title: Ford Expedition

text: Off-road geometry figures for approach, departure, and ramp breakover, improve slightly with 23.3°, 21.9°, and 21.4° of obstacle clearance. Minimum running (lowest point) ground clearance increases by a full inch, from .


title: Ford Expedition

text: The Expedition is certified by the Society of Automotive Engineers' independent SAE J2807 towing standard to tow a maximum of braked trailer. The tow rating increases by over the previous generation. Expedition will also feature Pro Trailer Backup Assist, a semi-autonomous system that allows the Expedition to reverse itself with a trailer coupled. The driver directs the system via a control dial, while the Expedition handles all steering and limits reversing speed.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Among the new features that have been incorporated into the fourth generation Expedition are a 360-degree camera and park assist system, along with optional safety features that use both camera and radar technology, and include automatic braking, lane-keep assist, active cruise control, and blind-spot monitors. In addition, there are two USB ports per row, four 12-volt outlets and a 120-volt household outlet. Ford has also partnered with Sling on a twin-screen rear entertainment system, as well as personal tablets on the vehicle's Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi can be used on up to 10 devices and features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capabilities compatible with Ford SYNC3 and Ford Pass. A dual vista panoramic sunroof is available as an optional feature.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The 2018 Expedition was only available in four trim levels, as the King Ranch trim was discontinued after the 2017 model year. The three primary trims, XLT, Limited, and the top-of-the-line Platinum, were available to regular customers, while the fourth trim, XL, was exclusive to rental companies, corporate fleets, and government agencies, as it did not have as many features as the other three trims. The Expedition retains its unique (standard) eight passenger seating on all trims like before, with optional seven passenger seating.


title: Ford Expedition

text: All 2018 Expedition models carry a power four-wheel disk antilock brake system (ABS) with brake assist and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), six standard airbags including a Safety Canopy System that provides side-curtain airbags with roll-fold technology and a rollover sensor, rear-door child-safety locks, a LATCH system (Lower Anchors and Tether Anchors for Children), an Individual Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), and a SOS Post-Crash Alert System https://www.ford.com/suvs/expedition/models/expedition-xlt/.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The Expedition has an available Driver Assistance Package that equips the vehicle with smart driver-assist technology, including pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection and forward collision warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, auto high-beam headlamps, and rain-sensing wipers.


title: Ford Expedition

text: An array of standard security features includes a SecuriLock Passive Anti-Theft System, a perimeter alarm, a personal safety system, SecuriCode Keyless Entry Keypad, MyKey, and available inclination and intrusion sensors.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Starting off the 2018 Expedition lineup is the XLT trim, which is available in either 4X2 or 4X4 configurations, as well as in the MAX style. Standard features include cloth upholstery, keyless access with push-button start, eighteen-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, a 60/40 second-row bench seat with CenterSlide seat, Hill Start Assist and Hill Descent Control (4X4 models only), MyFord w/ SYNC radio with 4.3-inch LCD display screen, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and a nine-speaker audio system, 3.5L EcoBoost Twin-Turbocharged V6 gasoline engine with and . of torque, remote start, a power-folding third-row bench seat, and more.


title: Ford Expedition

text: A key difference from 2017 is that a surround-sound premium audio system and rear seat entertainment system are no longer available as an option for XLT models, and that push-button start, and a power-folding third-row seat are now standard equipment (this feature was optional on the 2017 XLT).


title: Ford Expedition

text: A trailer towing package, leather-trimmed seating surfaces, heated front and rear seats, SYNC 3 infotainment system with optional GPS navigation, a power panoramic moonroof, heated and ventilated front bucket seats, the FX4 Off-Road Package (4X4 models only), twenty-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, and other comfort and convenience features are optional.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The 2018 Expedition SSV is a fleet-only version of the Expedition XLT, and offers similar standard equipment.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The key difference is the transmission and engine are changed slightly for better durability in high idling and high speed environments as the SSV is designed for police use.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The 2018 Expedition Limited is built with either a 4X2 or 4X4 build, each with a bigger MAX build. The Limited key features include in-vehicle Wi-Fi with available SYNC Connect, a hands-free foot-activated lift gate, and standard 20-inch ultra bright machined aluminum wheels with dark tarnish painted pockets. A 3.5 EcoBoost engine functions with a 10-speed SelectShift automatic transmission. The Limited also has a fuel tank. A heavy duty engine radiator and two-speed automatic four-wheel-drive with neutral towing capability are optional.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The Limited has the equivalent power and handling features of the XLT, though it comes with standard all-season tires. The standard power and handling features include a two-wheel rear-wheel drivetrain, multilink independent rear suspension, Electronic Power Assist (EPAS) rack and pinion steering, AdvanceTrac with stability control, which is designed to provide stability and traction by reducing the chance of spinning the drive wheel, trailer sway control, traction control, and a non-limited-slip 3.15 rear axle on the 4x2 model. A 4X4 Limited build and 4X2 MAX build has a standard 3.31 drive ratio, while a 4X4 MAX build has a 3.73 drive ratio.


