Beluga Whales Awe Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2024 as Wild May

Summary: Beluga whales awe Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2024 as Wild May animals, as Arctic, near-Arctic American wildlife who awe the National Audubon Society.

"God talks to human beings through many vectors: through each other, through organized religion, through the great books of those religions, through wise people, through art and music and literature and poetry, but nowhere with such detail and grace and color and joy as through creation. When we destroy a species, when we destroy a special place, we're diminishing our capacity to sense the divine, understand who God is and what our own potential is." Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., April 19, 2023, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts.

“And there’s many people out there who want us to move to the next planet already and I’m like, hang on, let’s not give up on this planet yet," William, Prince of Wales, July 31, 2023, Sorted Food food truck, London, England, United Kingdom.

Climate change, global warming, habitat loss, ocean noise, pollution, predation by commercial and Marine Inuit hunters and strandings abbreviate the potential 25- to 30-year lifespans of photogenic beluga whales; image of "Front view of a beluga whale in captivity.": premier.gov.ru, CC BY 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Beluga whales awe Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2024 as Wild May animals, as Arctic, near-Arctic American wildlife who awe the National Audubon Society with their Canadian and Unitedstatesian, and sometimes Mexican, appearances.

The Animalia kingdom and the Chordata phylum (from Latin animal; and Greek χορδή, “guts” via Latin chorda, “[spinal] cord, string”) member breeds between February and May. The Mammalia class and the Artiodactyla order (from Latin mammal -ālis, “breast-pertaining”; and Greek ἄρτιος δάκτυλος, “even finger/toe”) member congenitally (from Latin congenitus, “innate”) can swim. The Cetacea infraorder and the Monodontidae family (from Greek κῆτος, “sea-monster” and Latin -acea, “-‘s”; Greek μόνος ὀδούς -ειδής, “single tooth-like”) member dominates self-feeding soon afterwards.

Delphinapterus leucas (from Greek δελφίς ἀ πτερόν λευκός, “dolphin without wing white”) evidence 4.5- to 5.1-foot (137- to 155-centimeter), 119- to 145-pound (54- to 66-kilogram) newborn-bodies.

Beluga whales abide off northernmost Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. They respectively abound in estuarine, marine and sometimes riverine habitats to molt, to plunge to 3,300-plus (1,000-plus-meter) depths and to try freshwater crustacean and fish prey. Their 8 to 10 teeth per jaw side accept as prey Arctic cod, capelin, herring, marine worms, octopus, salmon, squid and zooplankton; adaptation of Monday, Aug. 9, 2010, screenshot from NASA's World Wind 1.4 virtual globe of "Distribución Circumpolar de la Beluga: Poblaciones, Rango": Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Twelve- to 15-month gestations of physically and sexually mature 6- to 14-year-old female beluga whales furnish them single calves for 2-year nursing maximums every 3 years.

Beluga whales, gauged taxonomically by Peter Simon Pallas (Sep. 22, 1741-Sep. 8, 1811) in 1776, group into 2- to 10-member pods that group with other pods. Physically and sexually mature females and counterpart mature 7- to 15-year-old males rarely have their flukes or heads clear of water during their slow, surface-rolling swims. Aquatic mammals identified as belugas (from Russian белу́ха, “white whale”), melonheads for front-headed echolocation organs, sea canaries for vocal repertoire and white whales, ingest marine life.

Beluga whales, as wild May animals on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2024, journey year-round after Arctic, circumpolar, sub-Arctic fish, marine worm, octopus, shrimp and squid prey.

Newborn beluga whales accompany their mothers. Their 62.99-inch- (160-centimeter-) long, 176.37-pound (80-kilogram) bodies congenitally achieve deep dives and surface-rolling swims. They acquire deep-diving abilities, thanks to their absent dorsal (from Latin dorsum -ālis, "[the] back's") fin, through and under dense pack-ice crevices and lanes. They actualize 1.86-mile (3-kilometer) swimming rates, 13.67-mile (22-kilometer) hourly swimming maximums, 3- to 5-minute feeding dives; Friday, July 3, 2009, 13:05, image of "The beluga Aurora and her calf, Nala," Vancouver Aquarium, Stanley Park, northwestern Burrard Peninsula, downtown Vancouver, Lower Mainland region, British Columbia, western coastal Canada: Tony Fox, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Their white-headed white bodies keep beluga whales conspicuous off coastal, estuarine and riverine Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia and inconspicuous around small ice floes and whitecaps.

Relict populations live in the mixed waters of the Cook Inlet to southern Alaska and of the St. Lawrence Seaway that leads to the Great Lakes. Beluga whales move around deep, diveable trenches; open-water, coastal expanses; molt-friendly, shallow estuaries; polynyas (from Russian по́лый, “hollow”); rivers; and variously deep estuarine and marine waters. They navigate through and under dense ice-pack cracks and lanes and number among their dives 3,300-plus-foot (1,000-plus-meter) maximums even as their upper-sides net no dorsal fins.

Beluga whales occur as wild May animals on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2024 even as their Arctic, circumpolar, sub-Arctic occupancies occasion year-round operations over human-organized waters.

Beluga whales admit fusiform (from Latin fūsus -fōrma, "spindle shape") bodies with blunt snouts, constricted necks and forked tails. A bulbous, protruding echolocation bump adorns their foreheads even as their upper jaws advance even further outward in their profile; Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011, 09:29, image of skeleton of female St. Lawrence Estuary beluga whale, found dead stranded near Sainte-Flavie, eastern Quebec, on display at Station exploratoire du Saint-Laurent (St. Lawrence Exploration Centre), Rivière-du-Loup, southern shore St. Lawrence River, eastern Quebec, Eastern Canada: André-Philippe D. Picard (Silk666), CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Their population proves not at all problematic to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, whose population estimates put 100,000-plus beluga whales at least conservation concern.

