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Agkistrodon piscivorus

Agkistrodon piscivorus is a species of venomous snake, a pit viper in the subfamily Crotalinae of the family Viperidae. It is one of the world's few semiaquatic vipers (along with the Florida cottonmouth), and is native to the Southeastern United States. As an adult, it is large and capable of delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite. When threatened, it may respond by coiling its body and displaying its fangs. Individuals may bite when feeling threatened or being handled in any way. It tends to be found in or near water, particularly in slow-moving and shallow lakes, streams, and marshes. It is a capable swimmer, and like several species of snakes, is known to occasionally enter bays and estuaries and swim between barrier islands and the mainland.

The generic name is derived from the Greek words ἄγκιστρον agkistron "fish-hook, hook" and ὀδών odon "tooth", and the specific name comes from the Latin piscis 'fish' and voro '(I) eat greedily, devour'; thus, the scientific name translates to "hook-toothed fish-eater". Common names include cottonmouth, northern cottonmouth, water moccasin, swamp moccasin, black moccasin, and simply viper. Many of the common names refer to the threat display, in which this species often stands its ground and gapes at an intruder, exposing the white lining of its mouth. Many scientists dislike the use of the term water moccasin since it can lead to confusion between the venomous cottonmouth and nonvenomous water snakes.

Common names
This is a list of common names for A. piscivorus, some of which also refer to other species:

 * aquatic moccasin
 * black moccasin
 * black snake
 * black water viper
 * blunt-tail moccasin
 * Congo
 * copperhead
 * cottonmouth
 * cotton-mouthed snake
 * cottonmouth rattler
 * cottonmouth water moccasin
 * gaper:USGS
 * gapper
 * highland moccasin
 * lake moccasin
 * lowland moccasin
 * mangrove rattler
 * moccasin
 * moccasin snake
 * North American cottonmouth snake
 * North American water moccasin
 * North American water viper
 * pond moccasin
 * pond rattler
 * river moccasin
 * river rattler
 * rusty moccasin
 * saltwater rattler
 * short-tailed moccasin
 * short-tail rattler
 * small-tailed cottonmouth
 * snap-jaw
 * stub-tail
 * stub-tail snake
 * stump moccasin
 * stump-tail moccasin
 * stump-tail viper
 * swamp lion
 * swamp moccasin
 * swamp rattler
 * Texas moccasin
 * trap jaw
 * Troost's moccasin
 * true horn snake
 * true water moccasin
 * viper
 * water copperhead
 * water mamba
 * water moccasin
 * water mokeson
 * water pilot
 * water pit rattler
 * water pit viper
 * water rattlesnake
 * water viper
 * white-mouth moccasin
 * white-mouth rattler
 * worm-tailed viper

Subspecies and taxonomic history
For many decades, one species with three subspecies were formally recognized: eastern cottonmouth, A. p. piscivorus (Lacépède, 1789); western cottonmouth, A. p. leucostoma (Troost, 1836); and Florida cottonmouth, A. p. conanti Gloyd, 1969. However, a molecular (DNA) based study was published in 2014, applying phylogenetic theories (one implication being no subspecies are recognized), changing the long-standing taxonomy. The resulting and current taxonomic arrangement recognizes two species and no subspecies. The western cottonmouth (A. p. leucostoma) was synonymized with the eastern cottonmouth (A. p. piscivorus) into one species (with the oldest published name, A. p. piscivorus, having priority). The Florida cottonmouth (A. p. conanti) is now recognized as a separate species.

 * Agkistrodon piscivorus (Lacépéde, 1789), northern cottonmouth
 * Agkistrodon conanti Gloyd, 1969, Florida cottonmouth (south Georgia and Florida peninsular)

Anatomy and description
Agkistrodon piscivorus is the largest species of the genus Agkistrodon. Adults commonly exceed 80 cm in total length (including tail); females are typically smaller than males. Total length, per one study of adults, was 65 to 90 cm. Average body mass has been found to be 292.5 to 579.6 g in males and 201.1 to 254.1 g in females. Occasionally, individuals may exceed 180 cm in total length, especially in the eastern part of the range.

Although larger ones have purportedly been seen in the wild, according to Gloyd and Conant (1990), the largest recorded specimen of A. p. piscivorus was 188 cm in total length, based on a specimen caught in the Dismal Swamp region and given to the Philadelphia Zoological Garden. This snake had apparently been injured during capture, died several days later, and was measured when straight and relaxed. Large specimens can be extremely bulky, with the mass of a specimen of about 180 cm in total length known to weigh 4.6 kg.

Interestingly, many would assume that the morphology of an aquatic snake should have a small, narrow head that tapers towards the back to minimize drag in the water, especially when capturing prey. However, the pit vipers, and particularly Cottonmouths, display a contradicting structure, with its bulky, triangular head, which would be assumed to be poorly suited to water, yet it is not the case.

The broad head is distinct from the neck, and the snout is blunt in profile with the rim of the top of the head extending forwards slightly further than the mouth. Substantial cranial plates are present, although the parietal plates are often fragmented, especially towards the rear. A loreal scale is absent. Six to 9 supralabials and eight to 12 infralabials are seen. At midbody, it has 23–27 rows of dorsal scales. All dorsal scale rows have keels, although those on the lowermost scale rows are weak. In males/females, the ventral scales number 130-145/128-144 and the subcaudals 38-54/36-50. Many of the latter may be divided.

Though most specimens are almost or even totally black, (with the exception of the head and facial markings), the color pattern may consist of a brown, gray, tan, yellowish-olive, or blackish ground color, which is overlaid with a series of 10–17 dark brown to almost black crossbands. These crossbands, which usually have black edges, are sometimes broken along the dorsal midline to form a series of staggered halfbands on either side of the body. These crossbands are visibly lighter in the center, almost matching the ground color, often contain irregular dark markings, and extend well down onto the ventral scales. The dorsal banding pattern fades with age, so older individuals are an almost uniform olive-brown, grayish-brown, or black. The belly is white, yellowish-white, or tan, marked with dark spots, and becomes darker posteriorly. The amount of dark pigment on the belly varies from virtually none to almost completely black. The head is a more or less uniform brown color, especially in A. p. piscivorus. Subadult specimens may exhibit the same kind of dark, parietal spots characteristic of A. contortrix, but sometimes these are still visible in adults. Eastern populations have a broad, dark, postocular stripe, bordered with pale pigment above and below, that is faint or absent in western populations. The underside of the head is generally whitish, cream, or tan.

Juvenile and subadult specimens generally have a more contrasting color pattern, with dark crossbands on a lighter ground color. The ground color is then tan, brown, or reddish-brown. The tip of the tail is usually yellowish, becoming greenish-yellow or greenish in subadults, and then black in adults. On some juveniles, the banding pattern can also be seen on the tail. Young snakes wiggle the tips of their tails to lure prey animals.

This species is often confused with the copperhead, A. contortrix. This is especially true for juveniles, but differences exist. A. piscivorus has broad, dark stripes on the sides of its head that extend back from the eyes, whereas A. contortrix has only a thin, dark line that divides the pale supralabials from the somewhat darker color of the head. The watersnakes of the genus Nerodia are also similar in appearance, being thick-bodied with large heads, but they have round pupils, no loreal pit, a single anal plate, subcaudal scales that are divided throughout, and a distinctive overall color pattern.

Venom
Agkistrodon piscivorus venom is more toxic than that of A. contortrix, and is rich with powerful cytotoxic venom that destroys tissue. Although deaths are rare, the bite can leave scars, and on occasion, require amputation. Absent an anaphylactic reaction in a bitten individual, however, the venom does not cause systemic reactions in victims and does not contain neurotoxic components present in numerous rattlesnake species. Bites can be effectively treated with CroFab antivenom; this serum is derived using venom components from four species of American pit vipers (the eastern and western diamondback rattlesnakes, the Mojave rattlesnake, and the cottonmouth).

Bites from the cottonmouth are relatively frequent in the lower Mississippi River Valley and along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, although fatalities are rare. Allen and Swindell (1948) compiled a record of A. piscivorus bites in Florida from newspaper accounts and data from the Bureau of Vital Statistics: 1934, eight bites and three fatalities (no further fatalities were recorded after this year); 1935, 10; 1936, 16; 1937, 7; 1938, 6; 1939, 5; 1940, 3; 1941, 6; 1942, 3; 1943, 1; 1944, 3; 1998, 1. Wright and Wright (1957) report having encountered these snakes on countless occasions, often almost stepping on them, but never being bitten. In addition, they heard of no reports of any bites among 400 cypress cutters in the Okefenokee Swamp during the entire summer of 1921. These accounts suggest that the species is not particularly aggressive. Studies show that stressed snakes are more likely to strike. This action comes as a predator defense mechanism. Snakes with elevated hormone levels are more likely to strike. Additionally, larger snakes are more likely to strike than smaller snakes.

Brown (1973) gave an average venom yield (dried) of 125 mg, with a range of 80–237 mg, along with values of 4.0, 2.2, 2.7, 3.5, 2.0 mg/kg IV, 4.8, 5.1, 4.0, 5.5, 3.8, 6.8 mg/kg IP and 25.8 mg/kg SC for toxicity. Wolff and Githens (1939) described a 152 cm specimen that yielded 3.5 ml of venom during the first extraction and 4.0 ml five weeks later (1.094 grams of dried venom). The human lethal dose is unknown, but has been estimated at 100–150 mg.

Symptoms commonly include ecchymosis and swelling. The pain is generally more severe than bites from the copperhead, but less so than those from rattlesnakes (Crotalus spp.). The formation of vesicles and bullae is less common than with rattlesnake bites, although necrosis can occur. Myokymia is sometimes reported. However, the venom has strong proteolytic activity that can lead to severe tissue destruction.

Geographic range
A. piscivorus is found in the eastern US from the Great Dismal Swamp in southeast Virginia, south through the Florida peninsula and west to Arkansas, eastern and southern Oklahoma, and western and southern Georgia (excluding Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona ). A few records exist of the species being found along the Rio Grande in Texas, but these are thought to represent disjunct populations, now possibly eradicated. The type locality given is "Carolina", although Schmidt (1953) proposed this be restricted to the area around Charleston, South Carolina. Snakes observed in the northern areas of this range are typically larger older individuals.

Campbell and Lamar (2004) mentioned this species as being found in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Maps provided by Campbell and Lamar (2004) and Wright and Wright (1957) also indicate its presence in Western and Middle Tennessee and extreme southeastern Kansas, and limit it to the western part of Kentucky.

In Georgia, it is found in the southern half of the state up to a few kilometers north of the Fall Line with few exceptions. Its range also includes the Ohio River Valley as far north as southern Indiana, and it inhabits many barrier islands off the coasts of the states where it is found.