title: Ford Expedition

text: A Terrain Management System and hill start assist and hill descent control is available for 4x4 models.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Optional features on the Limited include a Control Trac four-wheel-drive system, a non-limited-slip 3.31 rear axle or electronic limited-slip differential 3.72 rear axle, continuously controlled damping (CCD) suspension, and an integrated brake controller with the Heavy Duty Trailer Tow package.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Unlike the XLT model, the Limited has standard Dual Zone Electronic Automatic Temperature Control (DEATC), and rear auxiliary climate controls.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Standard entertainment features include a Harman 12-speaker B&O Play Audio System, a SYNC 3 Enhanced Voice Recognition Communications and Entertainment System, SYNC Connect and FordPass, SiriusXM Radio, and HD Radio.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The cabin has perforated, leather-trimmed, heated and ventilated bucket front seats, heated second-row outboard seats, second-row power folding tip and slide seats, power folding and reclining third-row seats, and third-row power-folding headrests. Second-row power folding tip and slide bucket seats are optional.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The Limited has six smart-charging multimedia USB ports, with two in each row, and a wireless charging hub on the center console. The cabin also features 15 cupholders, analog RPM and speed gauges with digital minor gauges, and an 8-inch center display.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Other standard interior features include a cargo management system and protector, power-adjustable brake and accelerator pedals, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, four 12V outlets and a 120V 150W AC power outlet, a rotary gear shift dial, woodgrain appliqués, and a heated, leather-wrapped power tilt/telescoping steering wheel with audio controls. The cabin has an illuminated entry system and ambient lighting, with map lights mounted over the front overhead console, dome lights on the second and third rows, and a rear cargo area light. Push-button start systems with intelligent access, a remote start system, and a Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with cross-traffic alert and trailer tow monitoring are also standard.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Optional interior features include an advanced cargo manager, an enhanced active park assist system, a lane-keeping system, pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection, Pro Trailer Backup Assist, and adaptive cruise control.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Power-deployable running boards are standard on Expedition Limited, and Limited MAX. Each has a unique color with magnetic-painted polished stainless steel accents. Among the other exterior standard features are intermittent front and rear wipers, a windshield wiper de-icer, a rear window defroster and washer, halogen fog lamps, quad-beam reflector headlamps, a halogen projector-beam, incandescent tail-lamps, a hands-free foot-activated liftgate and manual liftglass, a Center High-Mounted Stop Lamp (CHMSL), configurable daytime running lamps, roof-rack side rails, a chrome grille with Magnetic painted accents, and a Class IV trailer hitch receiver. A capless fuel filler is also standard.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Rain sensing front wipers, roof rail crossbars, LED daytime running lamps and headlamps, magnetic grille and mirror caps, and front tow hooks are optional.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The 2018 Expedition Limited has power adjustable heated mirrors with memory capability, security approach lamps, integrated blind spot mirrors, a solar-tinted windshield and front door windows, and second and third-row privacy glass, and lower bodyside cladding and wheel lip moldings. A panoramic vista roof is optional.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The 2018 Expedition Limited has the standard safety features of all Expedition Trims with an additional optional 360-degree split-view camera. The standard features include a four-wheel anti-lock brake system, a rearview camera with backup assist, dual-stage front airbags, three-point safety belts, side-impact airbags, a safety canopy system that includes the third row, rear-door child-safety locks, LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tether Anchors for Children), Individual Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), and an SOS Post-Crash Alert System.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Security systems include SecuriLock passive anti-theft system, a remote keyless entry system, a perimeter alarm, a personal safety system, SecuriCode keyless entry keypad, MyKey, and inclination and intrusion sensors.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The flagship Ford Expedition Platinum will be more upscale and move further upmarket, with high-end interior fit-and-finish and luxury interior and exterior appointments. Interiors will feature handcrafted real wood trim, real metal accents, soft-touch materials, 12-speaker Bang & Olufsen luxury sound system, dual panel panoramic glass roof with power shade, soft premium diamond-quilted perforated leather climate-controlled and massaging seats with French seam stitchwork, soft leather wrapped dash, steering wheel, and door panels with single and double stitched ornamental stitchwork. The "Platinum"'s exterior will receive standard full LED headlamps vertically stacked in headlamp nacelles, LED turn signal lamps, LED daytime running lamps, LED fog lamps and diffused LED tail lamps with LED brake lamps. In addition, the exterior will feature "platinum" satin-finished lower front and rear bumper skid plates, roof rails, side mirror crowns, and liftgate accents, along with polished stainless steel power deployable-and-retractable running boards, polished alloy wheels, chrome brightwork, and platinum satin-finished mesh grillwork. Expedition Platinums will also feature a specific performance tuned version of the 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6 with and of torque (using 93 octane fuel) mated to the 10-speed "10R80 SelectShift" automatic transmission.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Both the Expedition and long-wheelbase Expedition MAX will be available with the Platinum treatment, and will be the most expensive level trim, with a MSRP of $73,900 (US) for standard and $76,000 (US) for the MAX version, with the 4WD option topping off on the latter at $79,000 (US).