Beluga whales quarter 13- to 16-foot- (3.9- to 4.9-meter-) long, 1,500- to 3,500-pound (700- to 1,600-kilogram) physically and sexually mature bodies of commercial and tribal usefulness. The Marine Inuit peoples of Nunavut Territory of northern Canada require beluga blubber, meat and skin even as commercial hunters render beluga whales to live-capture display. North American damming of northern rivers to support hydroelectric power substandardizes coastal, estuarine and riverine sites that simultaneously suffer climate change, global warming and industrial pollution.

Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2024 terms as wild May animals beluga whales, whom human- and nature-triggered threats thwart less than Monotondidae family co-member, unicorn horn-foreheaded narwhals.

Belugas and narwhals (Monodon monoceros) affirm sole membership in the Monodontidae (from Greek μόνος ὀδούς -ειδής, “single tooth-like”) family. That co-membership allows them to communicate clicks, knocks, trills and whistles and to mate. It allies globose, high foreheads; beakless, blunt snouts; non-fused cervical vertebrae, for flexible necks; rounded, short pectoral fins; and 50 to 51 vertebrae; "The White Whale, or Beluga. Delphinapterus catodon (L.) Gill. Outline by Henry W. Elliott, from Cast No. 12490, U.S. National Museum, obtained near Quebec, 1875," George Brown Goode, The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States, Section I Plates (1884), Plate 6: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Climate change, global warming, habitat loss, ocean noise, pollution, predation by commercial and Marine Inuit hunters and strandings abbreviate the potential 25- to 30-year lifespans of photogenic beluga whales; image of "Front view of a beluga whale in captivity.": premier.gov.ru, CC BY 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beluga_premier.gov.ru-3.jpeg

Beluga whales abide off northernmost Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. They respectively abound in estuarine, marine and sometimes riverine habitats to molt, to plunge to 3,300-plus (1,000-plus-meter) depths and to try freshwater crustacean and fish prey. Their 8 to 10 teeth per jaw side accept as prey Arctic cod, capelin, herring, marine worms, octopus, salmon, squid and zooplankton; adaptation of Monday, Aug. 9, 2010, screenshot from NASA's World Wind 1.4 virtual globe of "Distribución Circumpolar de la Beluga: Poblaciones, Rango": Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Territorio_Beluga.png

Newborn beluga whales accompany their mothers. Their 62.99-inch- (160-centimeter-) long, 176.37-pound (80-kilogram) bodies congenitally achieve deep dives and surface-rolling swims. They acquire deep-diving abilities, thanks to their absent dorsal (from Latin dorsum -ālis, "[the] back's") fin, through and under dense pack-ice crevices and lanes. They actualize 1.86-mile (3-kilometer) swimming rates, 13.67-mile (22-kilometer) hourly swimming maximums, 3- to 5-minute feeding dives; Friday, July 3, 2009, 13:05, image of "The beluga Aurora and her calf, Nala," Vancouver Aquarium, Stanley Park, northwestern Burrard Peninsula, downtown Vancouver, Lower Mainland region, British Columbia, western coastal Canada: Tony Fox, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aurora_and_baby_2_-_vancouver_aquarium.jpg

Beluga whales admit fusiform (from Latin fūsus -fōrma, "spindle shape") bodies with blunt snouts, constricted necks and forked tails. A bulbous, protruding echolocation bump adorns their foreheads even as their upper jaws advance even further outward in their profile; Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011, 09:29, image of skeleton of female St. Lawrence Estuary beluga whale, found dead stranded near Sainte-Flavie, eastern Quebec, on display at Station exploratoire du Saint-Laurent (St. Lawrence Exploration Centre), Rivière-du-Loup, southern shore St. Lawrence River, eastern Quebec, Eastern Canada: André-Philippe D. Picard (Silk666), CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Squelette_Delphinapterus_leucas_rdl.jpg

Belugas and narwhals (Monodon monoceros) affirm sole membership in the Monodontidae (from Greek μόνος ὀδούς -ειδής, “single tooth-like”) family. That co-membership allows them to communicate clicks, knocks, trills and whistles and to mate. It allies globose, high foreheads; beakless, blunt snouts; non-fused cervical vertebrae, for flexible necks; rounded, short pectoral fins; and 50 to 51 vertebrae; "The White Whale, or Beluga. Delphinapterus catodon (L.) Gill. Outline by Henry W. Elliott, from Cast No. 12490, U.S. National Museum, obtained near Quebec, 1875," George Brown Goode, The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States, Section I Plates (1884), Plate 6: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Narwhal_and_Beluga.jpg; Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/37522799; Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLib), Public Domain, via Flickr 2 https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/49909280236/; Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cu31924011943366/page/n36/mode/1up; via NOAA Rare Books @ https://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/rarebooks/fisheries/welcome.html (specific URL for Plates Part 1 @ docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/oceanheritage/SH221G591884-sec1platespt1.pdf; specific URL for Plates Part 2 @ docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/oceanheritage/SH221G591884-sec1platespt2.pdf

For further information:

Baicich, Paul J.; and Colin J. O. Harrison. 2005. "Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus)." Page 109. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Second edition. Princeton NJ; and Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England: Princeton University Press.

