of neoconservatism and its influence over foreign policy seem to stem from deeper philosophical differences with the ideas of Leo Strauss, who many regard as the founder of the new Right's ideology. Roberts contended that Strauss is guilty of a fundamental and possibly willful misreading of Plato that stems from using al-Farabi's Commentary rather than the Socratic texts. He also placed Strauss within the context of Nietzsche, Adorno, Heidegger and other exponents of what he termed "philosophical fascism".

Roberts was a long-time friend of the writers Martin Amis, with whom he shared a house at Oxford, and Christopher Hitchens.

Roberts was for many years a supporter of Israel but he increasingly criticized Israeli policies and expressed sympathy for the plight of Palestinians, stating that he viewed them as "more sinned against than sinning".

Works

 * River in the Desert: Modern Travels in Ancient Egypt – 1992; ISBN 0-679-42104-1 (hardcover); ISBN 0-394-22384-5 (paperback)
 * The Palace of Fears: a novel – 1994; ISBN 0-394-22063-3
 * Empire of the Soul: Some Journeys in India – 1996; ISBN 0-7737-2738-8 (hardcover); ISBN 1-55192-905-8 (paperback)
 * Journey of the Magi: In Search of the Birth of Jesus – 1995; ISBN 0-7737-2908-9
 * The Demonic Comedy: Some Detours in the Baghdad of Saddam Hussein – 1997; ISBN 0-7737-3048-6
 * Smokescreen: One Man Against the Underworld – 2001; ISBN 0-7737-3323-X
 * A War Against Truth : An Intimate Account of the Invasion of Iraq – 2004; ISBN 1-55192-688-1
 * Homeland: a novel – 2006; ISBN 1-55263-818-9

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

title: Paul William Roberts


text:
Collect Pond

Collect Pond, or Fresh Water Pond, was a body of fresh water in what is now Chinatown in Lower Manhattan, New York City. For the first two centuries of European settlement in Manhattan, it was the main New York City water supply system for the growing city. A jail was later built on the former pond. In the 20th century, the site became Collect Pond Park (40.7163°N, -74.0019°W), which includes a reflecting pool to acknowledge the historic importance of this body of water.

Pond description
The pond occupied approximately 48 acre and was as deep as 60 ft. Fed by an underground spring, it was located in a valley, with Bayard Mount (at 110 ft the tallest hill in lower Manhattan) to the northeast and Kalck Hoek (Dutch for Chalk Point, named for the numerous oyster shell middens left by the indigenous Native American inhabitants) to the west. A stream flowed north out of the pond and then west through a salt marsh (which, after being drained, became a meadow by the name of "Lispenard Meadows") to the Hudson River, while another stream issued from the southeastern part of the pond in an easterly direction to the East River.

The southwestern shore of Collect Pond was the site of a Native American settlement known as Werpoes. A small band of Munsee, the northernmost division of the Lenape, occupied the site. The Munsee continued to live at Collect Pond until the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam was established in the 17th century. It is possible that members of this band were the participants in the "sale" of Manhattan to the Dutch.

Collect Pond was used as a terms of boundary for night watch duties in 1731 under John Montgomerie's charter during the British rule in New York City. The pond was home to a copious amount of fish, and in 1734 legislation was passed preventing the use of nets in the pond. This was prior to the extreme pollution to the pond, which included the dumping of dead animals.

18th century

In the 18th century, the pond was used as a picnic area during summer and a skating rink during the winter. Beginning in the early 18th century, various commercial enterprises were built along the shores of the pond in order to use the water. These businesses included Coulthards Brewery, Nicholas Bayard's slaughterhouse on Mulberry Street (which was nicknamed "Slaughterhouse Street"), numerous tanneries on the southeastern shore, and the pottery works of German immigrants Johan Willem Crolius and Johan Remmey on Pot Bakers Hill on the south-southwestern shore. By the late 18th century, the pond was considered "a very sink and common sewer".

John Fitch's steamboat experiment
Connecticut inventor John Fitch was an instrument maker working in the later part of the 18th century. As an early pioneer of steam navigation, Fitch tested several steamboats on the Delaware River between 1785 and 1788. Fitch’s real success, however, occurred in 1796 when he tested another ship equipped with a paddle wheel on Collect Pond. On the boat with him was fellow inventor Robert Fulton, Robert R. Livingston, who was the first Chancellor of New York and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and 16-year-old John Hutchings, steering.

This was six years before Fulton and Livingston launched “Fulton’s Folly” on the Seine River in France. Hutchings claims to have been a “lad” at the time who “assisted Mr. Fitch in steering the boat”. In a broadside issued in 1846, Hutchings asserts that it was in fact Fitch who designed the steam propulsion mechanism. He claims that both Fulton and Livingston were present during Collect Pond tests and in fact depicts both, as well as Fitch and himself, in a paddlewheel steam ship in the upper left quadrant of the broadside. Though Fulton seems to have received most of the credit for the era of steam navigation, Hutchings hoped, through the publication of this broadside, to shed some light on Fitch’s contributions as well. A plaque at Collect Pond Park, however, states that though Fitch's account "is often repeated, no evidence has been found to substantiate the story."

Contamination and landfill
The contaminated wastewater of the businesses surrounding the pond flowed back into the pond, creating a severe pollution problem and environmental health hazard. Pierre Charles L'Enfant proposed cleaning the pond and making it a centerpiece of a recreational park, around which the residential areas of the city could grow. His proposal was rejected, and it was decided to drain and fill in the pond. This was accomplished with soil partially obtained from leveling the nearby hills of Bayard's Mount and Kalck Hoek, and by digging a canal to the north to encourage the water to drain into the river. The landfill was completed in 1811, and middle class homes were soon built on the reclaimed land.