title: Ford Expedition

text: The King Ranch trim returned for the 2020 model year, slotted between the Limited and Platinum trim. As with the previous versions, the King Ranch logo will be prominent on all three rows of seats, the floor mats, and the scuff plates, Stone Gray trim on bumpers, power running boards, roof rails, standard Del Rio leather on all seats, door trim, armrests, steering wheel, and center console, and roll on machined aluminum wheels with darker painted pockets.


title: Ford Expedition

text: An off-road FX4 package became available starting with the 2018 model year, with an announced MSRP at around $63,000 (US). This option, available to 4WD XLT level trims only and targeted towards the 20% of Expedition owners who use the vehicle for off-road purposes, is expected to compete with the Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe Z71 package in both standard and MAX versions. Among the detailed features are patented electronic locking limited-slip rear differential, Off-road-tuned shocks, All-terrain tires, Seven different skid plates that serve as underbody armor and protect critical areas, Unique 18-inch Magnetic Metallic-painted cast-aluminum wheels, Chrome running boards, FX4 badging on the liftgate and front fender, and New rubber floor liners. According to Mike Kipley, the engineering manager for the Expedition, "The FX4 Off-Road package delivers off-road driving confidence,” adding that “The technology we’re using works to adapt to different driving conditions so customers can enjoy the adventure without worry.”


title: Ford Expedition

text: For the 2021 model year, Ford introduced the Expedition XL STX, which has a lower starting price than other Expedition trim levels. The Expedition XL STX lacks third row seats, and has a split-bench second-row seat. It is only available in standard length, not the Max. Styling elements for the XL STX include a gloss-black grille and 18-inch aluminum wheels. A Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow Package is available.


title: Ford Expedition

text: There were no major changes, as it carried some of the 2018 features over to the 2019 model year. Two new colors, silver spruce and black agate, was added to the list of palettes.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The King Ranch level trim was bought back for the 2020 model year, placing it above the Platinum trim. The desert gold color feature was introduced with this 2020 model year, but is being discontinued due to lack of interest from customers.


title: Ford Expedition

text: For the 2022 model year, the Expedition and Expedition Max receive a mid-cycle refresh. The refresh includes revised front end styling, new aluminum-alloy wheel designs for all models, as well as a revised interior that is similar to that of the all-new 2021 Ford F-150, and includes an optional fully-digital reconfigurable instrument cluster, as well as a standard twelve-inch or optional fifteen-inch SYNC 4A touchscreen infotainment system display that now includes SiriusXM Satellite Radio with 360L, and connected GPS navigation on select models. A new off-road oriented Timberline trim, based on the mid-level XLT trim, adds unique exterior and interior styling, unique seating surfaces, and off-road oriented tires with unique aluminum-alloy wheels. A new Limited Stealth Performance Package includes a higher-output version of the standard 3.5L EcoBoost Twin-Turbocharged V6 gasoline engine (now with and of torque), and unique exterior styling cues.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The 2018 Expedition's die-cast aluminum 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine operates with a twin-independent Variable Camshaft Timing (Ti-VCT) valvetrain, and a 10-speed automatic SelectShift transmission. The engine makes and . of torque at 5,000 rpm in XLT and Limited trims, and and . of torque at 5,000 rpm in the Platinum trim. It's backed up by a gasoline direct injection fuel delivery system with a single, stainless steel exhaust. The drive ratio is 3.15 on a standard 4x2; 3.31 on standard 4x4 and 4x2 MAX; and 3.73 on a 4x4 MAX. The engine's compression ratio is 10:5:1.


title: Ford Expedition

text: As part of the shift to the T1 platform for the 2007 model year, Ford developed an extended-length version of the Expedition, to more closely match the Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL in size. Introduced as the "Ford Expedition EL" (EL=extended length) alongside the Lincoln Navigator L, the variant effectively replaced the Super Duty-based Ford Excursion. In Canada, to avoid confusion with the Acura EL sedan, Ford renamed the extended-length version as the "Expedition Max".


title: Ford Expedition

text: Originally intended to carry the Ford Everest name, Ford product planners changed their minds, as the nameplate was already in use for a midsize Ford SUV in Asia. Outside North America, including the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam, the Expedition EL is also imported to and sold in the Middle East and Taiwan. In the Philippines, the Expedition EL is the only version imported and sold; coincidentally, it is also a market where the Ford Everest SUV is sold.


title: Ford Expedition

text: For the 2007 model year, Ford introduced the extended-length Expedition EL. With a wheelbase stretched (to ) and a length increased (to ) over the standard Expedition, the EL is sized comparably to the Suburban/Yukon XL, providing additional cargo space over the standard-wheelbase version. The extended-length body of the EL is distinguished by its longer cargo-area windows and its rear door design (the rear wheels no longer intrude into the lower half of the doors).