"Canaries and Unicorns." Pages 2345-2346. In: Encyclopedia of Mammals. Volume 16 Wha-Zeb. Tarrytown NY: Marshall Cavendish Corporation.

Forsyth, Adrian. 1999. "White Whale & Narwhal." Pages 280-285. Mammals of North America: Temperate and Arctic Regions. Buffalo NY: Firefly Books (US) Inc.

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 March 2024. "Baffin Bay Agrees as Wild March With Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2024." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/03/baffin-bay-agrees-as-wild-march-with.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 February 2024. "Tufted Puffins Add Wild February to Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2024." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/02/tufted-puffins-add-wild-february-to.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 30 December 2023. "Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 Assigns Snowy Owls to December Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/12/audubon-arctic-wall-calendar-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 December 2023. "Spectacled Eiders Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 December Birds." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/12/spectacled-eiders-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 November 2023. "Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 Adds Mount Katmai to Wild November." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/audubon-arctic-wall-calendar-2022-adds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 October 2023. "Caribou Abound as Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 October Animals." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/caribou-abound-as-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 October 2023. "Red-Necked Phalaropes, Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 October Birds." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/red-necked-phalaropes-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 September 2023. "Brown Bears Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 September Animals." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/brown-bears-are-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 September 2023. "Polar Bears Act as Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 September Animals." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/polar-bears-act-as-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 August 2023. "Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 Augurs King Eiders as August Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/audubon-arctic-wall-calendar-2022.html#google_vignette

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 August 2023. "Savannah Sparrows Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 August Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/savannah-sparrows-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 July 2023. "Kenai Peninsula Awes, As Wild July, Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/07/kenai-peninsula-awes-as-wild-july.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 June 2023. "Buff-Breasted Sandpipers, Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 June Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/06/buff-breasted-sandpipers-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 June 2023. "Rock Ptarmigans Act as June Birds on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/06/rock-ptarmigans-act-as-june-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 6 May 2023. "Moose Appear as May Animals on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/05/moose-appear-as-may-animals-on-audubon.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 April 2023. "Brooks Range Acts as Wild April on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/04/brooks-range-acts-as-wild-april-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 April 2023. "Arctic Terns Are April Birds on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/04/arctic-terns-are-april-birds-on-audubon.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 March 2023. "Western Sandpipers Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 March Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/03/western-sandpipers-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 March 2023. "Baffin Island Wolves Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 Wild March." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/03/baffin-island-wolves-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 February 2023. "Musk Ox, Muskox Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar February 2022 Animals." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/02/musk-ox-muskox-are-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 11 February 2023. "Red-Throated Loons Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 February Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/02/red-throated-loons-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 January 2023. "Mallard Ducks Aced Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 as January Birds." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/mallard-ducks-aced-audubon-arctic-wall.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 January 2023. "Red Foxes Are January Wildlife on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/red-foxes-are-january-wildlife-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 December 2022. "Dark-Eyed Juncos Are December Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/12/dark-eyed-juncos-are-december-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 November 2022. "Eared Grebes Are November Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/eared-grebes-are-november-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 October 2022. "Barred Owls Are October Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/barred-owls-are-october-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 September 2022. "Brown Pelicans Are September Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/brown-pelicans-are-september-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 7 August 2022. "Allen’s Hummingbirds Are August Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/08/allens-hummingbirds-are-august-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 30 July 2022. "Reddish Egrets Are July Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/07/reddish-egrets-are-july-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 June 2022. "American Oystercatchers Are June Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/06/american-oystercatchers-are-june-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 May 2022. "Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks Are May Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/05/rose-breasted-grosbeaks-are-may-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 April 2022. "Crested Caracaras Appear as April Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/04/crested-caracaras-appear-as-april-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 March 2022. "Cerulean Warblers Are March Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/03/cerulean-warblers-are-march-birds-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 February 2022. "Northern Bobwhites Are February Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/02/northern-bobwhites-are-february-birds.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/01/florida-scrub-jays-are-january-birds-on.html

Nowak, Ronald M. 1991. Monodontidae: Beluga and Narwhal. Pages 1008-1012. Walker's Mammals of the World. Fifth Edition. Volume II. Baltimore MD; and London, England UK: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Reeves, Randall. 2003. "Beluga Delphinapterus leucas." Page 90. In: Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Second Edition. Volume 15, Mammals IV. Edited by Michael Hutchins, Devra G. Kleiman, Valerius Geist and Melissa C. McDade. Farmington Hills MI: Gale Group.

Reeves, Randall R.; Brent S. Stewart; Phillip J. Clapham; and James A. Powell. 2002. Beluga and Narwhal. Pages 316-325. National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World. Chanticleer Press Edition. Borzoi Book. New York NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; and Toronto, Canada: Random House of Canada, Limited.

Three Named Craters and One Channel Overlap Gusev Crater's Rim on Mars

Summary: Three named craters and one channel overlap Gusev Crater's rim in the southeastern quadrant of the Martian southern hemisphere's Aeolis quadrangle.

Large ancient river channel Ma'adim Vallis (top left) flows over rim crater New Plymouth (top center at channel's west bank) into interior of Gusev Crater; topography data obtained by Mars Global Surveyor robotic space probe has been draped over by 2001 Mars Odyssey robotic spacecraft orbiter camera system's mosaic of daytime infrared images of Gusev Crater; mosaic area's southward-looking simulated view, covering approximately 180 kilometers (110 miles) on each side, is centered near minus 14 degrees south latitude, 175 degrees east longitude; image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University; Thursday, March 13, 2003: via NASA Science Mars Exploration

Downe, New Plymouth and Zutphen craters and Ma'adim Vallis occur as three named craters and one named channel that distinctively overlap Gusev Crater's rim in the southeastern quadrant of the Martian southern hemisphere's Aeolis quadrangle.