Habitat
Agkistrodon piscivorus is the most aquatic species of the genus Agkistrodon, and is usually associated with bodies of water, such as creeks, streams, marshes, swamps, and the shores of ponds and lakes. This species is pretty unique from others of its commonly confused species as cottonmouths appear to be floating on top of the water rather than swimming with its body beneath the surface. The U.S. Navy (1991) describes it as inhabiting swamps, shallow lakes, and sluggish streams, but it is usually not found in swift, deep, cool water. Behler and King (1979) list its habitats as including lowland swamps, lakes, rivers, bayheads, sloughs, irrigation ditches, canals, rice fields, and small, clear, rocky, mountain streams.

It is also found in brackish-water habitats and is sometimes seen swimming in salt water. It has been much more successful at colonizing Atlantic and Gulf Coast barrier islands than the copperhead. Even on these islands, though, it tends to favor freshwater marshes. A study by Dunson and Freda (1985) describes it as not being particularly salt-tolerant.

The snake is not limited to aquatic habitats, however, as Gloyd and Conant (1990) mentioned large specimens have been found more than a mile (1.6 km) from water. In various locations, the species is well-adapted to less moist environments, such as palmetto thickets, pine-palmetto forest, pine woods in East Texas, pine flatwoods in Florida, eastern deciduous dune forest, dune and beach areas, riparian forest, and prairies.

Behavior and ecology
In tests designed to measure the various behavioral responses by wild specimens to encounters with people, 23 of 45 (51%) tried to escape, while 28 of 36 (78%) resorted to threat displays and other defensive tactics. Only when they were picked up with a mechanical hand were they likely to bite.

When sufficiently stressed or threatened, this species engages in a characteristic threat display that includes vibrating its tail and throwing its head back with its mouth open to display the startlingly white interior, often making a loud hiss while the neck and front part of the body are pulled into an S-shaped position. Many of its common names, including "cottonmouth" and "gaper", refer to this behavior, while its habit of snapping its jaws shut when anything touches its mouth has earned it the name "trap jaw" in some areas. Other defensive responses can include flattening the body and emitting a strong, pungent secretion from the anal glands located at the base of the tail. This musk may be ejected in thin jets if the snake is sufficiently agitated or restrained. The smell has been likened to that of a billy goat, as well as to a genus of common flood-plain weeds, Pluchea, that also have a penetrating odor.

Harmless watersnakes of the genus Nerodia are often mistaken for it. These are also semiaquatic, thick-bodied snakes with large heads that can be aggressive when provoked, but they behave differently. For example, watersnakes usually flee quickly into the water, while A. piscivorus often stands its ground with its threat display. In addition, watersnakes do not vibrate their tails when excited. A. piscivorus usually holds its head at an angle around 45° when swimming or crawling.

Brown (1973) considered their heavy muscular bodies to be a striking characteristic, stating this made it difficult to hold them for venom extraction owing to their strength.

This species may be active during the day and at night, but on bright, sunny days, they are usually found coiled or stretched out in the shade. In the morning and on cool days, they can often be seen basking in the sunlight. They often emerge at sunset to warm themselves on warm ground (i.e., sidewalks, roads) and then become very active throughout the night, when they are usually found swimming or crawling. Contrary to popular belief, they are capable of biting while under water.

In the north, they hibernate during the winter. Niell (1947, 1948) made observations in Georgia, and noted they were one of the last species to seek shelter, often being found active until the first heavy frosts. At this point, they moved to higher ground and could be found in rotting pine stumps by tearing away the bark. These snakes could be quite active upon discovery and would then attempt to burrow more deeply into the soft wood or escape to the nearest water. In southeastern Virginia, Wood (1954) reported seeing migratory behavior in late October and early November. During a period of three or four days, as many as 50 individuals could be seen swimming across Back Bay from the bayside swamps of the barrier islands to the mainland. He suggested this might have something to do with hibernating habits. In the southern parts of its range, hibernation may be short or omitted altogether.

Hunting and diet
Raymond Ditmars (1912) described A. piscivorus as carnivorous. Its diet includes mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, eggs, insects, other snakes, small turtles, and small alligators. Cannibalism has also been reported. Normally, though, the bulk of its diet consists of fish and frogs. On occasion, juvenile specimens feed on invertebrates. Catfish (especially of the genus Ictalurus) are often eaten, although the sharp spines sometimes cause injuries. Toads of the genus Bufo are apparently avoided. Common prey species include southern leopard frogs, bass, juvenile black rat snakes, young common snapping turtles, and North American least shrews.

Many authors have described the prey items taken under natural circumstances. Although fish and frogs are their most common prey, they eat almost any small vertebrate. Fish are captured by cornering them in shallow water, usually against the bank or under logs. They take advantage when bodies of water begin to dry up in the summer or early fall and gorge themselves on the resulting high concentrations of fish and tadpoles. They are surprisingly unsuccessful at seizing either live or dead fish under water.

They are opportunistic hunters and sometimes eat carrion, making them one of the few snakes to do so. Campbell and Lamar (2004) described having seen them feeding on fish heads and viscera that had been thrown into the water from a dock. Heinrich and Studenroth (1996) reported an occasion in which an individual was seen feeding on the butchered remains of a feral hog (Sus scrofa) that had been thrown into Cypress Creek. Northern cottonmouths have an unusual feeding adaptation that allows them to adhere to prey through rotation of their head during swallowing because it aids the jaws in clearing the prey and contributes to the advance of the jaws along the prey.

Conant (1929) gave a detailed account of the feeding behavior of a captive specimen from South Carolina. When prey was introduced, the snake quickly became attentive and made an attack. Frogs and small birds were seized and held until movement stopped. Larger prey was approached in a more cautious manner; a rapid strike was executed after which the snake would withdraw. In 2.5 years, the snake had accepted three species of frogs, including a large bullfrog, a spotted salamander, water snakes, garter snakes, sparrows, young rats, and three species of mice. Brimley (1944) described a captive specimen that ate copperheads (A. contortrix), as well as members of its own species, keeping its fangs embedded in its victims until they had been immobilized. A 2018 study found that northern cottonmouths on a diet of only fish when compared to a diet of mice had to eat 20% more to achieve the same growth.

There have been several studies focusing on the types of prey that cottonmouths consume, and analyzing the differences between juveniles, adult males, and adult females. It has been found that adult males and females target different prey types and sizes. Observations and stomach analyses show that adult males consume fish, whereas adult females mainly consume other squamates, in particularly snakes. In this same research, it was concluded that the prey size increased with the size of the snake for both juvenile and adults, both male and female.

Young individuals have yellowish or greenish tail tips and engage in caudal luring. The tail tip is wriggled to lure prey, such as frogs and lizards, within striking distance. Wharton (1960) observed captive specimens exhibiting this behavior between 07:20 and 19:40 hours, which suggests it is a daytime activity.

In August 2020 and May 2021, individuals found in Florida were observed to have consumed introduced Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus). Burmese pythons are an invasive species in Florida with the capacity to inflict great damage to the local ecosystem, so it is hoped that A. piscivorus may be in the process of modifying its diet to enable it to hunt the pythons.

Natural predators
Agkistrodon piscivorus is preyed upon by snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina), falcons, American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), horned owls (Bubo virginianus), eagles, red-shouldered hawks (Buteo lineatus), loggerhead shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus), and large wading birds, such as herons, cranes, and egrets.

It is also preyed upon by ophiophagous snakes, including their own species. Humphreys (1881) described how a 34 in specimen was killed and eaten by a 42 in captive kingsnake. On the other hand, Neill (1947) reported captive kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getula) were loath to attack them, being successfully repelled with "body blows". Also called body-bridging, this is a specific defensive behavior against ophiophagous snakes, first observed in certain rattlesnake (Crotalus) species by Klauber (1927), that involves raising a section of the middle of the body above the ground to varying heights. This raised loop may then be held in this position for varying amounts of time, shifted in position, or moved towards the attacker. In the latter case, it is often flipped or thrown vigorously in the direction of the assailant. In A. piscivorus, the loop is raised laterally, with the belly facing towards the attacker.

Reproduction
Agkistrodon piscivorus is ovoviviparous, with females usually giving birth to one to 16 live young and possibly as many as 20. Litters of six to eight are the most common. Neonates are 22-35 cm in length (excluding runts), with the largest belonging to A. p. conanti and A. p. leucostoma the smallest. If weather conditions are favorable and food is readily available, growth is rapid and females may reproduce at less than three years of age and a total length of as little as 60 cm. They will also only reproduce every other year, unless optimal conditions are met for them to go through the reproduction process. The young are born in August or September, while mating may occur during any of the warmer months of the year, at least in certain parts of its range.

Regarding A. p. piscivorus, an early account by Stejneger (1895) described a pair in the Berlin Zoological Garden that mated on January 21, 1873, after which eight neonates were discovered in the cage on July 16 of that year. The young were each 26 cm in length and 1.5 cm thick. They shed for the first time within two weeks, after which they accepted small frogs, but not fish.

Combat behavior between males has been reported on a number of occasions, and is very similar in form to that seen in many other viperid species. An important factor in sexual selection, it allows for the establishment and recognition of dominance as males compete for access to sexually active females.

A few accounts exist that describe females defending their newborn litters. Wharten (1960, 1966) reported several cases where females found near their young stood their ground and considered these to be examples of guarding behavior. Another case was described by Walters and Card (1996) in which a female was found at the entrance of a chamber with seven neonates crawling on or around her. When one of the young was moved a short distance from the chamber, she seemed to be agitated and faced the intruder. Eventually, all of her offspring retreated into the chamber, but the female remained at the entrance, ready to strike. One study stated that females will remain with their young for one to two weeks until the young finishes their first shed cycle.

Facultative parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis is a natural form of reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization. A. piscivorus can reproduce by facultative parthenogenesis, that is, they are capable of switching from a sexual mode of reproduction to an asexual mode. This likely involves recombination at the tips of the chromosomes, which leads to genome wide homozygosity. The result is the expression of deleterious recessive alleles and often to developmental failure (inbreeding depression). Both captive-born and wild-born A. piscivorus specimens appear to be capable of this form of parthenogenesis.

Conservation status
The species A. piscivorus is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List (v3.1, 2007). Species are listed as such due to their wide distribution, presumed large population, or because they are unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. When last assessed in 2007, the population trend was stable.

Constant persecution of the species and drainage of wetland habitat prior to development has taken a heavy toll on local populations. Despite this, it remains a common species in many areas.

In Indiana, the cottonmouth is listed as an endangered species.

title: Agkistrodon piscivorus


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Jair

In the Biblical Book of Judges, Jair or Yair (יָאִיר Yā’īr, "he enlightens") was a man from Gilead. He was of the Tribe of Manasseh and also descended from the Tribe of Judah (Numbers 32:39-41, 1 Chronicles 2:21-23). Jair judged Israel for 22 years, after the death of Tola, who had ruled of 23 years. His inheritance was in Gilead through the line of Machir, the son of Manasseh.