title: Ford Expedition

text: Alongside the standard-length Ford Expedition, the EL was offered with a single powertrain; the 5.4L Triton V8 was standard from 2007 to 2014, replaced by the twin-turbocharged 3.5L EcoBoost V6 for 2015 to 2017. The EL is also sold with both rear-wheel and four-wheel drive configurations. The larger overall size restricted towing capacity by approximately , to (for 2WD) and (for 4WD) over a standard-wheelbase example.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Over its first-generation, the EL shared its features with the standard-length Expedition; for 2012 model, a cargo organizer became an exclusive feature. The Expedition EL was introduced in 4 trim lines: XLT, Eddie Bauer, Limited, and the King Ranch series during the 2007–2010 model year. For 2011, the Eddie Bauer trim was replaced by XLT and XLT Premium, with XL becoming the new base trim level. After 2012, all versions of the XL trim were dropped.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Alongside the standard-length Expedition, the EL also received a 5-star rating from the NHTSA. The Expedition EL was also ranked 9th among the top 15 "Best Family Haulers", according to a June 2009 consumers favorite survey conducted by Edmunds.


title: Ford Expedition

text: For its second generation, the Expedition EL became known as the Expedition Max (now stylized with all capitals as MAX) along with the rest of the world. It debuted in November 2017 for the 2018 model year. Like the standard size Expedition, this was also unveiled ahead of the Chicago Auto Show and carried the same features and the three featured trims, XLT, Limited, and Platinum. It also expanded its length size by one inch to allow more space and legroom in the third seat row. Although the rear passenger doors were widened, the aft wheel well trim still doesn't cut into them.


title: Ford Expedition

text: This version became more competitive with the Suburban/Yukon XL in the long wheelbase SUV segment, an area where GM dominates; when photos for the fourth generation Expedition were released, a majority of the pictures and videos indicated where Ford wants to target the Max. Like the (standard length) Expedition, the (extended length) Expedition Max also retained its (standard) eight passenger seating on all trims like before. The Max also saw a starting MSRP range of $55,000 (US) for the XLT and $66,800 (US) for the Limited level trims, making this more expensive than the Suburban but on par with the Yukon XL in terms of pricing.


title: Ford Expedition

text: By May 2021, Ford had publicly released information that the company is developing an all-electric, battery-powered Ford Expedition. No date for bringing the SUV into production was given.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The standard size Expedition are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the CNMI, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam, Republic of China (Taiwan), the Philippines, the Middle East (excluding Israel), Central America, the Caribbean, South America (except Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela), Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia and South Korea), Africa (Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Libya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal), and Central Asia (Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan).


title: Ford Expedition

text: After the 2015 refresh, the standard size Expedition became exclusive to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Republic of China (Taiwan), and the Middle East. The US and Canadian Expeditions are available in XLT, Limited, King Ranch and Platinum, while The Mexican Expedition offers the XLT, Limited, and King Ranch trims. The Middle East Expeditions are offered in XL, XLT, Limited, King Ranch, and in Platinum (RWD only) trims.


title: Ford Expedition

text: With the introduction of the fourth generation Expedition, Ford will make the SUV available to North America in the Fall of 2017 first, followed by a global launch in early 2018, where it will go on sale in selected countries.


title: Ford Expedition

text: For the Expedition EL/Max, all six versions (XL, XLT/Eddie Bauer, XLT Platinum/Sport, Limited, King Ranch and Platinum) are available in the United States. From the 2007 to 2010 model years, The EL/Max level trims were limited to only 3 versions for Canada, Republic of China (Taiwan), and The Middle East, two for Mexico, and one for the Philippines. Canada's Expedition Max offered the Eddie Bauer, Limited and King Ranch trims, Mexico's Expedition Max in Limited and King Ranch trims, and the Middle East's EL level trims in XLT, Eddie Bauer and Limited. The Philippines' lone Expedition EL level trim was the Eddie Bauer model from 2007 to 2010.


title: Ford Expedition

text: After the 2011 model year Ford made changes in the international exportation of the EL/Max trims. As a result of the changes, the Limited trim became the only version available in Canada and Mexico as Eddie Bauer (in Canada) and King Ranch trims (in both Canada and Mexico) were discontinued, while the Philippines and the Middle East replaced the Eddie Bauer with the XLT trim. The Middle East also started to get all of the 5 US level base trims, including the new XL trims that took the XLT's place and the King Ranch trim.


title: Ford Expedition

text: With the 2015 refresh, the Expedition EL US level trims are the same as the standard versions: XLT, Limited, King Ranch, and Platinum, all four available in rear wheel and four wheel drive. The Canadian Expedition Max are only featured in Limited and Platinum level trims, also available in RWD and 4WD. Mexico's Expedition Max are available in rear wheel drive XLT only, but available in RWD and 4WD Limited versions. The Philippines, Republic of China (Taiwan), and Middle East ELs are only available in 4WD Limited trims.