Gusev Crater is a large impact crater occupying the Aeolis quadrangle in the Martian southern hemisphere. The Aeolis quadrangle is designated as Mars Chart 23 (MC-23) by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in the agency's mapping of the Martian surface. Thirty quadrangles serve as pole-to-pole cartographic representations of Martian topography.

Gusev Crater is centered at minus 14.53 degrees south latitude, 175.52 degrees west longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The impact crater attains its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 13.20 degrees south and minus 15.86 degrees south, respectively. It achieves its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 176.91 degrees east and 174.15 degrees east, respectively. Gusev Crater's diameter spans 158.12 kilometers.

Gusev Crater has experienced significant morphological modification since its impactful formation, as described by planetary geologists David A. Crown, James W. Rice, Steven W. Ruff and Stephen P. Scheidt and senior research associate Frank C. Chuang in "Geologic Mapping of Gusev Crater, Mars: Gusev Rim and Floor Characteristics," presented at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and U.S. Geological Survey's 2021 Annual Meeting of Planetary Geologic Mappers (PGM), which was held virtually Monday, June 14, to Tuesday, June 15. Small impact craters have made extensive modifications to the southern and western portions of Gusev Crater's rim.

Also, the northern extent of outflow channel Ma'adim Vallis breached the impact crater's southern rim at the point already modified by Downs and New Plymouth craters and extended onto Gusev Crater's interior floor (page ROV 19-6), as delineated by planetary geologist Keith S. Milam and seven co-authors in "THEMIS characterization of the MER Gusev crater landing site," published in the December 2003 issue of Journal of Geophysical Research Planets JGR Planets. Additionally, large terrace deposits uniquely characterize Gusev Crater's eastern-southeastern rim (David A. Crown et al., "Geologic Mappling of Gusev Crater, Mars: Gusev Rim and Floor Characteristics").

Zutphen Crater occupies the most northwesterly position of the three named craters that have modified Gusev Crater's rim. A breach in the northwestern rim near Zutphen Crater marks the northern reach of a smooth plains unit, speckled with a moderate density of small craters, that has spread across the floor from the terminus of outflow channel Ma'adim Vallis (Keith S. Milam, et al., page ROV 19-6).

Zutphen Crater is centered at minus 13.85 degrees south latitude, 174.32 degrees east longitude. It limits its northernmost and southernmost latitudes to minus 13.53 degrees south and minus 14.18 degrees south, respectively. It confines its easternmost and westernmost longitudes to 174.65 degreees east and 173.99 degrees east, respectively. Zutphen Crater has a diameter of 38.29 kilometers.

Downe and New Plymouth craters are positioned to the distant southeast of Zutphen Crater. Downe's position of extending southwestward from southwestern New Plymouth qualifies it as the most southwesterly of Gusev Crater's three named rim craters.

Downe Crater is centered at minus 15.98 degrees south latitude, 175.78 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes are noted as minus 15.74 degrees south and minus 16.22 degrees south, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes are listed as 176.03 degrees east and 175.54 degrees east, respectively. Downe Crater's diameter measures 28.13 kilometers.

North Plymouth Crater is centered at minus 15.78 degrees south latitude, 175.87 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes are obtained at minus 15.51 degrees south and minus 16.04 degrees south, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes are secured at 176.15 degrees east and 175.60 degrees east, respectively. North Plymouth Crater has a diameter of 31.54 kilometers.

Ma'adim Vallis distinctively overlies Downe and North Plymouth craters at Gusev Crater's south-southeastern rim. The outflow channel traversed the two rim craters in its terminal journey northward to Gusev Crater's southern interior floor.

Ma'adim Vallis is centered at minus 21.98 degrees south latitude, 177.50 degrees east longitude. The channel invokes northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 15.61 degrees south and minus 28.15 degrees south. It affirms its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 178.38 degrees east and 175.65 degrees east, respectively. Ma'adim Vallis has a diameter, or length, of 913.11 kilometers.

The International Astronomical Union approved Downe, New Plymouth and Zutphen in 2003 as names for three craters on Gusev Crater's rim. The IAU's XXV (25th) General Assembly was held in 2003 from Saturday, July 12, to Saturday, July 26, in Sydney, Australia.

The craters' names observed the convention of naming "Small craters (approximately 50 km and smaller)" on Mars and Martian satellites after "Small towns and villages of the world with populations of approximately 100,000 or less." Downe, New Plymouth and Zutphen honor towns in England, the U.S. state of Idaho and the Netherlands, respectively. Downe in located in the London Borough of Bromley in South East England. New Plymouth is sited in Payette County, southwestern Idaho, in the northwestern United States. Zutphen is a city and municipality in Gelderland province, also known as Guelders, in the central-east Netherlands.

