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Former shorelines of Lake Estancia

Lake Estancia was a body of water in the Estancia Valley, in the center of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Mostly fed by creek and groundwater from the Manzano Mountains, the lake had diverse fauna, including cutthroat trout. It appears to have formed when a river system broke up. It reached a maximum water level (highstand) presumably during the Illinoian glaciation and subsequently fluctuated between a desiccated basin and fuller stages. Wind-driven erosion has excavated depressions in the former lakebed that are in part filled with playas (dry lake beds). The lake was one of several pluvial lakes in southwestern North America that developed during the late Pleistocene. Their formation has been variously attributed to decreased temperatures during the ice age and increased precipitation; a shutdown of the thermohaline circulation and the Laurentide Ice Sheet altered atmospheric circulation patterns and increased precipitation in the region. The lake has yielded a good paleoclimatic record. (Full article...)

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Ahichchhatra Jain temple

... that the Ahichchhatra Jain temples (pictured) were built to commemorate the attainment of kevala jnana (omniscience) by Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthankara of Jainism?
... that a 1 a.m. phone call resulted in financier George D. Gould joining the efforts to stave off New York City's near-bankruptcy in 1975?
... that although the problem of squaring the circle with compass and straightedge goes back to Greek mathematics, it was not proven impossible until 1882?
... that Canadian cricketer Divya Saxena was accused of obstructing the field in an international match but was ruled "not out"?
... that German violinist and professor Aleksey Semenenko was stranded in Ukraine for a month because Russia invaded the country the day after his performance?
... that the dark-money American Accountability Foundation aims to "take a big handful of sand and throw it in the gears of the Biden administration"?
... that random runners are lonely?

In the news

Elizabeth II

A fire and explosions at a storage depot in Sitakunda, Bangladesh, kill at least 41 people and injure more than 450 others.
The Commonwealth of Nations celebrates the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II (pictured).
Denmark votes to eliminate its opt-out of the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy.
In cricket, Gujarat Titans win the Indian Premier League, defeating Rajasthan Royals in the final.

On this day

June 7: Journalist's Day in Argentina (1810)

Mariano Moreno

1692 – An earthquake registering approximately 7.5 M_w caused Port Royal, Jamaica, to sink below sea level and killed approximately 5,000 people.
1810 – Journalist Mariano Moreno (pictured) published Argentina's first newspaper, the Gazeta de Buenos-Ayres.
1917 – First World War: The British Army detonated 19 ammonal mines under German lines, killing 10,000 in the deadliest non-nuclear man-made explosion in history.
1948 – Anti-Jewish riots broke out in the French protectorate in Morocco, during which 44 people were killed and 150 injured.
1969 – The rock supergroup Blind Faith, featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and Ginger Baker, played their only UK show in London's Hyde Park in front of 100,000 fans.

Roderigo Lopes (d. 1594)
Joseph von Fraunhofer (d. 1826)
Allen Iverson (b. 1975)

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Today's featured picture

Paratroopers at the Western Wall is a photograph taken on 7 June 1967 by the Israeli photographer and photojournalist David Rubinger. Shot from a low angle, the photograph depicts three Israeli paratroopers framed against the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, shortly after its capture from Arab forces in the Six-Day War. From left to right, the soldiers are Zion Karasenti, Yitzhak Yifat, and Haim Oshri, reservists of the 66th Battalion, 55th Paratroopers Brigade. The image engenders such a strong emotional component that it has become an icon of Israel. Mishael Cheshin, a justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, said in 2001 that the photograph had "become the property of the entire nation".

Photograph credit: David Rubinger

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