title: Ford Expedition

text: With the introduction of the Expedition Max for the 2018 model year as the successor to the first generation Expedition EL, Ford made the vehicle available globally, with North America in late 2017 and selected countries in early 2018.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Selectable automatic full-time Control Trac four-wheel drive designed by BorgWarner is standard on all 4x4 Expeditions. There are four modes: Two High mode, Auto mode, Four High mode and Four Low mode. Each mode can be selected via a rotary control dial on the dash.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The Expedition's system uses a two-speed dual range BorgWarner transfer case with a software controlled variable intelligent locking center multi-disc differential. The four-wheel drive system does not use a planetary or bevel geared center differential, which are typically found in permanent four-wheel drive systems where torque is supplied to all four wheels.


title: Ford Expedition

text: 4WD Expeditions come with standard dual front frame-mounted closed-loop recovery hooks and available off-road underbody protection. Steel plates are placed over vital areas with a composite shield for the fuel tank. Expedition 4x4s are tested alongside the F-150 and Super Duty trucks at Ford's California and Arizona proving grounds. Expedition is put through the same durability tests and evaluations to meet the same durability standards as its pickup truck brethren.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive have conventional open-type differentials with a choice of axle ratios. Traction control systems, both mechanical and electronic, are optional.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Both first and second generation Ford Expeditions (UN93 and U222) had an optional "Traction-Lok" rear limited-slip differential (LSD). The clutch packs inside the LSD tend to be weak, will wear over time, gradually losing their ability to transfer torque, and LSD will function like an open-type differential. The front differential on four-wheel drive models are open-type differential. The "AdvanceTrac" electronic stability control for the 2003 model year. The Traction-Lok option was dropped after the 2006 model year, but a limited slip differential was reintroduced during the 2015 model year.


title: Ford Expedition

text: "AdvanceTrac" electronic stability control was introduced for the 2003 model year as an optional extra on the second generation Ford Expedition (U222). Bundled with the electronic stability control system is four-wheel electronic traction control (functions at all wheels) for Expeditions with four-wheel drive. Two-wheel drive Expeditions only receive two-wheel electronic traction control for rear wheels. "AdvanceTrac" was made standard equipment on all third generation Expeditions (U324).


title: Ford Expedition

text: The traction control system uses four-wheel, four-sensor, four-channel anti-lock braking system (ABS) to apply and release the disc brakes on the drive wheel that has lost traction. The ABS clamps down on the slipping drive wheel or wheels, "brake locking" the differential, which can transfer up to 100 percent of supplied torque to the opposing drive wheel with better traction. By ABS "brake locking" both the front "and" rear differentials, the traction control system can simulate front and rear differential locks. The system works even if two of its drive wheels (one front, one rear) are completely off the ground.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Using the ABS brakes rather than mechanical limited-slip or locking devices inside the axle differentials gives quicker response, more seamless performance, and enhanced durability.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Starting with the 2018 model year, the Expedition and Expedition MAX will utilize Ford's Terrain Management System. Buttons to control the 4x4 system are arranged around the central Terrain Management dial. The system is similar to the one found in the 2011–present Explorer, however the Explorer's system is more simplified. The Expedition's Terrain Management System is adapted from the SVT Raptor to allow use of a 4L (low-lock) mode as well as an electronic locking rear differential. Moreover, the Explorer's Terrain Management System has 4 (four) drive modes, while the Expedition has 7 (seven) drive modes, not including the 3 (three) 4x4 system direct drive modes.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Depending on the mode selected, Terrain Management will control, adjust, and fine tune the engine, transmission, center multi-disc differential lock, throttle response, four-wheel electronic traction control and electronic stability control (ESC) to adapt the SUV for optimal performance on the corresponding terrain.


title: Ford Expedition

text: When first introduced in 1996, the Expedition competed with both the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon in the full-size half-ton SUV towing segment. New competitors included the Dodge Durango (which was discontinued in 2009, but reintroduced as a crossover in 2011), Nissan Armada, and Toyota Sequoia. Product research conducted by Ford indicated that 92 percent of Expedition owners use the SUV for vacations. Some 60 percent use it to transport outdoor sports equipment, while 40 percent of Expedition owners use the vehicle for towing. The half-ton Expedition EL/Max competes with the half-ton Chevrolet Suburban 1500 and GMC Yukon XL 1500 in the towing segment.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Since its introduction, the Expedition's braked trailer towing capacity has grown from to a current rating of when properly equipped. The list of towing features is also ever growing. Towing features common to all generations of the Expedition include: smallest possible turning radius for increased trailer maneuverability, large side view mirrors to improve rearward visibility, rearward-facing lane departure indicators which are helpful to other motorist when the Expedition is towing a long trailer providing added visual safety, heavy-duty flashers, heavy-duty large disc brakes to withstand prolonged braking while towing, and an available heavy-duty trailer towing package which includes necessary additions for heavy-duty towing.


