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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,469,808 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleExmoor is a National Park situated on the Bristol Channel coast of South West England. The park straddles two counties, with 71% in Somerset and 29% located in Devon. The total area of the park, which includes the Brendon Hills and the Vale of Porlock, covers 267 square miles (692 km²) of hilly open moorland, and includes 34 miles (55 km) of coast. It is primarily an upland area with a dispersed population living mainly in small villages and hamlets. The three largest settlements are Porlock and Dulverton, and the combined villages of Lynton and Lynmouth, connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, which together contain almost 40% of the National Park population. Prior to being a park, Exmoor was a Royal Forest and hunting ground, which was sold off in 1818. Exmoor was one of the first British National Parks, designated in 1954, under the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, and is named after its main river, the River Exe. Several areas of the moor have been declared a Site of Special Scientific interest due to the flora and fauna, which have some legal protection from development, damage, and neglect. In 1993 Exmoor was designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area. (more…)Recently featured: SS Christopher Columbus – The Power of Nightmares – Jay ChouArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:… that the sinking of the SS Königin Luise (pictured) was the first German naval loss of the First World War?… that in his 2005 book Race Against Time, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis claimed the spread of AIDS across Africa is partly due to a succession of disastrous economic policies promoted by international financial institutions?… that Prince Mihail Sturdza accepted 33 of 35 demands made by the leaders of the Moldavian Revolution of 1848, and when the leaders stood firm proceeded to crush the revolution?… that Washington’s Union Station was turned into the short-lived National Visitor Center in 1976, but so few tourists used it that it closed two years later?… that the Quatama Station light rail stop in Hillsboro, Oregon, includes a piece of art based on an arrangement created by a Japanese Macaque at the Oregon National Primate Research Center?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsIndia’s United Progressive Alliance-led government (Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pictured) survives a confidence vote, held after the Left Front withdrew its support over the Indo-US nuclear deal.The first trial of a Guantanamo Bay detention camp inmate begins with Salim Hamdan, the former driver and bodyguard of Osama bin Laden, pleading not guilty.Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić is arrested by security forces in Serbia on war crimes charges, including genocide, after a 12-year manhunt.Hurricane Dolly, currently in Texas, kills at least 17 in Guatemala.Zimbabwe introduces a new 100-billion-dollar bank note as the annual inflation rate hits 2.2 million percent.Ram Baran Yadav of the Nepali Congress party wins Nepal’s presidential election, defeating Ram Raja Prasad Singh of the Communist Party (Maoist).Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…July 24: Pioneer Day in Utah; Simón Bolívar Day in Ecuador and Venezuela1148 – Second Crusade: The Crusaders began the Siege of Damascus, but were decisively defeated by the Saracens a few days later.1847 – After 17 months of travel, Brigham Young led the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley of Utah, at the time a part of Mexico.1911 – In the Peruvian Andes, American explorer Hiram Bingham re-discovered Machu Picchu (pictured), then thought to be the “Lost City of the Incas”.1923 – The Treaty of Lausanne was signed to settle the Anatolian part of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, establishing the boundaries of modern Turkey.1943 – World War II: RAF Bomber Command began Operation Gomorrah, the strategic bombing of Hamburg, Germany, eventually killing at least 50,000 and leaving over a million others homeless.More events: July 23 – July 24 – July 25Archive – By email – More anniversaries…It is now 04:08, July 24, 2008 (UTC) – Refresh this pageToday’s featured pictureA 1917 recruitment poster for women to join the United States Navy. In March 1917, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels realized that the Naval Reserve Act of 1916 used the word “yeoman” instead of “man” or “male”, and allowed for the induction of “all persons who may be capable of performing special useful service for coastal defense.” He began enlisting females as Yeoman (F), and in less than a month the Navy officially swore in Loretta Perfectus Walsh, the first female sailor in U.S. history. At the time they were popularly referred to as “yeomanettes” or even “yeowomen”.Artist: Howard Chandler ChristyRecently featured: J’accuse – Spinning wheel – WelderArchive – More featured pictures…