The landfill was poorly engineered. The buried vegetation began to release methane gas (a byproduct of decomposition) and the area, still in a natural depression, lacked adequate storm sewers. As a result, the ground gradually subsided. Houses shifted on their foundations, the unpaved streets were often buried in a foot of mud and mixed with human and animal excrement, and mosquitoes bred in the stagnant pools created by the poor drainage.

Several decades later, New York City obtained a new, plentiful supply of fresh water from the Croton Aqueduct. The neighborhood known as "Five Points", a notorious slum, developed near the former eastern bank of the Collect and owed its existence in some measure to the poor landfill job (completed in 1811) which created swampy, mosquito-ridden conditions on land that had originally had more well-to-do residents.

Most middle and upper class inhabitants fled the area, leaving the neighborhood open to poor immigrants that began arriving in the early 1820s. This influx reached a height in the 1840s, with large numbers of Irish Catholics fleeing the Great Famine.

The Tombs

New York's jail, nicknamed "The Tombs", was built on Centre Street in 1838 on the site of the pond and was constructed on a huge platform of hemlock logs in an attempt to give it secure foundations. The design, by John Haviland, was based on an engraving of an ancient Egyptian mausoleum. The building was 253 ft in length by 200 ft wide and it occupied a full block, surrounded by Centre, Franklin, Elm (today's Lafayette), and Leonard Streets. It initially accommodated about 300 prisoners.

The prison building began to subside almost as soon as it was completed and was notorious for leaks in its lowest tier and for its general dampness. The original building was replaced in 1902 with a new one on the same site connected by a "Bridge of Sighs" to the Criminal Courts Building on the Franklin Street side. When the original Tombs building was condemned and demolished at the end of the century, large concrete caissons were emplaced to bedrock, as much as 140 feet below street level, in order to give its replacement more secure foundations. That building was replaced in 1941 by one across the street on the east side of Centre Street with the entrance at 125 White Street, officially named the Manhattan Detention Complex, though still referred to colloquially as "The Tombs".

Park conversion
The park is located on the block bordered by Lafayette Street, Leonard Street, Centre Street, and White Street, and sits between the three city courthouses: the Criminal Court, Civil Court, and Family Court.

In 1960, the New York City Board of Estimate transferred the former site of Collect Pond to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation for conversion into a park. Originally named "Civil Court Park" because of its proximity to the surrounding courthouses, it was renamed "Collect Pond Park" under Commissioner Henry J. Stern to represent the location's history.

In 2006, the city received funding for a renovation of Collect Pond Park, using federal-relief funds distributed after the September 11 attacks. The park was closed for a total reconstruction in 2011. The granite foundation of The Tombs was uncovered in 2012, leading to a partial stop-work order pending archaeological investigation. The rebuilt park reopened in May 2014, with a pool evocative of the former Collect Pond. The project had cost $4.6 million. Although the park was popular among residents and visitors, the pool had to be drained and repaired within months of the park's reopening; it was refilled in 2015.

It is still possible to ascertain the rough boundaries of Collect Pond and original topography in the elevations of the streets in the area, with the lowest elevation being Centre Street which runs in the approximate center of the former pond.

In 2020, the Italian-Argentine sculptor Luciano Garbati's work Medusa With the Head of Perseus (2008), a seven-foot-tall representation of Medusa carrying Perseus's head, was installed in the center of the park as part of the NYC Parks Department's public art program. Garbati's work, a reversal of Cellini's Perseus with the Head of Medusa, an Italian Renaissance bronze, was reimagined by MeToo movement advocates as a symbol of feminist triumph.

title: Collect Pond


text:
Masjed Soleyman

Masjed Soleyman is a city in the Central District of Masjed Soleyman County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.

History

The city of Masjid Soleyman is among the ancient cities of the early Mesopotamian empire of Elam which was originally known as Assak, but was changed to Parsomash by the early Achemenids. In 1955, Roman Ghirshman discovered evidence of human inhabitation dating to 10,000 years ago in Pepdeh cave in vicinity of the current city of Lali, making it one of the oldest inhabited sites in the Khuzestan plain. Ghirshman's excavations in the area of Masjed Soleyman led him to believe that Parsomash (present-day Masjed Soleyman) was the oldest capital of the Achaemenid Kingdom.

The remains of an ancient fire-temple known locally as Sar-masjid and attributed to the legendary pre-historic king Houshang, and the ruins of an Achaemenid palace known locally as Bard- Neshandeh which is known as the birthplace of Teispes, grandfather of Cyrus the Great are among the archaeological ruins in this city. Under the Seleucids and Ashkanians the city of Masjid Solieman remained an important city.

During the Sassanid period canals and weir-bridges were built, resulting into the cultivation of tobacco and cereals in the region. The ruins of such edifices can be seen in the Tembi region, Godar Landar and Dow-Paloon region (near Izeh); however, following the Muslim conquest of Iran, many of the ancient monolithic structures of the region were demolished and the region was ruled by rulers imposed by the Umayyad Caliphs and remained relatively obscure, until the Qajar era when it became a center for the tar trade and its name was changed to Tol-Ghor, with its borders being limited from the Karun river's Western bank to the tar springs; however, with the advent of the discovery of oil in the region, this city was named Jahangiri, but after the first oil well began production it was renamed Maydan-Nafton. In 1924, the National Council of Iran through an edict from Mohammad Reza Pahlavi officially changed the city's name to Masjid Soleiman.