According to Judges 10:3–5, Jair had thirty sons, who rode thirty ass colts, and controlled 30 cities in Gilead which came to be known as Havoth-Jair (Judges 10:4; cf. 23 towns in 1 Chronicles 2:22). The word chawwoth ('tent encampments') occurs only in this context (Numbers 32:41; Deuteronomy 3:14; Judges 10:4).

Jair died and was buried in Kamon, which could be a place that Antiochus III conquered, according to Polybius, but also could be a symbolic term related to the Greek word for 'furnace'.

After his death there were 18 years of infidelity to the God of the Israelites and oppression at the hands of their Philistine and Ammonite neighbours.

King David appointed a Jairite named Ira as his chief ruler or priest after Sheba's rebellion.

Genealogy
Jair’s father was Segub. Segub’s father was Hezron. Hezron’s father was Perez. Perez’s father was Judah. Segub’s mother was Machir’s daughter. Machir was the son of Manasseh.

In Jewish legend
According to Pseudo-Philo (38-39) and the Chronicle of Jerahmeel (48 and 68), "The successor to Abimelech equalled, if he did not surpass, him in wickedness. Jair erected an altar unto Baal, and on penalty of death he forced the people to prostrate themselves before it. Only seven men remained firm in the true faith, and refused to the last to commit idolatry. Their names were Deuel, Abit Yisreel, Jekuthiel, Shalom, Ashur, Jehonadab, and Shemiel. They said to Jair: 'We are mindful of the lessons given us by our teachers and our mother Deborah. 'Take ye heed,' they said, 'that your heart lead you not astray to the right or to the left. Day and night ye shall devote yourselves to the study of the Torah.' Why, then, dost thou seek to corrupt the people of the Lord, saying, 'Baal is God, let us worship him'? If he really is what thou sayest, then let him speak like a god, and we will pay him worship.' For the blasphemy they had uttered against Baal, Jair commanded that the seven men be burnt. When his servants were about to carry out his order, God sent the angel Nathaniel, the lord over the fire, and he extinguished the fire though not before the servants of Jair were consumed by it. Not only did the seven men escape the danger of suffering death by fire, but the angel enabled them to flee unnoticed, by striking all the people present with blindness. Then the angel approached Jair, and said to him: 'Hear the words of the Lord ere thou diest. I appointed thee as prince over my people, and thou didst break My covenant, seduce My people, and seek to burn My servants with fire, but they were animated and freed by the living, the heavenly fire. As for thee, thou wilt die, and die by fire, a fire in which thou wilt abide forever.' Thereupon the angel burnt him with a thousand men, whom he had taken in the act of paying homage to Baal."

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

title: Jair


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Hermosillo International Airport

Hermosillo International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional de Hermosillo); officially Aeropuerto Internacional General Ignacio L. Pesqueira (General Ignacio L. Pesqueira International Airport), is an international airport situated in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. It handles both national and international air traffic for the Hermosillo metropolitan area. It also houses military facilities for the Mexican Army and supports logistics and cargo airlines. Additionally, it facilitates various activities related to tourism, flight training, and general aviation. It functions as a focus city for the regional airline TAR Aerolíneas.

The airport's operations are managed by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, and it is named after Ignacio L. Pesqueira, a former Governor of Sonora. In 2023, it ranked as the busiest airport in Sonora and the thirteenth-largest in Mexico, serving 2,189,800 passengers and surpassing the 2-million threshold for the first time.

History
The current airport was inaugurated in 1982 to replace the former airfield previously located in an area known as La Manga. Hermosillo has a historical significance as a commercial aviation hub, particularly for Aeromexico. Starting in the 1940s, it served as a connecting point for cities in northwestern Mexico and Arizona, including Tijuana, La Paz, Chihuahua, Torreón, Nogales, Ciudad Obregón, Guaymas, Cananea, Tucson, and Phoenix.

During the 1990s and 2000s, Aerolitoral, now known as Aeroméxico Connect, operated a hub out of Hermosillo for many years. This hub connected cities across Mexico and also offered flights to U.S. cities such as Los Angeles and Phoenix. However, it was eventually downsized to a focus city and ultimately closed in 2017.

From 1988 to 1999, the airport served as the headquarters and hub for the regional airline Aviación del Noroeste. In the early 2000s, the airport's runway and taxiways were widened to accommodate wide-body aircraft that might need to divert, such as Aeromexico's Boeing 787 on several occasions.

Facilities
The airport is situated at an elevation of 191 m above mean sea level. It features a single runway, designated as 05/23, measuring 2300 m in length and surfaced with asphalt. The commercial apron can accommodate 12 narrow-body aircraft, and there is a general aviation apron for fixed-wing aircraft as well as two heliports for private and occasional third-level commercial aviation use. The airport frequently serves as the primary alternate airport for flights going to Tijuana International Airport in cases of unfavorable weather or technical issues.

The passenger terminal accommodates both arrivals and departures for domestic and international flights. The ground floor houses the arrivals area with customs and immigration facilities, the baggage claim area, and the departures section that includes a check-in area, a security checkpoint, and a departures concourse with gates 1-6 that provide direct access to the apron, enabling passengers to walk to their aircraft. From this departure concourse, access to the upper floor is available, which houses snack bars, souvenir shops, and gates 7 and 8 equipped with jet bridges for boarding. The airport provides taxi services, and ground transportation is offered by four companies with a fleet of 120 vehicles, including cars and Eurovan-type vans. Hermosillo Airport also hosts cargo facilities and includes a dedicated general aviation terminal situated to the north of the passenger terminal. It supports various activities, such as tourism, flight training, executive aviation, and general aviation. The airport has obtained several certifications, including the Clean Industry certification from PROFEP, ISO-9000, and accessibility for users with special needs. Within its facilities, there is a water treatment plant that processes sewage water for reuse in garden irrigation and various construction processes, including dust control and earthwork.

Air Force Base No. 18 (Base Aérea Militar No. 18 Hermosillo, Sonora) (BAM-18) is a facility of the Mexican Air Force located at the Hermosillo Airport. It is the operational base for the 107th Air Squadron, which operates Cessna 182 and Pilatus PC-6 aircraft. Additionally, the 3rd Air Surveillance Squadron operates C-26 Metroliner and Embraer 145 AEW&C aircraft at these facilities, and the 204th Air Squadron operates Beechcraft T-6 Texan II aircraft. The base encompasses a 17500 m2 aviation platform, three hangars, and various accommodations for Air Force personnel.

title: Hermosillo International Airport


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Montlake Cut

The Montlake Cut is the easternmost section of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which passes through the city of Seattle, linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound. It opened in 1916 after 56 years of conversation and construction to create the manmade canal.

The path along the cut was designated a National Recreation Trail as Montlake Cut National Waterside in 1971.

The cut provides a connection between Union Bay, part of Lake Washington, to the east and Portage Bay, an arm of Lake Union, to the west. It is spanned by the Montlake Bridge, a bascule drawbridge carrying Montlake Boulevard (State Route 513). Most of the land on the north shore of the cut is occupied by the University of Washington, its medical school to the west and its stadium parking lot to the east; residences and a recreational trail occupy the south bank, which is part of the Montlake neighborhood.

Before the creation of the Montlake Cut, the land was regularly used by the Duwamish tribe and the holds important history within the tribe, that is commonly overlooked.

History
Before the construction of the Montlake Cut, it was known by the Duwamish as "Carry a Canoe" (Lushootseed: sxWátSadweehL). Indigenous people had been portaging between the lakes for centuries, either carrying canoes or shoving them along an intermittent creek that appeared when Lake Washington overflowed. This creek was known as the black river and was a large source of food and transportation for the Duwamish tribe. The black river often flooded and destroyed the crops nearby; however, it was clear that its use for transportation was very advantageous. This utility sparked inspiration to create a larger-scale version of the black river that would link Lake Washington and Lake Union with Puget Sound, an idea that would benefit King County economically, allowing it to become a large shipping harbor.

Local landowners began digging a canal on their land, following the trail that the Duwamish tribe had created between the two lakes. However in 1903, after 30 years of discussion, it was decided by the Army Corps of Engineers that this plan would not be feasible because there would be a need for two locks to maintain the height of Lake Washington and Lake Union.

Ten years later, Major C. W. Kutz of the Army Corps of Engineers wished to move forward with the plan but with only one lock in Ballard. This resulted in great upset and lawsuits over the lowering of Lake Washington that would result from the excavation of the cut. On October 26, 1910, Kutz sent his assistant to set off dynamite at the head of the cut, forcing Lake Washington to be lowered. The Montlake Cut's original name was Erickson Cut. Contractor C. J. Erickson commenced the big project in turning on his big steam shovel in celebration of the October 27, 1909, post A-Y-P Exposition era, in the final push to complete the Lake Washington Canal project. At the ceremony were Judge Roger S. Greene, Judge Thomas Burke, J. S. Brace and John H. McGraw, who turned the first shovel of dirt that day.

Environmental impact
The creation of the cut lowered the water level of Lake Washington by 8.8 feet, drained the wetlands around the lake, and lowered the lake below the outflow at the Black River, leaving the Black River dry.

The effects on the water level of Lake Washington also resulted in a great reduction of the salmon population in the lake. The Black River gave the Duwamish people salmon, which was an important part of their diet and a major part of their spirituality.

Although the ecosystem of the Montlake Cut has since recovered, the damages were major at the time.

Present day
The industrial uses of the Montlake Cut have since decreased, and it is now primarily used for leisure boating and recreational uses. The cut is a popular location of recreational swimming and sunbathing for University of Washington students during the spring and summer.

The cut is home to the University of Washington rowing team, serving as the final 500 meters of the 2,000-meter racecourse.

It is the site of the annual Windermere Cup crew regatta and the Seattle Yacht Club's Opening Day Boat Parade, both of which take place on the first Saturday in May.

title: Montlake Cut


text:
History of the Peloponnesian War

The History of the Peloponnesian War is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens). It was written by Thucydides, an Athenian historian who also served as an Athenian general during the war. His account of the conflict is widely considered to be a classic and regarded as one of the earliest scholarly works of history. The History is divided into eight books.

Analyses of the History generally occur in one of two camps. On the one hand, some scholars such as J. B. Bury view the work as an objective and scientific piece of history. The judgment of Bury reflects this traditional interpretation of the History as "severe in its detachment, written from a purely intellectual point of view, unencumbered with platitudes and moral judgments, cold and critical."

On the other hand, in keeping with more recent interpretations that are associated with reader-response criticism, the History can be read as a piece of literature rather than an objective record of the historical events. This view is embodied in the words of W. R. Connor, who describes Thucydides as "an artist who responds to, selects and skillfully arranges his material, and develops its symbolic and emotional potential."

