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The Wikipedia article of the day for October 11, 2020 is Jerome, Arizona . Jerome is a town in the Black Hills of Yavapai County in the U.S. state of Arizona. Founded in the late 19th century on Cleopatra Hill overlooking the Verde Valley, it is about 100 miles (160 km) north of Phoenix along State Route 89A between Sedona and Prescott. Supported in its heyday by mines, it was home to more than 10,000 people in the 1920s. The town owes its existence mainly to two ore bodies that formed about 1.75 billion years ago. In the late 19th century, the United Verde Mine, developed by William A. Clark, extracted ore bearing copper, gold, silver, and other metals from the larger of the two deposits. The United Verde Extension UVX Mine, owned by James Douglas Jr., worked the smaller one. The copper deposits discovered in the vicinity of Jerome were among the richest ever found. As the ore deposits ran out, the mines closed, and the population had dwindled to fewer than 100 by the mid-1950s. Jero

A bouquet of poppies (Papaver orientale). Learn more .

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 10, 2020 is Battle of Cape Ecnomus . The Battle of Cape Ecnomus was a naval battle fought off the coast of Sicily in 256 BC between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic during the First Punic War (264–241 BC). The Carthaginian fleet was commanded by Hanno the Great and Hamilcar; the Roman fleet was led by the consuls for the year, Marcus Atilius Regulus and Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus. The Roman fleet of 330 warships sailed with approximately 140,000 men on board. The Romans' plan was to cross to Africa and invade the Carthaginian homeland, in what is now Tunisia. The Carthaginians were apparently aware of the Romans' intentions and mustered 350 warships off the south coast of Sicily to intercept them. With a combined total of about 680 warships carrying up to 290,000 crew and marines, the battle was possibly the largest naval battle in history by the number of combatants involved. After a prolonged and confused day of figh

A male Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus chrysippus) butterfly near Kumarakom, Kerala, India. Known in Africa as the African Monarch, it is one of the first butterflies depicted in art: a representation was found in a 3500-year-old tomb in Luxor, Egypt.. Learn more .

Panoramic view of the city of Puno next to the Lake Titicaca, in the Peruvian Andes, not far from Bolivia. Puno is the capital city of the Puno Province and has a population of approx. 150,000. It was established in 1668 by the Spanish nobleman and viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro. The lake is, by volume of water, the largest in South America and, with a surface elevation of 3,812 metres (12,507 ft), is considered the highest navigable lake in the world. The lake has a maximum length of 190 kilometres (120 mi), a maximum width of 80 kilometres (50 mi), and a surface area of 8,372 square kilometres (3,232 sq mi). The water volume is 893 cubic kilometres (214 cu mi), with a maximum depth of 281 metres (922 ft) and an average depth of 107 metres (351 ft).. Learn more .

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 4, 2020 is Joseph A. Lopez . Joseph A. Lopez (October 4, 1779 – October 5, 1841) was a Mexican Catholic priest who became a prominent ally of Emperor Agustín de Iturbide. As a priest in Peribán, he tried to arrest the first leader of the Mexican War of Independence, Miguel Hidalgo. Unsuccessful, he fled and became acquainted with Ana María Huarte, the wife of the future emperor of Mexico, Agustín de Iturbide. As a result, he was sent to Madrid to act as Iturbide's attorney and political informant, before returning to Mexico as chaplain and educator of the imperial family. He fled with the exiled family to Europe in 1823, and then returned to Mexico. Following Iturbide's execution in 1824, Lopez fled with the family to Washington, D.C., where he became chaplain to the Georgetown Visitation Monastery, and became a Jesuit. In 1840, Lopez was named the acting president of Georgetown University, becoming the first Latin American presiden

Panoramic view of the Matanuska River near Palmer, Alaska, United States.. Learn more .

Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) burrowing into the sand.. Learn more .

The Wikipedia article of the day for September 26, 2020 is Banksia blechnifolia . Banksia blechnifolia is a species of flowering plant that was first described by Victorian state botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1864. Its leaves are reminiscent of the fern genus Blechnum. B. blechnifolia is one of several closely related species that grow as prostrate shrubs, with horizontal stems and thick, leathery upright leaves. The red-brown flower spikes are up to 20 centimetres (8 in) high and appear from September to November. As the spikes age, they turn grey and develop as many as 25 woody seed pods. Insects such as bees, wasps, ants and flies pollinate the flowers. Found in sandy soils in the south coastal region of Western Australia in the vicinity of Lake King, B. blechnifolia is non-lignotuberous, regenerating by seed after bushfire. The plant adapts readily to cultivation, growing in well-drained sandy soils in sunny locations. It is suitable for rockeries and as a groundcover.