Masjid Soleyman in the 20th century
Masjed Soleyman regained importance with the discovery of oil and the erecting of the first oil well in the middle east by D'Arcy's concession. In 1900, he agreed to fund a search for oil and minerals in Persia headed by Wolff, Ketabchee and Cotte, although D'Arcy never visited Persia himself. Negotiations with the reigning monarch Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar began in 1901, and with the offer of £20,000 (£0 million today), for a sixty-year concession to explore for oil—later, the D'Arcy concession—was secured in May, covering 480000 sqmi, and stipulated that D'Arcy would have the oil rights to the entire country except for five provinces in Northern Iran.

In exchange, the Iranian government was given 16% of the oil company's annual profits, an agreement that would remain in effect until the Iranian Revolution. After the D'Arcy concession, the British government became much more concerned with the stability of Iran because of their reliance on the country's vast oil reserves.

Constitutional Revolution
Ḥossain Qolī Khan Haft Lang was appointed superintendent (nāẓem) of the Baḵtīārīs by the Shah in 1862 and head of the tribe (īlḵān) in 1867. He was the first recipient of this title, and in the tribe he became known by the surname Īlḵānī. In 1882 the Shah caused him to be murdered and replaced by his brother Emām Qolī Khan, surnamed Ḥājī Īlḵānī.

From then almost without interruption until the abolition of the title khan in 1956, the successive heads of the tribe were descendants of one or the other of the two brothers. The Haft Lang tribe played a significant role; particularly during the advent of the country's Constitutional Revolution (1905–1907). This event largely succeeded as a result of the Bakhtari tribal coalition military campaign led by Ali-Gholi Khan, Sardar Asaad II, a chieftain of the Haft-lang tribe and his brother Najaf Qoli Khan Bakhtiari- Saad ad-Daula (also referred to as Samsam-os Saltane) whom in 1909 marched up to the gates of Tehran, and eventually deposed Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1907–1909).

This event led to the abdication of Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1907–1909) in 1909, and his exile to Russia. This incident secured Saad ad-Daula the position of Prime Minister in the period that followed the abdication of the Qajar Shah. Nonetheless, with Russian backing, the Shah would attempt to regain his throne in 1911 by landing with a coalition of forces at Astarabad. However, his efforts to reclaim his throne would bear no fruit. In this sense, the Bakhtiaris played a critical role in saving the revolution from the Qajar forces.

Pahlavi era
With the expansion of Bakhtiari influence, influential policy makers (particularly in Tehran) began to worry regarding the potential Bakhtiari takeover of Persia's affairs. Prior to this point, the Bakhtiari had largely remained within their own territorial boundaries.In February 1921, the said policy makers instigated a coup by which Reza Pahlavi the commander of the entire Cossack Brigade which was based in Qazvinordered his troops to march towards Tehran and seized the capital.

He forced the dissolution of the government and installed Zia ol Din Tabatabaee as the new prime minister.In 1925, Reza Pahlavi was appointed as the legal monarch of Iran by the decision of Iran's constituent assembly. The assembly deposed Ahmad Shah Qajar, the last Shah of the Qajar dynasty, and amended Iran's 1906 constitution to allow selection of Reza Pahlavi as the Shah of Iran. The Bakhtiari influence in Iranian politics thus waned, but they would continue to play an important role within the early 20th century politics of Iran. Reza Shah Pahlavi (r. 1925–1941) made the destruction of the Bakhtiari influence his mission; moreover, the existence of oil on Bakhtiari territory further motivated the Pahlavi monarch to undermine the autonomy of the tribe, and force its population to adhere to the commands of the central government.

Reza Shah Pahlavi would eventually execute a few noteworthy tribal leaders to crush Bakhtiari autonomy and maintain control over the tribe. Amongst the executed Khans was Mohammad Reza Khan (Sardar-e-Fateh), whose son later became the Pahlavi Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar. The latter event was a turning point for Bakhtiari and their rise within Iranian politics.

Discovery of oil in the early 20th century
In the late 19th century Britain's Royal Navy, under the leadership of Sir Winston Churchill decided to shift its fuel source from coal to oil; therefore the British admiralty and the War office became the de facto force behind the British government's quest for oil. During the 1890s, research and reports were collected by the British foreign office indicating that Persia had great oil potential.

The British Foreign office selected William Knox D'Arcy, a millionaire investor, and provided him with the reports, promising him greater wealth and governmental support if he invested in the excavation of oil. D'Arcy agreed and sent out representatives to Tehran to win a concession that would give him the exclusive rights to prospect for oil in Persia. On 16 April 1901 negotiations commenced between D'Arcy's representatives and the Qajar monarch Mozzafar al-Din Shah over a potential oil concession.[4]

On 28 May 1901, Shah Mozzafar al-Din signed an 18 article concession which exclusively gave D'Arcy the rights to prospect, explore, exploit, transport and sell natural gas, petroleum, asphalt and mineral waxes in Persia.[7] This concession also granted D'Arcy these rights for a 60-year period, and it covered an area of 1,242,000 square kilometers.[8] or roughly three quarters of the country.

In 1902, a drilling team under George B. Reynolds was sent to Chiah Surkh near the current Iran-Iraq border and in 1904 discovered oil; however, he and his team suffered much hardship and the venture had put a strain on D'arcy's funds in as such that he had already spent £160,000, and was overdrawn at Lloyds Bank by £177,000. In 1905, the British Admiralty fearing the possible selling of the concession to its rivals in the Middle east convinced D'Arcy through an elaborate ruse to seek financial support from Burmah Oil Company Ltd., and in 1905 the Concession Syndicate was established which was later renamed as the Anglo Persian Oil Co. in 1909.[18]

The infusion of capital provided by Burmah Oil allowed for the exploration of oil to continue; however, drilling operations shifted to southwestern Persia, and all drilling equipment was shipped to a new drilling site at Masjid-i-Suleiman.[19] Once again Reynolds encountered problems in this region with hostile tribes and the local population.