Detail from Aeolis, MC-23, shows Gusev Crater with Downe, New Plymouth and Zutphen as three named rim craters and northward-flowing Ma'adim Vallis traversing overlapped Downe and New Plymouth craters on Gusev's southern rim for dobouchement to Gusev's interior floor; Base image: THEMIS IR Day mosaic by USGS, ASU Margin image: THEMIS IR Global Mosac v11.6, ASU Colorized Topography: MOLA Elevation Model, GSFC Date of Last Nomenclature Update: Nov. 9, 2022: via IAU (International Astronomical Union) and USGS ASC (U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center)

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Large ancient river channel Ma'adim Vallis (top left) flows over rim crater New Plymouth (top center at channel's west bank) into interior of Gusev Crater; topography data obtained by Mars Global Surveyor robotic space probe has been draped over by 2001 Mars Odyssey robotic spacecraft orbiter camera system's mosaic of daytime infrared images of Gusev Crater; mosaic area's southward-looking simulated view, covering approximately 180 kilometers (110 miles) on each side, is centered near minus 14 degrees south latitude, 175 degrees east longitude; image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University; Thursday, March 13, 2003: via NASA Science Mars Exploration @ https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/7647/gusev-crater/

Detail from Aeolis, MC-23, shows Gusev Crater with Downe, New Plymouth and Zutphen as three named rim craters and northward-flowing Ma'adim Vallis traversing overlapped Downe and New Plymouth craters on Gusev's southern rim for dobouchement to Gusev's interior floor; Base image: THEMIS IR Day mosaic by USGS, ASU Margin image: THEMIS IR Global Mosac v11.6, ASU Colorized Topography: MOLA Elevation Model, GSFC Date of Last Nomenclature Update: Nov. 9, 2022: via IAU (International Astronomical Union) and USGS ASC (U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center) @ https://asc-planetarynames-data.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/mc23_2014.pdf

For further information:

The European Space Agency. "Craters, lava flows and tectonic features near Ma'adim Vallis." The European Space Agency > Science & Exploration. July 24, 2009.
Available via ESA (European Space Agency) @ https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Craters_lava_flows_and_tectonic_features_near_Ma_adim_Vallis

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Downe.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mars > Mars. Last updated Nov. 17, 2010 9:58 a.m.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/1634

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Gusev.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mars > Mars. Last updated Nov. 17, 2010 9:58 a.m.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/Gusev

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Ma'adim Vallis.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mars > Mars. Last updated Oct. 1, 2006 3:30 p.m.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3772

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “New Plymouth.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mars > Mars. Last updated Nov. 17, 2010 9:58 a.m.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4231

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Small craters (approximately 50 km and smaller). Small towns and villages of the world with populations of approximately 100,000 or less. This category is simply a large source of crater names. No commemoration of specific towns or villages is intended.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Documentation > Surface Feature Categories > Categories (Themes) for Naming Features on Planets and Satellites > Mars and Martian Satellites: Mars.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/Categories

International Astronomical Union (IAU) / U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. “Zutphen.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature > Nomenclature > Mars > Mars. Last updated Nov. 17, 2010 9:59 a.m.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/6768

Leverington, David W. "Incision of Ma’adim Vallis (Mars) by dry volcanic megafloods effused from multiple highland sources." Planetary and Space Science, vol. 1919 (Oct. 15, 2020): 105021.
Available via ScienceDirect @ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0032063320300064

Marriner, Derdriu. "Gusev Crater in Southern Mars Honors Russian Astronomer Matvey Gusev." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/04/gusev-crater-in-southern-mars-honors.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Martian Crater Galdakao Nudges Jagged Northeastern Rim of Gusev Crater." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, April 24, 2024.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/04/martian-crater-galdakao-nudges-jagged.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Three Named Craters Distinguish Central Floor in Gusev Crater on Mars." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/04/three-named-craters-distinguish-central.html

Milam, Keith A.; Karen R. Stockstill; Jeffrey E. Moersch; Harry Y. McSween Jr.; Livio L. Tornabene; Amitabha Ghosh; Michael B. Wyatt; and Phillip R. Christensen."THEMIS characterization of the MER Gusev crater landing site." JGR Planets Journal of Geophysical Research Planets, vol. 108, issue E12 (December 2003): 8078 (ROV 19-1 to ROV 19-24).
Available via Wiley Online Library @ https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/21699100

Platt, Jane, ed. "Gusev Crater." NASA Science Mars Exploration > Multimedia > Images.
Available via NASA Science Mars Exploration @ https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/7647/gusev-crater/

Platt, Jane, ed. "What's in a Name? It Depends on Who's Doing the Naming." NASA Science Mars Exploration > Mars Exploration Rovers MER > Spotlight. June 2, 2004.
Available via NASA Mars Exploration Rovers MER @ https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/spotlight/spirit/a24_20040602.html

El Niño Is May 4, 2024, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcast

Summary: El Niño is the May 4, 2024, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as 22nd of the 2023-2024 season's 27 Saturday matinee radio broadcasts.

American conductor Marion Alsop (born Oct. 16, 1956), who makes her Met Opera debut in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of John Adams's El Niño in the 2023-2024 season, is profiled in The Conductor by Austrian-born linguist, author and documentary filmmaker Bernadette Wegenstein (born 1969), which premiered at the 20th Tribeca Film Festival, held from Wednesday, June 9, to Sunday, June 21, 2021: Marion Alsop, via Facebook July 27, 202

Adams's El Niño is the May 4, 2024, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time as the 22nd of the 2023-2024 season's lineup of 27 Saturday matinee radio broadcasts.

El Niño by American composer John Adams (born Feb. 15, 1947) receives seven performances in the 2023-2024 season. The Metropolitan Opera premiere of the opera-oratorio took place Tuesday, April 23, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The second performance was held Saturday, April 27, at 8:00 p.m. The third through seventh, closing performances are scheduled for Wednesday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday matinee broadcast, May 4, at 1:00 p.m.; Wednesday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 11, at 8:00 p.m.; and Friday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m.

Marin Alsop conducts all seven performances, including the May 4 Saturday matinee radio broadcast. The American maestro's conductorship of El Niño's Metropolitan Opera premiere Tuesday, April 23, marked her Met Opera debut.