Historical method
Thucydides is considered to be one of the key figures in the development of Western history, thus making his methodology the subject of much analysis in the area of historiography.

Chronology
Thucydides is one of the first western historians to employ a strict standard of chronology, recording events by year, with each year consisting of the summer campaign season and a less active winter season. This method contrasts sharply with Herodotus.

Speeches
Thucydides also makes extensive use of speeches in order to elaborate on the event in question. While the inclusion of long first-person speeches is somewhat alien to modern historical method, in the context of ancient Greek oral culture, speeches are expected. These include addresses given to troops by their generals before battles and numerous political speeches, both by Athenian and Spartan leaders, as well as debates between various parties. Of the speeches, the most famous is the funeral oration of Pericles, which is found in Book Two. Being an Athenian general in the war, Thucydides heard some of these speeches himself. For the other speeches, he relied on eyewitness accounts.

These speeches are suspect in the eyes of Classicists, however, inasmuch as it is not clear to what degree Thucydides altered these speeches in order to elucidate better the crux of the argument presented. Some of the speeches are probably fabricated according to his expectations of, as he puts it, "what was called for in each situation" (1.22.1).

Neutrality
Despite being an Athenian and a participant in the conflict, Thucydides is often regarded as having written a generally unbiased account of the conflict with respect to the sides involved in it. In the introduction to the piece he states, "my work is not a piece of writing designed to meet the taste of an immediate public, but was done to last for ever" (1.22.4).

There are scholars, however, who doubt this. Ernst Badian, for example, has argued that Thucydides has a strong pro-Athenian bias. In keeping with this sort of doubt, other scholars claim that Thucydides had an ulterior motive in his Histories, specifically to create an epic comparable to those of the past such as the works of Homer, and that this led him to create a nonobjective dualism favoring the Athenians. The work does display a clear bias against certain people involved in the conflict, such as Cleon.

Role of religion
The gods play no active role in Thucydides' work. This is very different from Herodotus, who frequently mentions the role of the gods, as well as a nearly ubiquitous divine presence in the centuries-earlier poems of Homer. Instead, Thucydides regards history as being caused by the choices and actions of human beings.

Despite the absence of actions of the gods, religion and piety play critical roles in the actions of the Spartans, and to a lesser degree, the Athenians. Thus natural occurrences such as earthquakes and eclipses were viewed as religiously significant (1.23.3; 7.50.4)

Rationalization of myth
Despite the absence of the gods from Thucydides' work, he still draws heavily from the Greek mythos, especially from Homer, whose works are prominent in Greek mythology. Thucydides references Homer frequently as a source of information, but always adds a distancing clause, such as "Homer shows this, if that is sufficient evidence," and "assuming we should trust Homer's poetry in this case too."

However, despite Thucydides' skepticism in secondhand information such as Homer's, he does use the poet's epics to infer facts about the Trojan War. For instance, while Thucydides considered the number of over 1,000 Greek ships sent to Troy to be a poetic exaggeration, he uses Homer's Catalogue of Ships to determine the approximate number of Greek soldiers who were present. Later, Thucydides claims that since Homer never makes reference to a united Greek state, the pre-Hellenic nations must have been so disjointed that they could not organize properly to launch an effective campaign. In fact, Thucydides claims that Troy could have been conquered in half the time had the Greek leaders allocated resources properly and not sent a large portion of the army on raids for supplies.

Thucydides makes sure to inform his reader that he, unlike Homer, is not a poet prone to exaggeration, but instead a historian, whose stories may not give "momentary pleasure," but "whose intended meaning will be challenged by the truth of the facts." By distancing himself from the storytelling practices of Homer, Thucydides makes it clear that while he does consider mythology and epics to be evidence, these works cannot be given much credibility, and that it takes an impartial and empirically minded historian, such as himself, to accurately portray the events of the past.

Subject matter of the History
The first book of the History, after a brief review of early Greek history and some programmatic historiographical commentary, seeks to explain why the Peloponnesian War broke out when it did and what its causes were. Except for a few short excursuses (notably 6.54–58 on the Tyrant Slayers), the remainder of the History (books 2 through 8) rigidly maintains its focus on the Peloponnesian War to the exclusion of other topics.

While the History concentrates on the military aspects of the Peloponnesian War, it uses these events as a medium to suggest several other themes closely related to the war. It specifically discusses in several passages the socially and culturally degenerative effects of war on humanity itself. The History is especially concerned with the lawlessness and atrocities committed by Greek citizens to each other in the name of one side or another in the war. Some events depicted in the History, such as the Melian dialogue, describe early instances of realpolitik or power politics. Noteworthy, there is a possibility that translation mistakes influenced the deductions of realists with regards to the work of Thucydides.

The History is preoccupied with the interplay of justice and power in political and military decision-making. Thucydides' presentation is decidedly ambivalent on this theme. While the History seems to suggest that considerations of justice are artificial and necessarily capitulate to power, it sometimes also shows a significant degree of empathy with those who suffer from the exigencies of the war.

For the most part, the History does not discuss topics such as the art and architecture of Greece.

Military technology
The History emphasizes the development of military technologies. In several passages (1.14.3, 2.75–76, 7.36.2–3), Thucydides describes in detail various innovations in the conduct of siegeworks or naval warfare. The History places great importance upon naval supremacy, arguing that a modern empire is impossible without a strong navy. He states that this is the result of the development of piracy and coastal settlements in earlier Greece.

Important in this regard was the development, at the beginning of the classical period (c. 500 BC), of the trireme, the supreme naval ship for the next several hundred years. In his emphasis on sea power, Thucydides is echoed by the modern naval theorist Alfred Thayer Mahan, whose influential work The Influence of Sea Power upon History helped set in motion the naval arms race prior to World War I.

Empire
The History explains that the primary cause of the Peloponnesian War was the "growth in power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Sparta" (1.23.6). Thucydides traces the development of Athenian power through the growth of the Athenian empire in the years 479 BC to 432 BC in book one of the History (1.89–118). The legitimacy of the empire is explored in several passages, notably in the speech at 1.73–78, where an anonymous Athenian legation defends the empire on the grounds that it was freely given to the Athenians and not taken by force. The subsequent expansion of the empire is defended by these Athenians, "...the nature of the case first compelled us to advance our empire to its present height; fear being our principal motive, though honor and interest came afterward." (1.75.3)

The Athenians also argue that, "We have done nothing extraordinary, nothing contrary to human nature in accepting an empire when it was offered to us and then in refusing to give it up." (1.76) They claim that anyone in their position would act in the same fashion. The Spartans represent a more traditional, circumspect, and less expansive power. Indeed, the Athenians are nearly destroyed by their greatest act of imperial overreach, the Sicilian expedition, described in books six and seven of the History.

Earth science
Thucydides correlates, in his description of the 426 BC Malian Gulf tsunami, for the first time in the recorded history of natural science, quakes and waves in terms of cause and effect.

Some difficulties of interpretation
Thucydides' History is extraordinarily dense and complex. His particular ancient Greek prose is also very challenging, grammatically, syntactically, and semantically. This has resulted in much scholarly disagreement on a cluster of issues of interpretation.

Strata of composition
It is commonly thought that Thucydides died while still working on the History, since it ends in mid-sentence and only goes up to 411 BC, leaving six years of war uncovered. Furthermore, there is a great deal of uncertainty whether he intended to revise the sections he had already written. Since there appear to be some contradictions between certain passages in the History, it has been proposed that the conflicting passages were written at different times and that Thucydides' opinion on the conflicting matter had changed. Those who argue that the History can be divided into various levels of composition are usually called "analysts" and those who argue that the passages must be made to reconcile with one another are called "unitarians". This conflict is called the "strata of composition" debate. The lack of progress in this debate over the course of the twentieth century has caused many Thucydidean scholars to declare the debate insoluble and to side-step the issue in their work.

Critical evaluations
The historian J. B. Bury writes that the work of Thucydides "marks the longest and most decisive step that has ever been taken by a single man towards making history what it is today.”

Historian H. D. Kitto feels that Thucydides wrote about the Peloponnesian War not because it was the most significant war in antiquity but because it caused the most suffering. Indeed, several passages of Thucydides' book are written "with an intensity of feeling hardly exceeded by Sappho herself."

In his Open Society and Its Enemies, Karl R. Popper writes that Thucydides was the "greatest historian, perhaps, who ever lived." Thucydides' work, however, Popper goes on to say, represents "an interpretation, a point of view; and in this we need not agree with him." In the war between Athenian democracy and the "arrested oligarchic tribalism of Sparta," we must never forget Thucydides' "involuntary bias," and that "his heart was not with Athens, his native city:""'Although he apparently did not belong to the extreme wing of the Athenian oligarchic clubs who conspired throughout the war with the enemy, he was certainly a member of the oligarchic party, and a friend neither of the Athenian people, the demos, who had exiled him, nor of its imperialist policy.'"

Influence
Thucydides' History has been enormously influential in both ancient and modern historiography. It was embraced by many of the author's contemporaries and immediate successors with enthusiasm; indeed, many authors sought to complete the unfinished history. For example, Xenophon wrote his Hellenica as a continuation of Thucydides' work, beginning at the exact moment that Thucydides' History leaves off. In later antiquity, Thucydides' reputation suffered somewhat, with critics such as Dionysius of Halicarnassus rejecting the History as turgid and excessively austere. Lucian also parodies it (among others) in his satire The True Histories. Woodrow Wilson read the History on his voyage across the Atlantic to the Versailles Peace Conference.

In the 17th century, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (who himself translated the work) wrote about Thucydides as follows:

"It hath been noted by divers, that Homer in poesy, Aristotle in philosophy, Demosthenes in eloquence, and others of the ancients in other knowledge, do still maintain their primacy: none of them exceeded, some not approached, by any in these later ages. And in the number of these is justly ranked also our Thucydides; a workman no less perfect in his work, than any of the former; and in whom (I believe with many others) the faculty of writing history is at the highest."

Manuscripts
The most important manuscripts include: Codex Parisinus suppl. Gr. 255, Codex Vaticanus 126, Codex Laurentianus LXIX.2, Codex Palatinus 252, Codex Monacensis 430, Codex Monacensis 228, and Codex Britannicus II, 727.

Grenfell and Hunt discovered about 20 papyrus fragments copied some time between the 1st and 6th centuries AD in Oxyrhynchus, including Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 16 and 17.