Reynolds often had to pay them a high fee and guarantee them a share of profits in order to protect the concession.[20] In 1907,due to no success in findings, D'Arcy sold off the majority of his shares to Burmah Oil for £203,067 cash and £900,000 in shares, allowing Burmah to become the major shareholder of the company.[15]. At 4:00 am on 26 May 1908, commercial quantities of oil were struck at the Masjid-i-Suleiman site and a fifty-foot gusher of petroleum shot up the no. 1 drilling rig.[22]

In April 1909, D'Arcy was appointed a director of the newly founded Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC), which would later become British Petroleum (BP). By 1911, APOC had run a pipeline from the oil field in Masjid-i- Suleiman to a refinery at Abadan.

Ethnicity
The city of Masjed Soleyman is home to a large Bakhtiyari population of the Haft-lang tribe. The Bakhtiaris occupy the mountain tract in South-West Persia lying roughly between longitudes 31 to 34 N and 48 40' to 51 E, bound on the south by the plains of Khuzistan and on the north by the districts of Chahar Mahal, Faridan, and Khonsar where the central Iranian Plateau blends into the great southern mountain range. Bakhtiaris were semi-nomadic, and their livelihood depended on the survival of their herds of sheep, cattle, and horses. The four main tribal divisions of Haft Lang are Duraki, Babadi, Bakhtiarwand, and Dinaruni, who are then divided into lesser clans.

Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 106,121 in 22,393 households. The following census in 2011 counted 103,369 people in 24,577 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 100,497 people in 26,502 households.

Climate
At Masjed-Soleyman, the summers are long, sweltering, arid, and clear and the winters are cool, dry, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 45 °F to 112 °F and is rarely below 38 °F or above 117 °F. The best time of year to visit Masjed-Soleyman is from mid-September to late October. Masjed Soleyman is classified as having a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh).

Notable people

 * Ali-Qoli Khan Bakhtiari (1856–1917), a chieftain of the Bakhtiari Haft Lang tribe and one of the primary figures of the Persian Constitutional Revolution
 * Bibi Maryam Bakhtiari (1874–1937), revolutionary and activist of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution who was the daughter of Hossein Gholi Khan Bakhtiari,and the sister of Ali-Qoli Khan Bakhtiari
 * Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary (1932–2001), Queen of the Imperial State of Iran and second wife of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
 * Bahman Ala'eddin (Masood Bakhtiari) (1940–2006), musician, music historian, teacher and renown singer in the Bakhtiari dialect.
 * Frank Nezhadpournia (1971–), Anglo Iranian Pilot, Karate Master, Author. The first Iranian to volunteer for military service in Iran after receiving a Presidential Invite.
 * Bijan Allipour (1949–), Iranian business executive. former CEO of NISOC.
 * Mehran Karimi Nasseri (1945–2022), Iranian refugee who lived in the departure lounge of Terminal One in Charles de Gaulle Airport from 26 August 1988 until July 2006
 * Habib Far Abbasi (1997–), footballer
 * Mohsen Rezaei (1954–), Iranian politician, economist and former military commander
 * Laleh Bakhtiar, author and former professor at the University of Chicago, who wrote a feminist re-interpretation of the Koran.
 * Rostam Amir Bakhtiar, Chief of Imperial Protocol (1953–1979).
 * Abbasgholi Bakhtiar, Minister of Industries & Mines (1979).
 * Abdolhamid Bakhtiar, Majles Deputy.
 * Abolhassan Bakhtiar, Iranian Ambassador to Canada (1979).
 * Agha Khan Bakhtiar, Minister of Labor (1957–1958), Head of the National Iranian Oil Company.
 * Gholam-Reza Bakhtiar, Sardar Bakhtiar, Deputy Governor of Esfahan.
 * Rudi Bakhtiar, former CNN and FOX TV news anchor and journalist.
 * Shahpour Bakhtiar, politician and Prime Minister of Iran (1979).
 * Teymur Bakhtiar, Iranian general and head of Savak.
 * Behnoosh Bakhtiari, Iranian actress.
 * David Bakhtiari, NFL player and offensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers.
 * Behrouz Bakhtiar Successful businessman and owner of Crosskeys Vineyards
 * Gholam-Hossein Bakhtiari (Sardar Mohtashem), Minister of War (1911–13, 1918).
 * Pezhman Bakhtiari, poet (1900–1974).
 * Shaghayegh Dehghan, Iranian television actress, half Bakhtiari.
 * Khalil Esfandiary-Bakhtiary, Iranian Ambassador to West Germany (1952–1961).
 * Mirza Hideyatu'llah Ashtiani Bakhtiari (d.1892), Iran's finance minister during the Qajar period.
 * Eman Mobali, football player.
 * Zargham Saltaneh, Ebrahim, commander and instrumental figure in the Constitutional Revolution of 1909.
 * Nasir Khan, Sardar Jang, Governor of Yazd.
 * Niloufar Bakhtiar Bakhtiari, founder of NBB Design London, Interior Architecture.
 * Bahram Akasheh, Iran's leading experts on earthquakes

title: Masjed Soleyman


text:
Bingo (card game)

Bingo (also bango ) is a card game named by analogy to the game bingo. The game is played with a bridge deck of 52 cards.

Rules
The dealer gives each player a number of cards (typically five), which are held in the hand or placed face-down in front of the player. The dealer places the same number of cards face-down in the center of the table.