title: Ford Expedition

text: As of the 2010 model year, the Expedition received trailer sway control (TSC) as standard equipment. TSC detects trailer oscillations and corrects it via asymmetrical ABS braking and reducing engine power until the Expedition and its trailer are both back under control.


title: Ford Expedition

text: Expeditions equipped with the heavy-duty trailer towing package are prepped and readied, at the factory, for towing. The package includes a VESC (Vehicle Equipment Safety Commission) V-5 (or SAE J684) Class IV (Class 4) rated trailer hitch with weight distribution capability, heavy-duty radiator, heavy-duty auxiliary transmission fluid cooler, and hitch mounted 4 and 7-pin trailer electrical connectors.


title: Ford Expedition

text: For model years prior to 2013, these Expeditions are prewired for later installation of an aftermarket electronic trailer brake controller. The brake controller wiring harness is located under the dash on the driver's side. For the 2013 model year onward, these Expeditions are factory equipped with the TowCommand electronic trailer brake controller system. This features +/– gain brake adjustment with support for heavy-duty trailers with up to four axles (quad axle trailers) and is compatible with electrically actuated trailer drum brakes and electric-over-hydraulic (EOH) actuated trailer drum or disc brake systems. The trailer brake controller is fully integrated into the Expedition's four-wheel, four-sensor, four-channel anti-lock braking system (ABS), and trailer sway control (TSC).


title: Ford Expedition

text: Expeditions were offered with an adaptive pneumatic air-ride suspension system with self leveling, payload leveling and trailer load leveling capability from 1997 to 2013. For the 2014 model year, a Nivomat adaptive hydraulic suspension system with self leveling, payload leveling and trailer load leveling replaced the pneumatic system. Both systems can automatically detect when a heavy trailer is coupled, such as a travel trailer, and level the load. Additional ride-height sensors placed on the left and right sides of the SUV also monitor and compensate for any listing caused by improper cargo loading. This keeps the Expedition running straight and level while towing, and at night helps to keep the Expedition's headlamps from blinding oncoming traffic.


title: Ford Expedition

text: To compete with large police SUVs that are sold by other automobile companies, primarily the Chevrolet Suburban, Ford has made a special version of the Expedition available to law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and EMS agencies. Ford calls it the Expedition Special Service Vehicle (SSV). The only differences between the standard Expedition and the Special Service Vehicle Expedition are provisions for emergency services related equipment such as radios, lightbars, and sirens.


title: Ford Expedition

text: With the fourth generation Expedition (2018–present) debuting in 2017, Ford announced that the standard size version will be sold to government agencies and law enforcement, available in the lower based XL trim only.


title: Ford Expedition

text: 2008 was the only year for the Funkmaster Flex special edition Expedition. In 2005, Ford Motor Company teamed up with rapper and New York City radio personality Funkmaster Flex in a multi-year partnership to create a series of special edition Ford vehicles and advertise the Ford brand. One of those creations was a 2008 Ford Expedition bearing the rapper's name. This limited production Expedition featured a special Colorado Red and black two-tone paint job with orange pinstriping, 20 inch chrome wheels, 3D Carbon body kit, Funkmaster Flex badging and a custom black and Colorado Red leather interior on top of Expedition "Limited" standard equipment. The FMF Expedition went on sale in the fall of 2007 and production was limited to 650 units total.


title: Ford Expedition

text: "Motor Trend" gave the 2018 Expedition a good review in its February 14, 2018 article, in which they cite the vehicle's “blend of performance (both on- and off-road), comfort, utility, and tech [that] easily make it the new benchmark for the full-size SUV class.” However the review notes that there were a few drawbacks in terms of hp acceleration (coming in second to the 2018 Nissan Armada but ahead of the 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe), off-road performance, and its MPG estimate.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The 2018 Expedition also ranked first among large SUVs with a score of 9.3 from "U.S. News & World Report".


title: Ford Expedition

text: The fourth-generation Ford Expedition was nominated at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in the Truck of the Year category, only to lose out to its co-branded cousin Lincoln Navigator. The Expedition was runner-up. Consumer Reports added the short-wheelbase Expedition to its recommended list for 2020, citing improved reliability and owner satisfaction scores.


title: Ford Expedition

text: The 2020 Expeditions were recalled in April 2020 over a front passenger safety belt sensor defect, which may malfunction and can lead to a misclassification of the size and weight of the occupant for the restraint system. In some circumstances, this malfunction may not be detected, and the airbag light may not illuminate, leading to injuries if it failed to deploy. The recall affects the 1,368 produced Expeditions (1,355 in the United States, 12 in Canada, and 1 in Mexico) that were built at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant from November 27 to December 7, 2019.