Outline of the work

 * Book 1
 * The state of Greece from the earliest times to the commencement of the Peloponnesian War, also known as the Archaeology. 1.1–1.19.
 * Methodological excursus. 1.20–1.23
 * Causes of the war (433–432 BC) 1.24–1.66
 * The Affair of Epidamnus. 1.24–1.55
 * The Affair of Potidaea. 1.56–1.66
 * Congress of the Peloponnesian League at Lacedaemon. 1.67–1.88
 * The Speech of the Corinthians. 1.68–1.71
 * The Speech of the Athenian envoys. 1.73–1.78
 * The Speech of Archidamus. 1.80–1.85
 * The Speech of Sthenelaidas. 1.86
 * From the end of the Persian War to the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, also known as the Pentecontaetia. 1.89–1.117
 * The progress from supremacy to empire.
 * Second congress at Lacedaemon and the Corinthian Speech. 1.119–1.125
 * Diplomatic maneuvering. 1.126–1.139
 * Excursus on Cylon. 1.126–1.127
 * Excursus on Pausanias and Themistocles. 1.128–1.138
 * Pericles' first speech. 1.140–1.145
 * Book 2 (431–428 BC)
 * War begins with Thebes' attempt to subvert Plataea. 2.1–2.6
 * Account of the mobilization of and list of the allies of the two combatants. 2.7–2.9
 * First invasion of Attica. 2.10–2.23
 * Archidamus leads the Peloponnesian army into Attica. 2.10–2.12
 * Athenian preparations and abandonment of the countryside. 2.13–2.14
 * Excursus on Athenian synoikism. 2.15–2.16
 * Difficult conditions in Athens for refugees from countryside. 2.17
 * Archidamus ravages Oenoe and Acharnai. 2.18–2.20
 * Athenian fury and anger at Pericles. 2.21–2.22
 * Athenian naval counterattacks along coast of Peloponnese and islands. 2.23–2.32
 * Pericles' Funeral Oration. 2.34–2.46
 * The plague of Athens. 2.47–2.54
 * Second invasion of Attica and Athenian naval counterattacks. 2.55–2.58
 * Pericles' third speech, defending his position and policy. 2.59–2.64
 * Thucydides' estimate of Pericles' qualities and the causes for Athens' eventual defeat. 2.65
 * Diplomacy and skirmishes in Thrace, the islands, and the Northeast. 2.66–2.69
 * Fall of Potidaea. 2.70
 * Investment of Plataea. 2.71–2.78
 * Naval victories of Phormio in the Northeast. 2.80–2.92
 * Threat of raid on the Piraeus. 2.93–2.94
 * Thracian campaign in Macedonia under Sitalces. 2.95–2.101
 * Book 3 (428–425 BC)
 * Annual invasion of Attica. 3.1
 * Revolt of Mytilene. 3.2–3.50
 * Speech of Mytilenian envoys to Sparta at Olympia, asking for help. 3.9–3.14
 * Sparta accepts Lesbos as an ally and prepares to counter the Athenians. 3.15
 * Mytilene surrenders to Athens despite Spartan support. 3.28
 * Mytilenian Debate. 3.37–3.50
 * Fall of Plataea. 3.20–3.24, 3.52–68
 * Some Plataeans escape. 3.20–3.24.
 * Plataea surrenders. 3.52.
 * Trial and execution of the Plataeans. 3.53–3.68.
 * Speech of Plataeans, 3.53–3.59
 * Speech of the Thebans. 3.61–3.67
 * Revolution at Corcyra. 3.70–3.85
 * Thucydides' account of the evils of civil strife. 3.82–3.84
 * Athenian campaigns in Sicily. 3.86, 3.90, 3.99, 3.103, 3.115–3.116
 * Tsunami and inquiry into its causes 3.89.2–5
 * Campaigns of Demosthenes in western Greece. 3.94–3.98, 3.100–3.102, 3.105–3.114
 * Spartans establish Heraclea in Trachis. 3.92–3.93
 * Athenians purify Delos. 3.104
 * Book 4 (425–423 BC)
 * Annual invasion of Attica. 4.2
 * Athenians en route to Sicily occupy Pylos in the Peloponnese. 4.2–4.6
 * King Agis of Sparta cuts short the invasion of Attica to return to the Peloponnese. 4.6
 * Concerted Spartan attack on the Athenian fort at Pylos. 4.8–4.15
 * The Athenian general Demosthenes coordinates the defense of Pylos and rouses the troops with a speech. 4.9–4.10
 * The Spartan commander Brasidas distinguishes himself for bravery. 4.11–4.12
 * The Athenians defeat the Spartan assault on Pylos and cut off a garrison of Spartiates on the adjacent island of Sphacteria. 4.13–4.14
 * The Spartans, concerned for the men on the island, conclude an immediate armistice and send an embassy to Athens to negotiate peace. 4.13–4.22
 * The speech of the Spartan ambassadors offers to peace and alliance to Athens in exchange for the return of the men on Sphacteria. 4.17–4.20
 * The Athenian Cleon, speaking in the Assembly, encourages the Athenians to demand the return of the territories surrendered by Athens at the conclusion of the First Peloponnesian War. 4.21–4.22
 * Events in Sicily. 4.24–4.25
 * Siege of the Spartiates on Sphacteria continues without result. 4.26–4.27
 * Cleon takes command at Pylos. 4.27–4.29
 * Battle of Sphacteria results in the capture of all the Spartiates trapped there. 4.29–4.41
 * Nicias leads an Athenian attack on Corinth. 4.42–4.45
 * End of Corcyraean revolution. 4.46–4.48
 * Athenians capture Cythera, an island off the Peloponnese, and Thyrea, a town in the Peloponnese. Sparta is hemmed in on all sides and desperate. 4.53–4.57
 * Sicilian cities make peace in conference at Gela, frustrating Athenian designs on the island. 4.58–65
 * Speech of Hermocrates at Gela. 4.59–4.64
 * Athenian attack on Megara. 4.66–4.74
 * Capture of Nisaea. 4.69
 * Inconclusive engagements at Megara. 4.73
 * Megara eludes Athenian capture. 4.74
 * Invasion of Boeotia. 4.76, 4.89–4.101.2
 * Battle of Delium results in Athenian retreat into a temple, which the Boeotians attack and burn down. 4.90–4.100
 * Brasidas marches through Thessaly to Thrace and begins to cause Athenian subject cities to revolt. 4.78–4.88
 * Speech of Brasidas to the Acanthians. 4.85–4.87
 * Fall of Amphipolis to Brasidas. 4.102–4.108
 * Continued successes of Brasidas in Thrace. 4.111–4.135
 * Brasidas secures the revolt of the garrison of Torone. 4.110–4.116
 * One–year armistice between Athenians and Spartans. 4.117–4.118
 * Scione revolts from Athens to Brasidas. 4.120–4.123
 * Truce breaks down. 4.122–4.123.
 * Athenians retake Mende and besiege Scione. 4.129–4.131.
 * Book 5 (422–415 BC)
 * Death of Cleon and Brasidas. 5.10
 * Peace of Nicias. 5.13–5.24
 * Feeling against Sparta in the Peloponnese
 * League of the Mantineans, Eleans, Argives, and Athenians. 5.27–5.48
 * Battle of Mantinea and breaking up of the League. 5.63–5.81
 * The Melian Dialogue. 5.84–5.113
 * Fate of Melos. 5.116
 * Book 6 (415–414 BC)
 * The Sicilian Expedition. 6.8–6.52
 * Early history of Sicily. 6.1–6.6
 * Speeches of Nicias and Alcibiades. 6.8–6.26
 * Affair of the Hermae. 6.27–6.29, 6.53
 * Departure of the expedition to Sicily. 6.30–6.32
 * Speeches of Hermocrates and Athenagoras at Syracuse. 6.33–41
 * Arrival of Athenians in Sicily. 6.42–52
 * Digression on Harmodius and Aristogiton. 6.53–6.58
 * Recall and flight of Alcibiades. 6.60–6.61
 * Athenian victory at Syracuse. 6.62–6.71
 * Debate between Hermocrates and Euphemus at Camarina. 6.72–6.88
 * Alcibiades at Sparta. 6.88–6.93
 * Athenian victories at Syracuse. 6.94–103
 * Spartans dispatch Gylippus to Sicily and clash with Athens at Argos. 6.104–105
 * Book 7 (414–413 BC)
 * Arrival of Gylippus at Syracuse. 7.1–7.3
 * Fortification of Decelea. 7.19–7.30
 * Successes of the Syracusans.
 * Arrival of Demosthenes
 * Defeat of the Athenians at Epipolae. 7.42–7.59
 * Folly and obstinacy of Nicias
 * Battles in the Great Harbour
 * Retreat and annihilation of the Athenian army. 7.72–7.87
 * Book 8 (413–411 BC)
 * Disbelief and despair in Athens. 8.1
 * Allies revolt. 8.2–4
 * Persians offer support to Sparta. 8.5
 * Isthmian Festival. 8.9
 * Alcamenes. 8.10
 * Alcibiades encourages Endius to revolt. 8.12
 * Alcibiades encourages Chios to revolt. 8.14
 * Athens reverses law on reserve funds. 8.15
 * Sparta and Persian alliance. 8.18
 * Chians encourage revolt. 8.19
 * Samos commons overthrow upper classes. 8.21
 * Chians and Spartans v Athens and Argos; Ionians defeat Dorians. 8.25
 * Hermocrates prepares “finishing blow” to Athens, Alcibiades in Teichiussa. 8.26
 * Phrynichus = a “man of sense” retreats. 8.27
 * Tissaphernes distributes pay to Spartans. 8.29
 * The Spartan treaty with Persia. 8.37
 * Conflict between Pedaitus and Astyochus. 8.39
 * Slaves desert Chios. 8.40
 * Lichas tries to renegotiate treaty with Persia. The Spartans give not liberty but a “Median master” to the Greeks. 8.43
 * Rhodes revolts. 8.44
 * Astyochus is ordered to kill Alcibiades, who flees from Sparta to Tissaphernes. 8.45
 * Alcibiades advises Tissaphernes to let Athens and Sparta wear each other out. 8.46
 * Alcibiades plots his return to Athens. 8.47–8.48
 * Pissander to pave way for Alcibiades’ return. 8.49
 * Alcibiades betrays Phrynichus. 8.50
 * Phrynichus fortifies Samos. 8.51
 * Alcibiades encourages Tissaphernes to befriend Athens. 8.52
 * Pisander in Athens proposes deal: alliance with Persia, end of democracy, return of Alcibiades. 8.53–8.54
 * Athens defeats Chians, Pedaritus. 8.55
 * Alcibiades’ plans w/ Tissaphernes unravel. 8.56
 * Tissaphernes resolves to keep both sides equal, pays Sparta. 8.57
 * another treaty bet Persia and Sparta. 8.58–8.59
 * Pisander est. oligarchy in Athens, confusion in Samos. 8.63
 * Oligarchy in Athens, popular leaders are killed. “government of the 5,000.” 8.65
 * Oligarchy triumphant. 8.65
 * Popular party suspicious of each other. 8.66
 * Commissioners to frame a new constitution = tyranny of the four hundred. 8.67
 * Pisander, Phrynichus, Theramenes = leaders of the oligarchy. 8.68
 * The 400 with daggers dismiss the council (Boule) . 8.69
 * Oligarchs offer to make peace with Sparta. 8.70
 * Spartan forces move to Athens’ walls. Oligarchs again offer peace w/ Sparta. 8.71
 * Seamen at Samos reject oligarchy. 8.72
 * Turmoil at Samos, the Athenian crews est democracy, kill 30 oligarchs. 8.73
 * Exaggerated report at Samos of horrors at Athens. 8.74
 * Thrasybullus and Thrasyllus leaders of the democratic faction in Samos. 8.75
 * The army replaces oligarchy in Samos, Alcibiades promises alliance with Persia. 8.76
 * Debate in Samos. 8.77
 * Pelop soldiers anxious to fight, Astyochus unwilling to fight at sea. Tissaphernes fleet never arrives. 8.78
 * Athenians reinforced, Pelop unwilling to fight. 8.79
 * Revolt of Byzantium. 8.80
 * Alcibiades recalled, promises Persian aid. 8.81
 * Alcibiades elected general, “put all their affairs in his hands. 8.82
 * Tissaphernes fails to pay Spartan soldiers. 8.83
 * Pelop sailors threaten Astyochus, who is recalled and replaced by Mindarus. 8.84
 * Hermocrates is banished from Syracuse, he opposes Sparta’s alliance with Persia. 8.85
 * Alcibiades prevents Samian soldiers’ attack on Athens, calls for end to the 400. 8.86
 * Tissaphernes/Persia continues policy of letting Athens and Sparta wear each other out. 8.87
 * Alcibiades knew Tissaphernes would never send ships to support Sparta. 8.88
 * Oligarchs in Athens break ranks, Thermenes and Aristocrates fear Alcibiades power in Samos. 8.89
 * Phrynichus, Aristarchus, Pisander, and Antiphon most opposed to Democracy, again appeal to Sparta. Fortify the Piraeus. 8.90
 * The oligarchs’ plans. 8.91
 * The oligarchy collapses. 8.92
 * Oligarchs and soldiers meet on Acropolis and agree to reforms. 8.93
 * Pelop ships appear. 8.94
 * Pelop ships defeat Athenians, Euboea revolts. 8.95
 * Athens despairs. “Lacedaemonians proved the most convenient people in the world for the Athenians to be at war with.” 8.96
 * The 400 are deposed, the 5000 the “best government” in Thuc's lifetime. A “hoplite democracy,” no pay for public service (i.e. no thetes). 8.97
 * Pisander and Alexicles withdraw to Decelea, Aristarchus takes barbarian archers to Oenoe. The oligarchy is over. 8.98
 * Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus victory at sea renews Athens’ hope. 8.103–8.106
 * Alcibiades returns. 8.108
 * Abrupt ending of the history. 8.109