A round of play consists of betting, followed by the dealer turning over one of the center cards, so that it is facing-up. Any card in a player's hand that has the same rank value as the rank of the center card just turned are now revealed and discarded. The discards can be placed face-up in front of the player.

Betting rounds continue until a player has all of the cards knocked from their hand. In analogy to regular bingo, the first player to realize their hand is empty says "bingo" and claims the pot. If no player is knocked out after all the center cards have been revealed, then all of the players reveal their remaining cards. A winner can be determined by adding the rank values of cards remaining in the hand.

In determining value, jacks are valued at 11, queens, at 12, kings at 13, and aces at either 1 or 15, depending on whether the players have agreed that high rank wins or low rank wins. The game can also be played with cards having blackjack value, with all face cards given value of 10 and the ace having value of either 1 or 11.

Variations
In "Sixty Six Bingo" each player gets six cards and there are six common cards. Instead of betting each round, there are betting rounds before any common cards are turned over, after the first two cards are turned over, after the third and fourth cards are turned over and after the fifth and sixth cards are turned over. If no player claims the pot by being knocked out, then the pot is split between high hand and low hand. If a player's remaining cards include an ace, then it is possible to be both high hand and low hand.

Another variation gives each player five cards face down, and ten common cards are to be placed in the center of the table, face down. The dealer will turn over the first common card and call it out. If a player has the same rank in their hand, they will then discard. The dealer will continue to call out each card until all of the common cards have been turned face up. The player that is able to discard all five cards, calls bingo and wins the hand.

title: Bingo (card game)


text:
User:Aaboelela

talk:I am just checking if you agree with our POV policy.

title: User:Aaboelela


text:
Talk:Coal tar

Heading
Is this a British spelling? In American English no hyphen is used. I hesitate to move it if it is a legitimate difference. Rmhermen 18:17, Aug 8, 2003 (UTC)

 * I'm English and none of my dictionaries use a hyphen. I've moved the page accordingly. --Camembert

-Plagiarism?-

Most of this article is identical to this site: I'm going to remove the plagiarised parts.Apofisu 02:57, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Give me a break. The Wiki "do-gooders" jumping in to the rescue when NONE is needed!!!! The so-called plagiarized material from a GOVERNMENT site is, in and of itself, not within the technical aspect of plagiarism. The material on that government site is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN!!! Obbop told thee this.68.13.191.153 21:58, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

The bit about safety seems to be expressing a particular point of view not supported with the citations given.

wtf over 10,000 ingredients in coal tar? lol and here I thought it was just carbon.... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)

this article should mention that coal tar is also a very widely used food coloring agent (wich is very disturbing) here is a site for info, and i am lazy and short on time http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/09/19/the-7-wonders-of-the-food-coloring-world/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.70.41.10 (talk) 14:27, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

It is not mentioned that other use of coal tar is the production of coal tar pitch (not to be confused with asphalt) and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. After dewatering process and a distillation we obtain (source : Chemistry and Physics of Carbon, Ljubisa R. Radovic, Peter A. Thrower, Vol.28, Chap. 4, 2003) : - light fraction (200-210°C) also called phenolic fraction : Phenol is used as chemical intermediate (for example in phenolic resins manufacturing) - medium fraction (210-360°C) containing Naphthalene, Acenaphthene, Anthracene and other substances : used as chemical intermediates - heavy fraction (360-400°C) containing chrysen oil : used for wood protection - coal tar pitch fraction (above 400°C) : used in artificial graphite manufacturing process (see Graphite) or waterproffing of Flat roof. Regarding the comment posted on August 23, 2007 : do not confuse the element carbon with the various types of carbon at a solid state (see definitions by IUPAC at http://goldbook.iupac.org/C00821.html) Joacel (talk) 18:03, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Lead
Not a big fan of having three one sentence paragraphs. So moved it around again. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 13:49, 30 January 2017 (UTC)

 * Your "newer refs" (IARC) are just a summary of the older ones; they don't invalidate them. The older ones still need to be included so people can read the actual information in them. 24.44.23.238 (talk) 16:16, 10 June 2017 (UTC)
 * No, what we tend to do is provide a couple of high quality recent references. We do not need more than 3. The point is not controversial. Doc James  (talk · contribs · email) 16:18, 11 June 2017 (UTC)

WP:MEDMOS
As a WHO Essential Medicine have restored the layout to that recommended per WP:MEDMOS Doc James  (talk · contribs · email) 06:28, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
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"composed primarily of volatile hydrocarbons."
Which ref supports this? Best Doc James  (talk · contribs · email) 22:30, 30 April 2018 (UTC)

Article could be improved by adding historical uses as chemical feedstock
The article currently seems to treat coal tar largely as a pharmaceutical, with some secondary nods to uses as a sealant or a fuel, and a brief mention of synthetic dyes.

But coal tar was the genesis of organic chemical synthesis on an industrial scale. It was the feedstock for what would become the petrochemical industry before people realized that petroleum was more cost effective. Not just dyes but synthetic pharmaceuticals (very different from the pharma uses currently described, which are mostly about using refined coal tar itself as a drug rather than molecules synthesized from it) — especially sulfa drugs. And plastics -- bakelite for example. Anything you'd make from phenol or aniline.

These days, of course, the synthetic organic chemical industry uses mainly petroleum, but it got its start with coal tar. It seems like a pretty important aspect of the topic to discuss in this article. --Trovatore (talk) 09:03, 20 January 2022 (UTC)

Pigment
Really no mention of pigment? This is the primary source of carbon black for centuries. 79.106.203.16 (talk) 10:27, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

 * I've added it to uses under industry. Recon  rabbit  18:56, 16 May 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Coal tar


text:
Windermere

Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Lake Windermere  to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the largest Scottish lochs and Northern Irish loughs.