Julia Bullock appears in all seven performances as the opera-oratorio's soprano. The Americano soprano's appearance in El Niño's Metropolitan Opera premiere Tuesday, April 23, marked her Met Opera debut.

Daniela Mack appears as the opera-oratorio's mezzo-soprano in the third performance, Wednesday, May 1, and in the fourth performance's May 4 Saturday matinee radio broadcast.

Daniela Mack shares the role with J'Nai Bridges, who appears as the opera-oratorio's mezzo-soprano in El Niño's first, second and fifth through seventh, closing performances. The American mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Akhnaten by American composer Philip Glass (born Jan. 31, 1937).

Davóne Tines appears in all seven performances as the opera-oratorio's baritone. The American bass-baritone's appearance in in El Niño's Metropolitan Opera premiere Tuesday, April 23, marked his Met Opera debut.

Key'mon W. Murrah, Siman Chung and Eric Jurenas appear in all seven performances as the opera-oratorio's countertenor. American countertenor Key'mon W. Murrah and South Korean countertenor Siman Chung made their Met Opera debuts in El Niño's Metropolitan Opera premiere Tuesday, April 23. American countertenor Eric Jurenas had made his Met Opera debut as Guildenstern in the opera company's second performance of Hamlet by contemporary Australian composer, violist and conductor Brett Dean (born Oct. 23, 1961).

The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Adams's El Niño featured Lileana Blain-Cruz's new production of the opera-oratorio. The American director made her Met Opera debut in El Niño's Metropolitan Opera premiere Tuesday, April 23.

Lileana Blain-Cruz's production team comprises Adam Rigg, set designer; Montana Levi Blanco, costume designer; Yi Zhao, lighting designer; Hannah Wasileski, projection designer; Mark Grey, sound designer; and James Ortiz, puppet designer. Met Opera debuts alongside their director were made by New York-based set and costume designer Adam Rigg; Beijing-born and Berlin-based dance, music, opera and theater lighting designer Yi Zhao; Berlin- and Brooklyn-based American projection designer and visual artist Hannah Wasileski; and New York City-based designer, performer, playwright and director James Ortiz. American designer Montana Levi Blanco had made his Met Opera debut Monday, April 10, 2023, in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Champion by American jazz musician and composer Terence Blanchard (born March 13, 1962). Mark Grey's sound designs for the Monday, Oct. 13, 2008, Metropolitan Opera premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic qualified the American classical music composer, sound designer and sound engineer as the Metropolitan Opera's history-making first sound designer, according to his website (https://markgreycomposer.com/bio/).

Puccini's Madama Butterfly broadcasts May 11 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time as the 23rd of the 2023-2024 season's 27 Saturday matinee broadcasts. The 2023-2024 season's performances of Madama Butterfly mark the ninth revival of the new 2006-2007 production debuted Monday, Sep. 25, 2006, by British film director, playwright and screenwriter Anthony Minghella.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credit:

American conductor Marion Alsop (born Oct. 16, 1956), who makes her Met Opera debut in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of John Adams's El Niño in the 2023-2024 season, is profiled in The Conductor by Austrian-born linguist, author and documentary filmmaker Bernadette Wegenstein (born 1969), which premiered at the 20th Tribeca Film Festival, held from Wednesday, June 9, to Sunday, June 21, 2021: Marion Alsop, via Facebook July 27, 2023, @ https://www.facebook.com/marin.alsop.conductor/posts/pfbid0VkFs9sPcNH4jnjLVTeBSxrhK8W7hk5tXJmnbpuSer8JtszfGsCihZYRL29SjNoF5l

For further information:

"Debut: Eric Greene, Ethan Joseph, Edward Nelson, Lee Wilkof." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357864 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Champion Metropolitan Opera House, Mon, April 10, 2023. Debut: Eric Greene, Ethan Joseph, Edward Nelson, Lee Wilkof. Champion (1) Terence Blanchard / Michael Cristofer.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0387090

"Debut: Eric Jurenas, Christopher Bozeka." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 3576 Hamlet Metropolitan Opera House, Wed, May 18, 2022. Debut: Eric Jurenas, Christopher Bozeka. Hamlet (2) Brett Dean / Matthew Jocelyn.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0386958

"Debut: J'Nai Bridges, Zachary James, Linday Oshe, Chrystal E. Williams, Annie Rosen, Suzanne Hendrix, Oscar Rempe-Hiam, Bruno Poet, Sean Gandini." [Met Performance] CID: 357286 Met Premiere, New Production, American Opera Akhnaten Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, November 8, 2019 Broadcast. Debut: J'Nai Bridges, Zachary James, Linday Oshe, Chrystal E. Williams, Annie Rosen, Suzanne Hendrix, Oscar Rempe-Hiam, Bruno Poet, Sean Gandini. Akhnaten (1) Philip Glass / Philip Glass/Shalom Goldman/ Robert Israel/Richard Riddell and Jerome Robbins/Vocal text drawn fromoriginal sources by Shalom Goldman.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0386724

"Debuts: Eric Greene, Edward Nelson, Lee Wilkof, Montana Levi Blanco." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357864 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Champion {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/10/2023, Broadcast. (Debuts: Eric Greene, Edward Nelson, Lee Wilkof, Montana Levi Blanco Broadcast). Metropolitan Opera House April 10, 2023 Gala Metropolitan Opera Premiere.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357864