Grey headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) skimming a pond in Brisbane's City Botanical Gardens.. Learn more .

The blossom of Ficaria verna. Taken in Mannheim in Käfertaler Forest, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Learn more .

The Wikipedia article of the day for September 21, 2020 is Bat . Bats, of the order Chiroptera, are the only mammals capable of sustained flight. Their wings, spread-out fingers covered by a thin membrane, make them more manoeuvrable than birds. Bats range in size from Kitti's hog-nosed bat, weighing 2–2.6 g (0.07–0.09 oz), to the giant golden-crowned flying fox, up to 1.6 kg (4 lb) with a wingspan of up to 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in). The second largest order of mammals after rodents, bats comprise about 20% of all mammal species, with over 1,200 species distributed across the world. Most bats are nocturnal. They are mostly insect- and fruit-eaters, but some are carnivorous, such as vampire bats. Some are important for pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds; others consume insect pests, reducing the need for pesticides. Bats harbour the agents of many communicable diseases, such as rabies and coronaviruses. They are often associated with darkness, malevolence, vampires, and death.

Silk textile artwork showing people at work, from the Khalili Collection of Japanese Art. Learn more .

Birch mushroom (Piptoporus betulinus) on the trunk of a birch.. Learn more .

The Wikipedia article of the day for September 7, 2020 is Flora of Madagascar . The flora of Madagascar consists of more than 12,000 species of vascular and non-vascular plants. Around 83 per cent of Madagascar's vascular plants are found only on the island. These include five entirely endemic plant families as well as most of the over 900 orchid species, the traveller's tree, the Madagascar periwinkle, six species of baobab (pictured) and around 200 species of palms. The high degree of endemism is due to Madagascar's long isolation following its separation from the African and Indian landmasses in the Mesozoic Era. Today, humid forests, including the lowland forests, are found on the eastern plateau. Much of the central highlands is grassland. In the west are dry forest and succulent woodland. Unique spiny thickets are in the southwest, and mangroves occur on the west coast. While 10 per cent of the land surface is protected, much of the native flora is threatened, especi

View of Benidorm, touristic capital of the Costa Blanca (literally White Coast) in the Land of Valencia, Spain. The shot was taken from the Cross of Benidorm, located on the summit of the Sierra Helada. Benidorm is a town with 73,000 inhabitants throughout the year, but with a peak of over half a million in the summer season. It is the town with the third greatest concentration of tall buildings in Europe, after London and Milan. Within Spain, Benidorm is positioned third, behind Barcelona and Madrid in the total number of skyscrapers, but nevertheless, Benidorm has the most high-rise buildings per capita in the world.. Learn more .

A male Adonis Blue Polyommatus bellargus butterfly on Yoesden Bank in Buckinghamshire. In Greek mythology, Adonis was a very handsome man.. Learn more .

Pier in Corfu, Greece. Learn more .

The Wikipedia article of the day for August 31, 2020 is New York State Route 175 . New York State Route 175 is a west–east state highway located in Onondaga County, New York, in the United States. The 15.46-mile (24.88 km) route begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 20 east of the village of Skaneateles. It heads towards the northeast as Lee Mulroy Road, traversing farmland. It then passes through the village of Marcellus before ending at a junction with U.S. Route 11 in Syracuse. Designated in the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, the highway brought about an increase in population and development along its route. The section of Route 175 from downtown Marcellus to New York State Route 173 in Onondaga was built along the historical Seneca Turnpike, which was established in 1800 and dissolved in 1852. At 157 miles (253 km), the turnpike was the longest in the state at the time and was instrumental in the development of the villages of Skaneateles and Marcellus.

A juvenile Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus in flight over Mount Carmel, Hai-Bar Nature Reserve in Israel. The brown feathers at the base of the neck show it is a young bird (adults have a white collar ruff); the lack of rings and tags at this time of year implies that this one has not yet been caught, ringed, and tagged by ornithologists.. Learn more .