The lake is about 11 mi in length and 1 mi at its widest, has a maximum depth of 64 m, and has an elevation of 39 m above sea level. Its outflow is the River Leven, which drains into Morecambe Bay. The lake is in the administrative council area of Westmorland and Furness and the historic county of Westmorland, with the lake forming part of the boundary between the historic counties of Westmorland and Lancashire. It has been one of the country's most popular places for holidays and summer homes since the arrival of the Kendal and Windermere Railway's branch line in 1847. The Freshwater Biological Association was established on the shore of Windermere in 1929 and much of the early work on lake ecology, freshwater biology and limnology was conducted here.

Etymology
The word 'Windermere' is thought to translate as "'Winand or Vinand's lake'... The specific has usually been identified with an Old Swedish personal name 'Vinandr', genitive singular 'Vinandar'"... although "the personal noun is of very restricted distribution even in Sweden." Another possibility is that it refers to a "Continental Germanic personal noun, 'Wīnand'...Since this name could not have been current until the 12th century, the fact that the Old Norse genitive singular '-ar-' has been added to it, it would suggest that Old Norse was still a living language in the area at that time." Alternative spellings may be 'Wynhendermere' and 'Wynenderme' The second element is Old English 'mere', meaning 'lake' or 'pool'. It was known as "Winander Mere" or "Winandermere" until at least the 19th century.

Its name suggests it is a mere, a lake that is broad in relation to its depth, but despite the name this is not the case for Windermere, which in particular has a noticeable thermocline, distinguishing it from typical meres. Until the 19th century, the term "lake" was, indeed, not much used by or known to the native inhabitants of the area, who referred to it as Windermere/Winandermere Water, or (in their dialect) Windermer Watter. The name Windermere or Windermer was used of the parish that had clearly taken its name from the water. The poet Norman Nicholson comments on the use of the phrase 'Lake Windermere': "a certain excuse for the tautology can be made in the case of Windermere, since we need to differentiate between the lake and the town, though it would be better to speak of 'Windermere Lake' and Windermere Town', but no one can excuse such ridiculous clumsiness as 'Lake Derwentwater' and 'Lake Ullswater."

The extensive parish included most of Undermilbeck (that is, excepting Winster and the part of Crook chapelry that lay west of the Gilpin, which were part of Kirkby Kendal parish), Applethwaite, Troutbeck and Ambleside-below-Stock, that is, the part of Ambleside that lay south of Stock Beck. The parish church was at Bowness in Undermilbeck.

Geography
Windermere is long and narrow, like many other ribbon lakes, and lies in a steep-sided pre-glacial river valley that has become deepened by successive glaciations. The current lake was formed after the Last Glacial Maximum during the retreat of the British and Irish Ice Sheet some time between 17,000 and 14,700 years ago, just before the start of the Windermere Interstadial. The lake water was sourced from the meltwater of retreating ice in the catchment, which receded up the Troutbeck valley and up the valleys that now contain the rivers Rothay and Brathay. There were at least nine ice retreat phases, indicated by buried recessional moraines. The lake has two separate basins – north and south – with different characteristics influenced by the geology. This consists of hard volcanic rocks in the north basin and softer shales in the south.

The lake is drained from its southernmost point by the River Leven. It is replenished by the rivers Brathay, Rothay, Trout Beck, Cunsey Beck and several other lesser streams. The lake is largely surrounded by foothills of the Lake District which provide pleasant low-level walks; to the north and northeast are the higher fells of central Lakeland.

There is debate as to whether the stretch of water between Newby Bridge and Lakeside at the southern end of the lake should be considered part of Windermere, or a navigable stretch of the River Leven. This affects the stated length of the lake, which is 11.23 mi long if measured from the bridge at Newby Bridge, or 10.5 mi if measured from Lakeside. The lake varies in width up to a maximum of 1 mi, and covers an area of 14.73 km². With a maximum depth of 66.7 m and an elevation above sea level of 39 m, the lowest point of the lake bed is well below sea level. There is only one town or village directly on the lakeshore, Bowness-on-Windermere, as the village of Windermere does not directly touch the lake and the centre of Ambleside is 1 mi to the north of Waterhead. The village of Windermere is about 20 minutes' walk from Millerground, the nearest point on the lakeshore. It did not exist before the arrival of the railway in 1847. The station was built in an area of open fell and farmland in the township of Applethwaite. The nearest farm was Birthwaite, which gave its name to the station and the village that began to grow up near it. In about 1859, the residents began to call their new village by the name of Windermere, much to the chagrin of the people of Bowness, which had been the centre of the parish of Windermere for many centuries. Since 1907 the two places have been under one council and, although there are still two separate centres, the area between is largely built up, albeit bordering on woodland and open fields. Windermere railway station is a hub for train and bus connections to the surrounding areas and is 2 km from the Waterbus jetty. There is a regular train service to Oxenholme on the West Coast Main Line, where there are fast trains to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester Airport, Birmingham and London.

Islands

The lake contains eighteen islands. By far the largest is the privately owned Belle Isle opposite Bowness. It is around a kilometre in length, and 40. acre. Its older name was Lang Holme, and 800 years ago it was the centre of the manor of Windermere and later, in effect, of a moiety of the barony of Kendal.