Selected translations

 * Laurentius Valla, Treviso: J. Rubeus Vercellensis, 1483
 * Full text – Thomas Hobbes, 1628
 * William Smith, 1753
 * Johann David Heilmann, 1760
 * Full text – Richard Crawley, 1874
 * Full text – Benjamin Jowett, 1881
 * Full text – Benjamin Jowett, 1881 (archival copy)
 * Edgar C. Marchant, 1900
 * Charles Forster Smith, 1919–23 (Loeb)
 * Rex Warner, 1954
 * John H. Finley, Jr., 1963
 * Walter Blanco, 1998
 * Steven Lattimore, 1998
 * Bryn Mawr review of Lattimore's translation, which discusses the other major translations as well.
 * Martin Hammond
 * Jeremy Mynott, 2013

title: History of the Peloponnesian War


text:
Korowai people

The Korowai, also called the Kolufo, are the people who live in southeastern Papua in the Indonesian provinces of South Papua and Highland Papua. Specifically their tribal area is split by the borders of Boven Digoel Regency, Mappi Regency, Asmat Regency, and Yahukimo Regency. They number about 4000 to 4400 people.

According to The Daily Telegraph, "Until the late 1970s, when anthropologists embarked on a study of the tribe, the Korowai were unaware of the existence of any peoples other than themselves".

Language
The Korowai language belongs to the Awyu–Dumut family (southeastern Papua) and is part of the Trans–New Guinea phylum. A dictionary and grammar book have been produced by a Dutch missionary linguist.

Living
The majority of the Korowai clans live in tree houses on their isolated forested territory.

Since 1980 some have moved into the recently opened villages of Yaniruma at the Becking River banks (Kombai–Korowai area), Mu, and Mbasman (Korowai–Citak area). In 1987, a village was opened in Manggél, in Yafufla (1988), Mabül at the banks of the Eilanden River (1989), and Khaiflambolüp (1998).

The village absenteeism rate is still high, because of the relatively long distance between the settlements and the food (sago) resources.

The Korowai appear to now smoke tobacco but not to drink alcohol.

Economy
The Korowai are hunter-gatherers and horticulturalists who practice shifting cultivation. They have excellent hunting and fishing skills.

Information about Korowai trade patterns is scant. The Korowai have a few gender-specific activities, such as the preparation of sago and the performance of religious ceremonies in which only the male adults are involved.

Some Korowai have since the early 1990s generated moderate cash income by working with tour companies selling tours into the Korowai region. Within the tourist industry, opportunities are limited to hosting tour groups in villages for tourist-sponsored sago feasts, carrying luggage, and performing traditional displays.

Kinship
The patriclan is the central unit with respect to social, economic, and political organization. Kinship terminology follows the Omaha I pattern (Lounsbury), knowing a central opposition between cross and parallel relationships.

In Korowai society, the forms of institutional levirate and predominance of avuncular relationships are found, as well as a kind of affinal avoidance relationships. Marriage is exogamous and polygynous. Preference is given to a conjugal relationship with the (classificatory) mother's mother's brother's daughter.

Social life
Leadership structures are based on personal qualities of big men, rather than on institution. Interclan warfare occurs mainly because of witchcraft and sorcery-related conflicts.

Religious life
The Korowai universe is filled with a variety of spirits, some more personal of character than others. Reverence is paid especially to the red headed creator god Gimigi. The Korowai ascribe an important role in their daily lives of honoring their "One God" with one being used as the concept of a prime deity from whom all others either descend or to whom all others pay homage.

Once in a lifetime, a Korowai clan must organize a sago grub festival in order to stimulate prosperity and fertility in a ritual fashion. In times of trouble they sacrifice domesticated pigs to the spirits of the ancestors.

The Korowai have an extraordinary and rich oral tradition: myths, folktales, (magical) sayings and charms, and totem traditions. With respect to death and afterlife the Korowai believe in the existence of a reciprocal type of reincarnation: those who died can be sent back at any time to the land of the living, by their kinsmen in the land of the dead, in order to reincarnate in a newly born infant of their own clan.

Contact with Westerners
The first documented contact by Western scientists with members of a band of western Korowai (or eastern Citak) took place on 17–18 March 1974. The expedition was co-led by anthropologist Peter Van Arsdale (now at the University of Denver), geographer Robert Mitton, and community developer Mark (Dennis) Grundhoefer. Thirty men were encountered on the south bank of the Upper Eilanden River, approximately 12 miles east of its junction with the Kolff River and 10 miles north of the Becking River. A basic word list was generated and observations were recorded regarding such things as fire making techniques.

In the late 1970s, a few Christian (Dutch Protestant) missionaries began to live among the Korowai. Dea Sudarman, an Indonesian anthropologist, made several documentary films on the Korowai for Japanese television in the 1980s. In 1993, a film crew documented an anthropological study in the Dayo village area by the Smithsonian Institution of Korowai treehouse construction and the practice of cannibalism as a form of criminal justice. This resulted in the film Lords of the Garden. In 1996 a local Christian community was established, the members of it mainly originating from the neighbouring Kombai people. For a long time the Korowai have been considered exceptionally resistant to religious conversion; however, by the end of the 1990s the first converts to Christianity were baptized. In the autumn of 2003, a small team of Bible translators from Wycliffe/SIL moved to Yaniruma.

In May 2006, tour-guide Paul Raffaele led an Australian 60 Minutes crew to report on the people. After a few days' filming, the crew were allegedly approached by a man who claimed his 6-year-old nephew Wa-Wa had been accused of being a khakua (witch doctor), and was in danger of being cannibalised. The 60 Minutes crew declined to offer assistance. Paul Raffaele approached the rival Seven Network, who agreed to send a Today Tonight crew to remove Wa-Wa from the area. Before being able to gain access to them, the crew were deported by Indonesian authorities at the Papuan capital of Jayapura over visa issues.

The 2007 BBC documentary First Contact, presented by Mark Anstice, features footage from his 1999 encounter with members of the Korowai people, and describes how they were disturbed upon seeing a "white ghost", whose presence indicated the end of the world was nigh.

In January–February 2011, the BBC documentary Human Planet commissioned the Korowai building of a treehouse 35m high.

In August 2019, the "Best Ever Food Review Show" channel on YouTube made contact with the Korowai people in which they ate various foods of the culture.

In the documentary My Year with the Tribe, a film team visits the Korowai area several times over a period of one year. The documentary reveals that an industry has developed around the supposedly traditional lives of many Korowai. Many locals take advantage of the Korowai's reputation for living a particularly original life in order to earn money. It is also reported that houses located at a particular high altitude have been financed by Western film crews.

Cannibalism claims
The Korowai have been reported to practice ritual cannibalism up to the present day. Anthropologists suspect that cannibalism is no longer practiced by the Korowai clans that have had frequent contact with outsiders. Recent reports suggest that certain clans have been coaxed into encouraging tourism by perpetuating the myth that cannibalism is still an active practice.

Architecture
The distinctive high stilt architecture of the Korowai houses, well above flood-water levels, is a form of defensive fortification – to disrupt rival clans from capturing people (especially women and children) for slavery or cannibalism. The height and girth of the common ironwood stilts also serves to protect the house from arson attacks in which huts are set alight and the inhabitants smoked out.

title: Korowai people


text:
Duxford

Duxford is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, about 10 mi south of Cambridge. It is part of the Hundred Parishes area.

History
The village formed on the banks of the River Cam, a little below its emergence from the hills of north Essex. One of the more populous settlements in its hundred, it was split into two ecclesiastical parishes in medieval times until they were united in 1834.

Originally known as Duxworth and listed as Dukeswrthe in the 10th century, and Dochesuuorde in the Domesday Book the village's name comes from "Worth (enclosure) of a man called Duc".