The 1888 United States presidential election was the 26th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1888. Republican nominee Benjamin Harrison, a former Senator from Indiana, defeated incumbent Democratic President Grover Cleveland of New York. It was the third of five U.S. presidential elections (and second within 12 years) in which the winner did not win the national popular vote, which would not occur again until the 2000 US presidential election.


title: 1888 United States presidential election

text: Cleveland, the first Democratic president since the American Civil War, was unanimously re-nominated at the 1888 Democratic National Convention. Harrison, the grandson of former President William Henry Harrison, emerged as the Republican nominee on the eighth ballot of the 1888 Republican National Convention. He defeated other prominent party leaders such as Senator John Sherman and former Governor Russell Alger.


text: Tariff policy was the principal issue in the election, as Cleveland had proposed a dramatic reduction in tariffs, arguing that high tariffs were unfair to consumers. Harrison took the side of industrialists and factory workers who wanted to keep tariffs high. Cleveland's opposition to Civil War pensions and inflated currency also made enemies among veterans and farmers. On the other hand, he held a strong hand in the South and border states, and appealed to former Republican Mugwumps.


text: Cleveland won a plurality of the popular vote, but Harrison won the election with a majority in the Electoral College. Harrison swept almost the entire North and Midwest, including narrowly carrying the swing states of New York and Indiana. This was the first time that Democrats won the popular vote in consecutive elections since 1856.


text: The Republican candidates were former Senator Benjamin Harrison from Indiana; Senator John Sherman from Ohio; Russell A. Alger, the former governor of Michigan; Walter Q. Gresham from Indiana, the former Secretary of the Treasury; Senator William B. Allison from Iowa; and Chauncey Depew from New York, the president of the New York Central Railroad.


text: By the time Republicans met in Chicago on June 19–25, 1888, frontrunner James G. Blaine had withdrawn from the race because he believed that only a harmonious convention would produce a Republican candidate strong enough to upset incumbent President Cleveland. Blaine realized that the party was unlikely to choose him without a bitter struggle. After he withdrew, Blaine expressed confidence in both Benjamin Harrison and John Sherman. Harrison was nominated on the eighth ballot.


text: The Republicans chose Harrison because of his war record, his popularity with veterans, his ability to express the Republican Party's views, and the fact that he lived in the swing state of Indiana. The Republicans hoped to win Indiana's 15 electoral votes, which had gone to Cleveland in the previous presidential election. Levi P. Morton, a former New York City congressman and ambassador, was nominated for vice-president over William Walter Phelps, his nearest rival.


text: The Democratic National Convention held in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 5–7, 1888, was harmonious. Incumbent President Cleveland was re-nominated unanimously without a formal ballot. This was the first time an incumbent Democratic president had been re-nominated since Martin Van Buren in 1840.


text: After Cleveland was re-nominated, Democrats had to choose a replacement for Thomas A. Hendricks. Hendricks ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic nominee for vice-president in 1876, but won the office when he ran again with Cleveland in 1884. Hendricks served as vice-president for only eight months before he died in office on November 25, 1885. Former Senator Allen G. Thurman from Ohio was nominated for vice-president over Isaac P. Gray, his nearest rival, and John C. Black, who trailed behind. Gray lost the nomination to Thurman primarily because his enemies brought up his actions while a Republican.


text: The Democratic platform largely confined itself to a defense of the Cleveland administration, supporting reduction in the tariff and taxes generally as well as statehood for the western territories.


text: The 5th Prohibition Party National Convention assembled in Tomlinson Hall in Indianapolis, Indiana. There were 1,029 delegates from all but three states.


text: Clinton B. Fisk was nominated for president unanimously. John A. Brooks was nominated for vice-president.


text: The Union Labor Party National Convention assembled in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Union Labor Party had been formed in 1887 in Cincinnati.


text: The convention nominated Alson Streeter for president unanimously. He was so widely popular that no ballot was necessary, instead, he was nominated by acclamation. Samuel Evans was nominated for vice president but declined the nomination. Charles E. Cunningham was later selected as the vice-presidential candidate.


text: The Union Labor Party garnered nearly 150,000 popular votes, but failed to gain widespread national support. The party did, however, win two counties.


text: The United Labor Party convention nominated Robert H. Cowdrey for president on the first ballot. W.H.T. Wakefield of Kansas was nominated for vice-president over Victor H. Wilder from New York by a margin of 50–12.


text: The Greenback Party was in decline throughout the entire Cleveland administration. In the election of 1884, the party failed to win any House seats outright, although they did win one seat in conjunction with Plains States Democrats (James B. Weaver) and a handful of other seats by endorsing the Democratic nominee. In the election of 1886, only two dozen Greenback candidates ran for the House, apart from another six who ran on fusion tickets. Again, Weaver was the party's only victor. Much of the Greenback news in early 1888 took place in Michigan, where the party remained active.


text: In early 1888, it was not clear if the Greenback Party would hold another national convention. The fourth Greenback Party National Convention assembled in Cincinnati on May 16, 1888. So few delegates attended that no actions were taken. On August 16, 1888, George O. Jones, chairman of the national committee, called a second session of the national convention. The second session of the national convention met in Cincinnati on September 12, 1888. Only seven delegates attended. Chairman Jones issued an address criticizing the two major parties, and the delegates made no nominations.