The other islands or "holmes" are considerably smaller. The word "holme" or "holm" means small island or islet and comes from Old Norse holmr (as in Stockholm). The island of Lady Holme is named after the chantry that formerly stood there and in former centuries was sometimes called St Mary Holme or just Mary Holme. The remaining islands are Bee Holme (the insular status of which depends on the water level), Blake Holme, Crow Holme, Birk or Birch Holme (called Fir Holme on Ordnance Survey maps), Grass Holme, Lilies of the Valley (East, and West), Ling Holme (a rocky hump with a few trees and a growth of ling), Hawes Holme, Hen Holme (also rocky and sometimes known as chair and Table Island from some old flags or slabs of stone that were formerly found there), Maiden Holme (the smallest island, with just one tree), Ramp Holme (variously called Roger Holme and Berkshire Island at different times in its history), Rough Holme, Snake Holme, Thompson Holme (the second largest), Silver Holme.

Local government
Before 1974, the lake lay wholly within the county of Westmorland; however, the historic county boundary between Lancashire and Westmorland runs down the western shore of the lake and also along about 3 mi of the southern section of the eastern shore. Anyone crossing the lake from east to west on the Windermere Ferry thus travels from the historic county of Westmorland to that of Lancashire.

Local government reorganisation in 1974 placed Windermere and its shores within the district of South Lakeland in the non-metropolitan county of Cumbria. Since April 2023, Cumbria no longer exists for administrative purposes and the lake falls entirely within Westmorland and Furness administrative area. Most planning matters concerned with the lake are, however, the responsibility of the Lake District National Park Authority.

Steamer and launches

Passenger services operate along the whole length of the lake, from Lakeside railway station, on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite heritage steam railway at the southern end of the lake, to Waterhead Bay near Ambleside in the north. Intermediate stops are made at Bowness and, by smaller launches only, at Brockhole. Some boats only operate part of the route, or operate out and back cruises, whilst others run the whole distance. These services date back to the former Furness Railway, who built the Lakeside branch, and were at one time operated by British Rail, the former state-owned rail operator. Since privatisation, three of the original large railway boats are operated by Windermere Lake Cruises Ltd, along with a fleet of smaller and more modern launches. Three of the original four boats survive: the MV Tern of 1891, the MV Teal of 1936, and the MV Swan of 1938. The fourth, MV Swift of 1900, was broken up at Lakeside in 1998. Her rudder and only one propeller are displayed at Bowness. Although often described as steamers, all are now diesel motor vessels. Tern and Swift were built with steam engines, but converted to diesel power in the 1950s.

Ferries
The Windermere Ferry, a vehicle-carrying cable ferry, runs across the lake from Ferry Nab on the eastern side of the lake to Far Sawrey on the western side of the lake. This service forms part of the B5285. There are also two summer only passenger ferries that cross the lake. One crosses from Lakeside station to Fell Foot Park at the southern end of the lake, whilst the other links Bowness with Far Sawrey.

Boat clubs
There are five large boating clubs based around the lake: the South Windermere Sailing Club, Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club, the Lake District Boat Club, the Royal Windermere Yacht Club, and the Windermere Cruising Association. The Royal Windermere Yacht Club maintains a set of turning marks on the lake, which are also used by the Windermere Cruising Association. The Lake District Boat Club is a family orientated club open to all (owning a boat is not essential), with premises located in Bowness the club house has views of the lake and surrounding fells. The LDBC also run a full programme of both social and racing events. The Windermere Cruising Association organises the popular Winter Series. This event benefits from not being hindered by the large waves, caused by gales, that often lead to sea racing being cancelled. The WCA also have a full calendar of summer races which are open to all abilities.

At the south end of the lake is South Windermere Sailing Club, based at Fell Foot park on the east shore. It was started in 1961 as a family sailing club and has been the starting point for many successful British dinghy racing competitors including British, European and world champions. The notoriously fluky wind on the lake has proved a successful training ground in learning to read the fast-changing wind. SWSC celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011 and has developed a strong junior section under the coaching of Julie Tomkinson who in 2011 was honoured with an RYA Community Award for Outstanding Contribution.

In 2015 Lakeland Rowing club set up a base at Fell Foot Park. The club grew quickly and has now separated from the Northern section of the club (based at Derwent water) and has taken the name Windermere Rowing Club. The club is small in comparison to the more established clubs in the country but is continually growing with the number of both members and boats constantly increasing.

The Ferry House Regatta was the subject of a painting by Thomas Allom and in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837 this was illustrated in the poem by Letitia Elizabeth Landon.

Speed records
On Friday 13 June 1930, Sir Henry Segrave broke the world water speed record on Windermere in his boat, Miss England II at an average speed of 158.94 km/h. On the third run over the course, off Belle Grange, the boat capsized. Segrave's mechanic, Victor Helliwell drowned, but Segrave was rescued by support boats. He died a short time later of his injuries. Segrave was one of the few people in history who have held the world land speed record and water speed record simultaneously.

Racer Norman Buckley set several world water speed records on Windermere in the 1950s.

Speed limits
For many years, powerboating and water-skiing have been popular activities on the lake. In March 2000, the Lake District National Park Authority controversially introduced a bylaw setting a 10 kn speed limit for all powered craft on the lake, in addition to three existing 6 kn speed limits for all craft on the upper, lower, and middle sections of the lake. The bylaw came into force in 2000, but there was a five-year transition period and the new speed limits were only enforced from 29 March 2005. The bylaws on the lake were reviewed and renewed in 2008. Despite the speed limits people continue to use powerboats on the lake, both legally and illegally.

Windermere Steamboat Museum
Windermere Steamboat Museum is located on Rayrigg Road in Bowness, and included a collection of vintage steam boats dating back to 1850, five sailing boats (the oldest built in 1780), two dugout canoes, as well as information about Swallows and Amazons and the history of racing boats. The museum was closed in 2006 for refurbishment and re-opened, considerably enlarged, in March, 2019 as the Windermere Jetty: Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories.