"Debuts: Karen Kamensek, Zachary James, J'Nai Bridges, Lindsey Ohse, Chrystal E. Williams, Annie Rosen, Suzanne Hendrix, Oscar Rempe-Hiam, Bruno Poet, Sean Gandini." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357309 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Akhnaten {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/08/2019.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357309

Marin Alsop. "'The Conductor' has been nominated for an EMMY for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary! Congrats to Bernadette Wegenstein, Nylon Films, Great Performances l PBS, Cargo Film & Releasing and the whole team. You can watch it on demand on AppleTV, PrimeVideo, GooglePlay, Vimeo or Vudu. https://www.theconductordoc.com/home." Facebook. July 27, 2023.
Available via Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/marin.alsop.conductor/posts/pfbid0VkFs9sPcNH4jnjLVTeBSxrhK8W7hk5tXJmnbpuSer8JtszfGsCihZYRL29SjNoF5l

Marriner, Derdriu. "2017-2018 Met Opera Season Premiere of Turandot Is Thursday, Oct. 12." Earth and Space News. Monday, Oct. 2, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/10/2017-2018-met-opera-season-premiere-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Calendars 2023-2024 Season Operas Sep. 26 Through June 8." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 18, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-calendars-2023-2024-season.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera Newly Stages Carmen and La Forza del Destino in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Sep. 11, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/09/met-opera-newly-stages-carmen-and-la.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "The Metropolitan Opera Performs 18 Operas in the 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-metropolitan-opera-performs-18.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Metropolitan Opera Revives 12 Productions in 2023-2024 Season." Earth and Space News. Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/08/metropolitan-opera-revives-12.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Only Two of 11 Zeffirelli Productions Are Still Revived at Met Opera." Earth and Space News. Monday, May 25, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/05/only-two-of-11-zeffirelli-productions.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Saturday Matinee Broadcasts Include Six Special Programs in 2023-2024." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/saturday-matinee-broadcasts-include-six.html

The Metropolitan Opera. "The Metropolitan Opera announces its 2023–24 season, with the most new works in the company’s modern history." The Metropolitan Opera > About > Press Releases. Feb. 22, 2023.
Available @ https://www.metopera.org/about/press-releases/the-metropolitan-opera-announces-its-202324-season-with-the-most-new-works-in-the-companys-modern-history/

"Sound Designer: Mark Grey." [Met Performance] CID: 352614 Metropolitan Opera Premiere, New Production, American Opera Doctor Atomic Metropolitan Opera House, Mon, October 13, 2008 Broadcast. Debut: Alan Gilbert, Thomas Glenn, Eric Owens, Roger Honeywell, Meredith Arwady, Penny Woolcock, Brian MacDevitt, Andrew Dawson, Mark Grimmer. In English. Doctor Atomic (1) John Adams / Peter Sellars.
Available @ https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/record.jsp?dockey=0384087

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse Acquaints Us With Fictitious and Real People

Summary: Labyrinth, archaeological mystery English-language novel about medieval and modern-day France by Kate Mosse, acquaints us with fictitious and real people.

"God talks to human beings through many vectors: through each other, through organized religion, through the great books of those religions, through wise people, through art and music and literature and poetry, but nowhere with such detail and grace and color and joy as through creation. When we destroy a species, when we destroy a special place, we're diminishing our capacity to sense the divine, understand who God is and what our own potential is." Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., April 19, 2023, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts.

“And there’s many people out there who want us to move to the next planet already and I’m like, hang on, let’s not give up on this planet yet," William, Prince of Wales, July 31, 2023, Sorted Food food truck, London, England, United Kingdom.

The real Trencavel fortress acts as real ambiance to fictitious and real people in the southwest France of July 1209 in Labyrinth by Kate Mosse; Monday, July 16, 2007, image of Château Comtal ("Count's Castle"), Carcassonne, Aude department, region of Occitania, southern France: Pinpin, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Labyrinth, archaeological mystery English-language novel about medieval and modern-day France by Kate Mosse, acquaints us with fictitious and real people even as it acts as the first book in the Languedoc trilogy.

Pic de Soularac (from French pic de, “peak of”; perhaps Occitan soula rac, “sun rock”) biogeography in southwest France’s Sabarthès Mountains brings forth Dr. Alice Tanner. July 2005 configures Alice as fictitious counterpart of fictitious Alaïs, 17-year-old wife of Guilhem in Carcassone (from Latin Carcasō, “stone”? via Occitan Carcassona) 796 years earlier. She domiciles with such dwellers as cook Jacques, guard Bérenger and sister Oriane at Château Comtal (from Latin castrum -lum comes -ālis, “fort little count pertaining”).

That fortress existed even as Viscount Raymond-Roger Trencavel (1185-Nov. 10, 1209), his father Roger II Trencavel (?-March 1194) and his grandfather Raymond I Trencavel (?-1167) existed.

Alaïs’ father, Intendant Bertrand Pelletier, facilitates fictitious feats with non-fictitious Bertrand of Saissac, as Viscount Trencavel’s guardian, and non-fictitious Raymond-Roger, Count of Foix (?-March 27, 1223).

Intendant Pelletier guards the Trencavel fortress; its fictitious people, such as medicine-, poultry-, and remedy-gathering Esclarmonde and her son Sajhë; and its real ruling family members. That fortress likewise houses such fictitious people as the weaver Na Marti and her husband Sénher Marti (from Occitan na, “lady, ma’am” and sénher, “lord, sir”). François is a fictitious servant to Alaïs Pelletier and Guilhem du Mas even as Viscount Trencavel’s and wife Agnès de Montpellier’s (1190-1226) inhabitation includes real servants.