Churches
The village has two Grade I listed medieval parish churches, St John's Church and St Peter's Church. The two parishes were combined in 1874, services being held thereafter at St Peter's; St John's remained a chapel of ease and finally declared redundant. Still consecrated, it is now in the care of The Churches Conservation Trust. The churchyard has been cleared of headstones and is maintained by Duxford Parish Council. To the north of the village close to the Royston to Newmarket road lies Duxford Chapel, a 14th-century chantry chapel that was probably part of the Hospital of St John. St Peter's is part of a small group of churches along with St Mary Magdalene, Ickleton and St Mary & St John, Hinxton. They are known jointly as 'Hinkledux' and services are divided between the three parishes. St Peter's has a bell-ringing group and hosts a pre-school meet up for new parents known as Tiddlers. The current incumbent is Rev. Lydia Smith.

A Congregational chapel was built in the late 18th century and licensed in 1794, and at its peak in 1850 had a weekly congregation of 350. The chapel joined with other Congregational churches in uniting with the Presbyterian Church of England in 1972, and has been known as Duxford United Reformed Church since then. It is listed Grade II. The final service was held here was in June 2019 and it was sold for conversion to residences in 2021. It is now two separate residences, one of which is an Air BnB for short-term lets.

Airfield
Duxford gives its name to RAF Duxford (now called Duxford Aerodrome), a former Royal Air Force airfield that was used as a sector station during the Battle of Britain. Duxford Aerodrome was the home of Douglas Bader's Big Wing during that battle. Duxford airfield later became a fighter airfield for the United States Army Air Forces operating P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft. In 1972 the Ministry of Defence began to house historically important aircraft in the hangars, which in 1977 became the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

The airfield was used in the motion picture The Battle of Britain. During that production one of the hangars was blown up to simulate a Luftwaffe bombing raid. There are currently three all-weekend air shows a year which have good visibility from the village and it is common to see planes flying over the village, either leisure flights or in essential practice.

Village life
The village currently has two remaining pubs – The John Barleycorn and The Plough. Other former pubs and ale houses include The Wheatsheaf (which re-opened in 2018 as Graystones deli/cafe), the Three Horseshoes, first recorded in 1786, the King's Head which opened in the mid-19th century, the Flower Pot, located at the end of the old airfield runway on what is now Hunts Road, The Brewer's Arms on The Green, The Elms, long since disappeared in the 18th century and The Red Lion, now in the parish of Whittlesford.

The village holds an annual Advent Market at St John's Church to raise funds which are then available for local projects which enhance the quality of life for residents. There is also an annual Soap Box Derby in September. Since it began in 2013 it has raised £74,150 for Cancer Research UK. There is a Duxford Women's Institute, a local drama group (DVD - Duxford Village Drama) and a bowls club. The National Garden Scheme sees several private gardens open to the public for one day a year including Robynet House and Duxford Mill. The local football team is Duxford United FC who play their home games on the recreation ground on Hunts Road. The Duxford Lawn Tennis Club has two courts on the same ground. The school is a Church of England Primary School in the Diocese of Ely which has a breakfast and after-school club (DX) and a playgroup on site.

In May 2019 the foundations of a new village community centre were dug and the finished building was opened to the public in May 2020. It is now a thriving hub hosting many village and private events, social groups and meetings. There is a vibrant café, Café 19, which attracts a faithful clientelle for their superb cakes, coffees and lunches. They also offer roast lunch on Sundays and a pie & pudding evening as well as themed events throughout the year.

A new public green space was opened in 2020 known as Brewery Field; its landscaping is still currently ongoing, including planting, sowing of chalk upland flowers and plants and public utility installations.

In late July 2020 a fire gutted the pre-school of Duxford School and the rebuilding is currently under construction (November 2022).

in 2022 a new history society for village began and is resident, once a month, at the Duxford Community Centre. Their New Year's Day history walk on 1 January 2023 attracted such a large crowd that it made local headline news.

The monthly parish magazine for the village, delivered free of charge to every household, is called The Duxford Chatterbox.

title: Duxford


text:
Fremont Cut

The Fremont Cut is a canal in Seattle, Washington, United States, that connects Lake Union to the east with Salmon Bay to the west. It is part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound, and is 5800 ft long and 270 ft wide. The center channel is 100 ft wide and 30 ft deep.

History
Work first began on the cut when the Lake Washington Improvement Company contracted in 1883 to dig out Ross Creek which at that time was Lake Union’s fresh water outlet to Salmon Bay. The total amount of material excavated was about 2 million cubic yards. Up until the Chittenden Locks were completed in 1917, the Fremont Cut’s eastern end near the Fremont Bridge was separated from Lake Union by a low wooden dam, a small wooden lock, and a spillway.

Environs
Named for the neighborhood lying just to the north, the cut is spanned by the Fremont Bridge, a bascule drawbridge that connects Fremont with Queen Anne to the south via Fremont Avenue North. South of the cut is the 456’ high Queen Anne Hill while to the east is the Aurora Bridge (officially the George Washington Memorial Bridge), a cantilever truss, suspension structure that carries old US 99 (Pacific Highway) over the west end of Lake Union. Various high tech companies are located just north of the cut in the Fremont area, notably Adobe Systems, Tableau Software and Google.

title: Fremont Cut


text:
Concordia Stingers

The Concordia Stingers are the athletic teams that represent Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They compete with other schools in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, and more specifically in Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ; French for "Quebec Student Sports Network"). The Stingers were established in 1974 when Sir George Williams University and Loyola College merged to form Concordia University and replaced the preceding Sir George Williams Georgians and Loyola Warriors.

The university has 10 varsity teams - football, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's rugby, wrestling, men's and women's hockey and men's and women's basketball.

Varsity teams

 * Football (M)
 * Basketball (M/W)
 * Hockey (M/W)
 * Rugby (M/W)
 * Soccer (M/W)
 * Wrestling (M/W)

Football
The Concordia Stingers football team is currently coached by Brad Collinson and plays home games at the Concordia Stadium. The Stingers appeared in one Vanier Cup national championship in 1998, but lost to the Saskatchewan Huskies. The Stingers won the Dunsmore Cup three times, but have lost each of the last five times they have appeared in the Quebec title game.

Basketball
The men's basketball team is coached by Rastko Popovic, and the women's basketball team by Tenicha Gittens. John Dore was a former coach.

Rugby
In November 2005, Concordia's rugby team came from behind to beat McGill 20–18 at the Percival Molson Stadium to take the men's rugby provincial championship—the school's first since 2001.

The women's rugby team is currently coached by Jocelyn Barrieau with Hughanna Gaw, Craig McDevitt, Craig Beemer, and Lia Hoyte as assistant coaches. In 2010, the Stingers won the Quebec conference and took home a silver medal from the CIS national championship. The women also advanced to nationals in 2009 and placed fourth. Also in 2009, Hughanna Gaw was named 2009 CIS Rookie of the Year. Several stingers played on the senior national fifteens and sevens team including Josée Lacasse, Micheline Green, Erin Dance, Natascha Wesch, Sheila Turner, Margaret Thompson, Sommer Christie, Bianca Farella, Alex Tessier, and Frédérique Rajotte.

Soccer
The men's and women’s soccer team is under the direction of former Canadian national team goalkeeper Greg Sutton.

Wrestling
Future Olympian Garry Kallos attended Concordia (Bachelor of Applied Science '80), and competed in the 95+ kilo weight class at the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union championships, winning a gold medal in 1978 and again in 1984. He was named to the Concordia University Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. Future Olympian Andy Borodow also competed for the school.

Club teams

 * Baseball
 * Curling
 * Cross-country running
 * Golf
 * Skiing

Baseball
The baseball club, which operates in the fall season under head coach Howie Schwartz, is composed of mostly elite and AA level players from summer leagues and competes at the club level against other schools in Quebec, Ontario and an array of schools from Atlantic Canada for a national championship in late October. The Cape Breton University Capers won in 2005 and Concordia did not make the playoffs. In 2007, the baseball team won their first conference championship in school history over the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees advancing to their first CIBA National Championships. They lost 2-0 in the championship final against the University of New Brunswick.

In 2008, they lost the Conference Title to the Collège Laflèche Dragons in a three-game series.

In 2009, the Concordia Stingers defeated the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in two straight games to win the CIBA Northern Conference and advance to the CIBA National Championships for the second time in three years. Despite dropping two of their round robin games, on the final day of the tournament, the team won three straight games to capture its first national championship. They defeated the OUA Champion Western University Mustangs 6-2 in the tie-breaker for Fourth Place. The Gee-Gees who were in the Nationals as a Wild Card and beat the Stingers for some revenge in the tournament's opening game, were the next victim, as The Stingers won 4-3 with a sixth and seventh inning comeback. In the Championship game, despite going down 1-0 early in the game the Stingers stormed back to win 12-2.

In 2010, the Stingers went 11-5 and finished second to the McGill University Redmen who were 13-3. The Stingers were 3-1 against the Redmen during the regular season. After dropping the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the Semis, the Maroon and Gold defeated McGill in three games in the Finals to capture their second straight Conference championship. At the Nationals in Windsor, Ontario, the Stingers bowed out in the semi-finals, losing to the Brock University Badgers.

In 2011, the Stingers went 13-3 and finished in first place. In the Semi Finals, the Stingers ousted the Redmen in three games after dropping the first game of the series to their fourth place rival. With the series win, The Stingers clinched a trip to their third consecutive CIBA National Championships, to be held in Moncton, New Brunswick. The Stingers failed in their bid to win a third straight conference title, losing in three games to the Carleton University Ravens.

Cross-country running
A cross-country running team was revived in 2004. The head coach is currently John Lofranco.

Promotions and Dance Team
The Spirit Team was established in 2005, serving as the university's first ever dance/cheer team, performing at football games.

Athletes of the Year
The Concordia Stingers Female Athlete of the Year is presented with the Sally Kemp Award. The Male Athlete of the Year is bestowed the honour of the Dr. J. Robert Brodrick Award.

title: Concordia Stingers


text:
UBC Thunderbirds

The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, and nationally in U Sports, winning 116 national titles. UBC has won an additional 20 national titles competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics against collegiate competition from the United States and 40 national titles in sports that compete in independent competitions.

Teams
Across 15 varsity sport disciplines, UBC fields 26 teams overall; notably, 15 of which compete in U Sports, six in the American collegiate NAIA, and five of which are independent of these governing organizations:

U Sports
 * Basketball (m/w)
 * Field Hockey (w)
 * Football (m)
 * Ice Hockey (m/w)
 * Rugby (w)
 * Soccer (m/w)
 * Swimming (m/w)
 * Volleyball (m/w)
 * Cross Country Running (m/w)

NAIA
 * Baseball (m)
 * Golf (m/w)
 * Softball (w)
 * Track & Field (m/w)

Independent
 * Rowing (m/w)
 * Rugby (m)
 * Rugby Sevens (w)
 * Field Hockey (m)

Football
The UBC Thunderbirds football team has won the CWUAA Hardy Trophy conference championship 16 times, which is third all-time among competing teams. On a national level, the team has won the Vanier Cup championship four times, in 1982, 1986, 1997 and, most recently, in 2015. The team has also lost three times in the title game, in 1978, 1987, and 2023. The Thunderbirds program has also yielded three Hec Crighton Trophy winners: Jordan Gagner in 1987; Mark Nohra in 1997; and, most recently, Billy Greene in 2011.