The long popularity of steam launches on Windermere has even given its name to the Windermere kettle, a steam-powered tea urn.

Windermere water bus
In 2005, the Windermere Management Strategy identified the potential for water bus services on the lake. In 2009, the Lake District National Park Authority commissioned a detailed study into the demand for such services. In July 2009, it was announced that Windermere Lake Cruises would be operating additional stops around the lake. In January 2012, the Park Authority launched a consultation on further expansion of the water bus service.

Great North Swim
On Saturday 13 September 2008, Windermere hosted the inaugural Great North Swim, a 1 mi open water swim involving 2,200 swimmers. The second annual swim took place on 12 and 13 September 2009, with 6,000 swimmers, making this the largest open water swim in the UK.

Three Lakes Challenge
The 40 mi Three Lakes Challenge (or Loch, Lake, Llyn) is a challenge first completed by a 5-person relay with Sam Plum, Jason Betley, Helen Gibbs, Helen Liddle, and Debbie Taylor on 3–4 July 2015 under English Channel rules. The course involves swimming the length of Loch Awe in Scotland (25 mi), then driving to the Lake District and swimming the length of Windermere (10+1/2 mi), and finally driving to Wales and swimming the length of Bala Lake (4 mi). This challenge is intended as the swimming equivalent of the National Three Peaks Challenge.

Sewage release
In 2021, it was reported that the sewage-treatment plant in Ambleside legally discharged sewage into Windermere for 1,719 hours during 2020 (equivalent to 71 out of 365 days), and that private septic tanks from residential dwellings, holiday homes and caravan sites also released sewage into the lake. A 26 year old Windermere resident, Zoology Undergraduate Matthew Staniek, made national news by suggesting the lake could become "ecologically dead", with the growth of blue-green algae, and microscopic organisms being incorrectly described as "toxic as cobra venom". However, beyond the resident's speculation, there was little evidence of this being true, with ecologists and subsequent studies showing pollution levels better than suggested, and localized to smaller areas of the lake.

In July 2022, the Love Windermere partnership was created to tackle challenges in the lake. Nutrients, climate change, more extreme weather patterns and the seasonal variations of the tourist population are all predicted to put the lake and its water quality under increasing pressure in the coming years.

In 2023, it was reported that data from the Environment Agency showed that United Utilities released sewage from storm overflows into the lake for 246 days in 2022.

Popular culture
William Wordsworth, one of the Lake Poets, described the view of Windermere from the crest of a hill in The Prelude, Book IV:

"Standing alone, as from a rampart’s edge, I overlooked the bed of Windermere, Like a vast river, stretching in the sun. With exultation, at my feet I saw Lake, islands, promontories, gleaming bays, A universe of Nature’s fairest forms Proudly revealed with instantaneous burst, Magnificent, and beautiful, and gay."

Oscar Wilde began working on his first hit play, Lady Windermere's Fan (1892), during a summer visit to the Lake District in 1891. A series of children's books by Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons and its sequels Swallowdale, Winter Holiday, Pigeon Post and The Picts and the Martyrs, involve school holiday adventures in the 1930s around a fictional lake derived from a combination of Windermere and Coniston Water. The fictional lake resembles Windermere, but the surrounding hills and fells resemble those of Coniston Water. The BBC made a television series Swallows and Amazons in 1962; parts of this were filmed at the boathouse of Huyton Hill Preparatory School (now Pullwood House) on the northwestern shore.

Hollywood film comedian Stan Laurel was a frequent visitor to the lake at Windermere as a child. Born in Ulverston in 1890, his grandmother, uncle and aunt would take him and his cousins on excursions by train into the Lake District, visiting Flookburgh, Sawrey and Windermere.

The lake gave its name to a group of 300 Jewish boys, the "Windermere Boys", who survived Auschwitz and settled at Troutbeck Bridge near Windermere in 1945, thanks to the help of Leonard G. Montefiore. This refugee rescue was dramatised as The Windermere Children broadcast on the BBC in 2020 for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Legends of female centaurs in Windermere served as the basis for Archie Fisher's 1976 song The Witch of the West-Mer-Lands, which was later covered by Stan Rogers. Fisher cites "tales of antlered women with bodies of deer seen wading in the shallows of the lakes in the moonlight" as the inspiration for his song. "Apparently deer used to swim across the shallow end of Lake Windermere and weeds got caught in their antlers and observers, probably wandering home from a local hostelry, took them to be these mythical creatures."

Windermere is a location used in the 1994 fighting game Tekken. Belle Isle features in the fifth book of Joseph Delaney's Spook's series, The Spooks Mistake; published in 2008. Rather than the large house, though, Belle Isle plays host to a folly which is used by the Water Witches in the area. In November 2009, several scenes were shot on Windermere for the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, featuring the newlyweds Gail and Joe on their honeymoon. Windermere and the surrounding countryside is the setting for mystery novelist Elizabeth George's 2012 book Believing the Lie, the 17th in the Inspector Lynley series.

Some people believe that there may be a lake monster, similar to the one alleged to live in Loch Ness, and in 2011 anomalous photos were taken of the supposed creature; it has been affectionately nicknamed "Bownessie".

In 2017, some scenes from the 2018 live action film Peter Rabbit were filmed in Windermere and Ambleside, with the Peter Rabbit heritage being strongly linked to the area.

Taylor Swift mentions "Windermere peaks" and Wordsworth in her song, "The Lakes," included as a bonus track on her 2020 album, Folklore. She writes: Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry I'm setting off, but not without my muse

title: Windermere