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse joins fictitious and real people, with the former juxtaposing fictitious names to real positions, the latter juxtaposing fictitious interactions to real journeys.

The real Pic de Soularac mountain peak acts as real ambiance to fictitious people in the southwest France of July 2005 in Labyrinth by Kate Mosse; Sunday, Sep. 2, 2018, 15:42, image of west slope of Pic de Soularac ("Peak of Soularac"), summit in the French Pyrenees (French: Pyrénées; Occitan: Pirenèus), as viewed from the northern flanks of Saint-Barthélemy, a summit in the Ariege Pyrenees (French: Pyrénées ariégeoises), Ariège department (Occitan: Arièja), region of Occitania (French: Occitanie; Occitan: Occitània), southwestern France: Lucas Destrem (LucasD), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The real Trencavel fortress acts as real ambiance to fictitious and real people in the southwest France of July 1209 in Labyrinth by Kate Mosse; Monday, July 16, 2007, image of Château Comtal ("Count's Castle"), Carcassonne, Aude department, region of Occitania (French: Occitanie; Occitan: Occitània), southwestern France: Pinpin, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:France_cite_de_carcassonne_chateau_comtal2.jpg

The real Pic de Soularac mountain peak acts as real ambiance to fictitious people in the southwest France of July 2005 in Labyrinth by Kate Mosse; Sunday, Sep. 2, 2018, 15:42, image of west slope of Pic de Soularac ("Peak of Soularac"), summit in the French Pyrenees (French: Pyrénées; Occitan: Pirenèus), as viewed from the northern flanks of Saint-Barthélemy, a summit in the Ariege Pyrenees (French: Pyrénées ariégeoises), Ariège department (Occitan: Arièja), region of Occitania (French: Occitanie; Occitan: Occitània), southwestern France: Lucas Destrem (LucasD), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pic_de_Soularac,_versant_ouest_(3).jpg

For further information:

Dictionnaire de l’Occitan Médiéval. DOM en ligne. Munich, Germany: Bavarian Academy of Sciences..
Available @ https://dom-en-ligne.de/dom.php?lhid=4dqN83calp4xbiz5Nsx8Wu

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 April 2024. "The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse Acquaints Us With Phacelia." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-mystery-of-acid-soil-by-kate-mosse_01423463037.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 12 April 2024. "Clematis Crispa Appears in The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/04/clematis-crispa-appears-in-mystery-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 April 2024. "The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse Allows Jane Marple Drinks." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-mystery-of-acid-soil-by-kate-mosse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 29 March 2024. "The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse Airs Birds and Butterflies." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-mystery-of-acid-soil-by-kate-mosse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 22 March 2024. "Tea Leaves Are Safer in The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/03/tea-leaves-are-safer-in-mystery-of-acid.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 15 March 2024. "Jane Marple Ambles About The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/03/jane-marple-ambles-about-mystery-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 8 March 2024. "The Mystery of the Acid Soil Avails Us of Jane Marple by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-mystery-of-acid-soil-avails-us-of.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 March 2024. "French and Occitan Phrase Books Adopt The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/03/french-and-occitan-phrase-books-adopt.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 23 February 2024. "Kate Mosse Archives Cathar Country Cuisine in The Winter Ghosts." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/02/kate-mosse-archives-cathar-country.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 16 February 2024. "Animals Are Allowed Lives Apart From The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/02/animals-are-allowed-lives-apart-from.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 9 February 2024. "Plants Are Allowed Lives Apart From The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/02/plants-are-allowed-lives-apart-from.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 2 February 2024. "Brian Gallagher Adds Graphic Art to The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/02/brian-gallagher-adds-graphic-art-to.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 26 January 2024. "Kate Mosse Adds A Fictitious Place to Real Places in The Winter Ghosts." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/01/kate-mosse-adds-fictitious-place-to.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 January 2024. "Kate Mosse Assembles Fictitious and Real People in The Winter Ghosts." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2024/01/kate-mosse-assembles-fictitious-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 24 November 2023. "La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse Arises From Pelléas et Mélisande." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/la-fille-de-melisande-by-kate-mosse_24.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 17 November 2023. "La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse Acts as French Phrase Book." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/la-fille-de-melisande-by-kate-mosse_17.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 10 November 2023. "La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse Admits Gold, Green, Red and White." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/la-fille-de-melisande-by-kate-mosse_10.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 November 2023. "La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse Airs Field, Forest, Marine Animals." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/la-fille-de-melisande-by-kate-mosse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 27 October 2023. "Field and Forest Plants Abound in La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/field-and-forest-plants-abound-in-la.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 20 October 2023. "Kate Mosse Anchors in Allemonde her La Fille de Mélisande short story." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/kate-mosse-anchors-in-allemonde-her-la.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 October 2023. "La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse Adds a Pelléas et Mélisande Sequel." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/la-fille-de-melisande-by-kate-mosse.html

Mosse, Kate. 2022. "The Mystery of the Acid Soil." Pages 299-333. In: Agatha Christie. Marple: Twelve New Mysteries. New York NY: William Morrow Imprint, HarperCollins Publishers.

Mosse, Kate. 1 January 2009. "La Fille de Mélisande." Pages 247-254. In: Jeanette Winterson (Ed.). Midsummer Nights. London UK: Quercus Publishing.

Mosse, Kate. 2022. Labyrinth. London UK: Phoenix Books imprint, The Orion Publishing Group Ltd. First published in Great Britain in 2005 by Orion Books.

Mosse, Kate. October 2009. The Winter Ghosts. London UK: Orion Publishing Group.