Baseball
In the summer of 1996, 30 years after the original UBC baseball program was disbanded due to budget cuts, Athletic Director Bob Phillip along with former professional Jim Murphy and community baseball coach Mark Hiscott provided funding for the present day Thunderbirds baseball. Hiscott recognized student Terry McKaig, a former collegiate player and national team member, as the one to take over the program as head coach. Since 1997, McKaig has been the driving force behind the T-Birds with support and funding from such major leaguers as Jeff Zimmerman and Ryan Dempster. In 2015, Chris Pritchett was named the new head coach of the baseball team and Terry moved up to the position of Director of Baseball.

The Thunderbirds compete in the United States as the only Canadian member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). In 2001, the program reached a new level as the New York Mets made Derran Watts the first ever Thunderbird to be drafted, when they selected him in the 12th round. Since then nine more Thunderbirds have been drafted including 2007 World Series starter Jeff Francis. T-bird baseball successes include their trip to the 2006 NAIA World Series

Men's ice hockey
Father David Bauer coached the Thunderbirds for two seasons, and led the team to a Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship in 1963, and reached the final game of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union men's ice hockey championship tournament for the CIAU University Cup, but lost by a 3–2 score to the McMaster Marauders.

Bob Hindmarch began coaching the men's ice hockey team during the 1964–65 season, and led them to the 1971 Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship. He accumulated a winning record in 11 of 12 seasons, and set UBC record with 214 wins by a coach in ice hockey. In December 1973, they became one of the first Western Bloc sports teams to tour China, and played a series of games focused on friendship and teaching hockey skills to local players. The trip was supported by the Government of Canada as part of a desire to normalize relations with China, and was not well-publicized at the time. The Thunderbirds won all seven games played by a combined scored of 56 to 5.

Men's rugby
Men's rugby is one of the oldest varsity sports at UBC (including the precursor to UBC, McGill University College of BC, varsity rugby started in 1906). The varsity XV now competes against the University of Victoria in a two-game, combined score series to claim the coveted "Boot". They also play a two-game, combined score series against the University of California for the "World Cup" trophy (a competition started in 1921). The varsity XV was coached for many years by Spence McTavish (former UBC varsity rugby captain, former Canadian rugby international and captain, and former Bobby Gaul award winner), and assistant coach Rod Holloway (former UBC varsity rugby scrumhalf, and former assistant coach of Canada's National Senior Men's team (RWC 1995).

The men's team is currently coached by Didier Banse.

UBC's rugby program has a long tradition of producing national team rugby players (7s and 15s), most recently Jim Douglas (RWC 2003), Mike Burak (RWC 2007), Chris Pack, Ryan MacWhinney, Justin Mensah-Coker, Tyler Hotson, Eric Wilson, Harry Jones (RWC 2015), Brock Staller and Ben LeSage.

U Sports does not currently contest a national championship for Men's Rugby, however UBC are five-time champions of the independent Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Men's soccer
The UBC Thunderbirds are the most successful men's soccer program in Canada, having won 13 U Sports championships, eight more than any other school in the country. They have also won 22 Canada West conference titles since competition started in 1972.

Notable players include Brian Budd, Pat Onstad, and Srdjan Djekanovic.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Thunderbirds played in the old Pacific Coast League, notably finishing as league runners up in 1967-68 and 1968-69.

Men's volleyball
The Thunderbirds men's volleyball team has won four U Sports men's volleyball championships and five conference championships. Kerry MacDonald took over the helm of the men's volleyball program starting with the 2016–17 season. In the following season, the Thunderbirds defeated the two-time defending champion Trinity Western Spartans in straight sets in the U Sports gold medal match on March 18, 2018 to win their first national title since 1983. MacDonald resigned after this season to take a position with Volley Canada and Mike Hawkins took over as head coach for the 2018–19 season.

Women's volleyball
The Thunderbirds women's volleyball team has been the most successful program in its sport, with 14 National Championship victories, most recently in 2024. The Thunderbirds have also won 16 conference titles with the most recent win occurring in 2014. The team has been led by head coach Doug Reimer since 2000 (and from 1994 to 1997) and he has accounted for ten of the program's championship wins. Notably, in the 2013 gold medal match, the Thunderbirds defeated the Alberta Pandas in straight sets to tie U Sports' all-time record—shared with the Winnipeg Wesmen (1983-1988) and Alberta Pandas (1995-2000) for holding the longest reign as a repeat champion in the sport with six consecutive wins (2008-2013). The program has also featured five Mary Lyons Award winners, with Liz Cordonier (2010), Shanice Marcelle (2011, 2013), Kyla Richey (2012), Lisa Barclay (2014), and Kiera Van Ryk (2019) each winning the award.

U Sports Championships
Women's Swimming (24)
 * 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1986, 1985

Men's Swimming (20)
 * 2023, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2012, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1965

Women's Field Hockey (19)
 * 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2001, 1999, 1998, 1990, 1983, 1982, 1980, 1978

Men's Soccer (13)
 * 2013, 2012, 2007, 2005, 1994, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1974

Women's Volleyball (14)
 * 2024, 2023, 2019, 2017, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 1978, 1977, 1974, 1973

Women's Soccer (8)
 * 2023, 2019, 2015, 2006, 2003, 2002, 1993, 1987

Women's Basketball (6)
 * 2008, 2006, 2004, 1974, 1973, 1972

Football (4)
 * 2015, 1997, 1986, 1982

Men's Volleyball (4)
 * 2018, 1983, 1976, 1967

Men's Basketball (2)
 * 1972, 1970

Men's Cross Country (2)
 * 2023, 1993

Women's Cross Country (1)
 * 2023

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Championships
Women's golf (7)
 * 2023, 2022, 2019, 2012, 2010, 2004, 2000

Women's cross country (5)
 * 2017, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2012

Women's track and field (3)
 * 2023, 2022, 2019

Men's track and field (2)
 * 2019, 2017

Men's golf (2)
 * 2023, 2008

Men's cross country (1)
 * 2017

Independent
Women's golf (16) - Canadian University/College Golf Championships
 * 2023, 2022, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003

Men's rowing (8) - Canadian University Rowing Association
 * 2023, 2022, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2005

Men's golf (7) - Canadian University/College Golf Championships
 * 2022, 2019, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2009, 2008

Men's rugby (5) - Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship
 * 2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017

Women's rowing (4) - Canadian University Rowing Association
 * 2021, 2019, 2018, 2004

Facilities

 * Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre (Ice Hockey)
 * John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse (Rowing)
 * Thunderbird Stadium (Football and Soccer)
 * Thunderbird Park (Field Hockey, Rugby, Soccer, Track & Field)
 * War Memorial Gymnasium (Basketball and Volleyball)
 * UBC Aquatics Centre (Swimming)
 * Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre (Rugby)
 * Tourmaline West Baseball Stadium and UBC Baseball Rose Indoor Training Centre (Baseball)

Fight song
UBC used to have a fight song "Hail UBC", written by Harold King in 1931. A pep song with the same name "Hail UBC", written by Steve Chatman, was adopted in 2011. The lyrics go:

''Hail to the Thunderbirds! Hail UBC!'' Thunder and lightning — Onward to victory! ''Hail to the Blue-and-Gold! Hail UBC!'' U, B, C forever — Onward to victory!

NCAA membership bid
In 2005, they applied to become members of the principal U.S. college sports governing body, the NCAA. They are not the first Canadian school to try to join the NCAA; in 2000, local rival Simon Fraser, then exclusively an NAIA member, sought to join the NCAA but was turned down. At the time, the NCAA's constitution prohibited non-U.S. schools from joining; however, some observers believed the real reason Simon Fraser was turned down was that the school sought to join as a Division II school, and the NCAA did not want to set a precedent with a lower-level school. UBC, on the other hand, was reportedly interested in joining Division I. UBC's athletic budget of approximately $4 million Canadian is dwarfed by those of schools in the Pac-12 Conference, the only BCS conference on the U.S. West Coast. However, at least two mid-major conferences with a West Coast presence, the West Coast Conference and Western Athletic Conference, had been suggested as possible future homes for the Thunderbirds.

The NCAA approved a change to its constitution on January 14, 2008 to allow Canadian schools to become members. Under a 10-year pilot program due to begin June 1, 2008, Canadian schools can join the NCAA as Division II members, and any school that meets the June 1 deadline for application can become a member as of the academic year immediately following the deadline. CIS has not officially indicated whether a school joining the NCAA under this program can retain its CIS membership. It was expected that both UBC and Simon Fraser would be among the first schools to apply for NCAA membership under this program. Simon Fraser did apply and was accepted, but in April 2009 UBC deferred a decision on applying.

Awards and honours
Since 1984, the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year Award is named in honour of Marilyn Pomfret. Before her death in April 2019, she had spent 23 years at UBC, supporting the increase in funding and intramurals for women. Having worked as a coach, Pomfret also served as the Director of Women's Athletics from 1963 to 1969, followed by a second stint from 1972 to 1986. In addition, she served in the role of president of the Women's Athletic Directorate, creating and organizing several women's sporting events. Prior to her administrative career, Pomfret was a student-athlete, arriving to UBC in 1951, participating in basketball and volleyball.

Athletes of the Year
The Thunderbirds Female Athlete of the Year is awarded the Marilyn Pomfret Trophy. In recognition of the Male Athlete of the Year, the Bus Phillips Memorial Trophy is awarded.

Since 2010

Du Vivier Team of the Year
Since 2010
 * 2010: Women's Volleyball
 * 2011: Women's Volleyball and Women's Golf
 * 2012: Women's Swimming
 * 2013: Women's Ice Hockey
 * 2015: Women's Cross Country and Men's Swimming
 * 2016: Men's Football
 * 2017: Men's Rugby
 * 2019: Women's Volleyball
 * 2020: Women's Golf
 * 2021: Not Presented
 * 2022: Women's Rowing
 * 2023: Women's Golf and Women's Volleyball

Canada West Hall of Fame

 * UBC Thunderettes Women's Basketball Team (1969-75) - 2021 Inductee: Canada West Hall of Fame
 * Joanne Sargent - 2019 inductee: Canada West Hall of Fame

Sport BC Honours

 * Danielle Brisebois, Volleyball: 2018 Sport BC University Athlete of the Year
 * Deb Huband Coach, Basketball: 2018 Sport BC In Her Footsteps Honouree

title: UBC Thunderbirds