text: The American Party held its third and last National Convention in Grand Army Hall in Washington, DC. This was an Anti-Masonic party that ran under various party labels in the northern states.


text: When the convention assembled, there were 126 delegates; among them were 65 from New York and 15 from California. Delegates from the other states bolted the convention when it appeared that New York and California intended to vote together on all matters and control the convention. By the time the presidential balloting began, there were only 64 delegates present.


text: The convention nominated James L. Curtis from New York for president and James R. Greer from Tennessee for vice-president. Greer declined to run, so Peter D. Wigginton of California was chosen as his replacement.


text: The second Equal Rights Party National Convention assembled in Des Moines, Iowa. At the convention, mail-in ballots were counted. The delegates cast 310 of their 350 ballots for the following ticket: Belva A. Lockwood for president and Alfred H. Love for vice-president. Love declined the nomination, and was replaced with Charles S. Welles of NY.


text: The Industrial Reform Party National Convention assembled in Grand Army Hall, Washington, DC. There were 49 delegates present. Albert Redstone won the endorsement of some leaders of the disintegrating Greenback Party. He told the "Montgomery Advertiser" that he hoped to carry several states, including Alabama, New York, North Carolina, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.


text: Cleveland set the main issue of the campaign when he proposed a dramatic reduction in tariffs in his annual message to Congress in December 1887. Cleveland contended that the tariff was unnecessarily high and that unnecessary taxation was unjust taxation. The Republicans responded that the high tariff would protect American industry from foreign competition and guarantee high wages, high profits, and high economic growth.


text: The argument between protectionists and free traders over the size of the tariff was an old one, stretching back to the Tariff of 1816. In practice, the tariff was practically meaningless on industrial products, since the United States was the low-cost producer in most areas (except woolens), and could not be undersold by the less efficient Europeans. Nevertheless, the tariff issue motivated both sides to a remarkable extent.


text: Besides the obvious economic dimensions, the tariff argument also possessed an ethnic dimension. At the time, the policy of free trade was most strongly promoted by the British Empire, and so any political candidate who ran on free trade instantly was under threat of being labelled pro-British and antagonistic to the Irish-American voting bloc. Cleveland neatly neutralized this threat by pursuing punitive action against Canada (which, although autonomous, was still part of the British Empire) in a fishing rights dispute.


text: Harrison was well-funded by party activists and mounted an energetic campaign by the standards of the day, giving many speeches from his front porch in Indianapolis that were covered by the newspapers. Cleveland adhered to the tradition of presidential candidates not campaigning, and forbade his cabinet from campaigning as well, leaving his 75-year-old vice-presidential candidate Thurman as the spearhead of his campaign.


text: William Wade Dudley (1842–1909), an Indianapolis lawyer, was a tireless campaigner and prosecutor of Democratic election frauds. In 1888, Benjamin Harrison made Dudley Treasurer of the Republican National Committee. The campaign was the most intense in decades, with Indiana dead even. Although the National Committee had no business meddling in state politics, Dudley wrote a circular letter to Indiana's county chairmen, telling them to "divide the floaters into Blocks of Five, and put a trusted man with the necessary funds in charge of these five, and make them responsible that none get away and that all vote our ticket." Dudley promised adequate funding. His pre-emptive strike backfired when Democrats obtained the letter and distributed hundreds of thousands of copies nationwide in the last days of the campaign. Given Dudley's unsavory reputation, few people believed his denials. A few thousand "floaters" did exist in Indiana—men who would sell their vote for $2. They always divided 50-50 (or perhaps, $5,000-$5,000) and had no visible impact on the vote. The attack on "blocks of five" with the suggestion that pious General Harrison was trying to buy the election did enliven the Democratic campaign, and it stimulated the nationwide movement to replace ballots printed and distributed by the parties with secret ballots.


text: A California Republican named George Osgoodby wrote a letter to Sir Lionel Sackville-West, the British ambassador to the United States, under the assumed name of "Charles F. Murchison," describing himself as a former Englishman who was now a California citizen and asked how he should vote in the upcoming presidential election. Sir Lionel wrote back and in the "Murchison letter" indiscreetly suggested that Cleveland was probably the best man from the British point of view.


text: The Republicans published this letter just two weeks before the election, where it had an effect on Irish-American voters exactly comparable to the "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion" blunder of the previous election: Cleveland lost New York and Indiana (and as a result, the presidency). Sackville-West was removed as British ambassador.


text: The election focused on the swing states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Harrison's home state of Indiana. Harrison and Cleveland split these four states, with Harrison winning by means of notoriously fraudulent balloting in New York and Indiana. The Republicans won in twenty-six of the forty-four largest cities outside of the Southern United States.


text: Had Cleveland won his home state, he would have won the electoral vote by an electoral count of 204-197 (201 electoral votes were needed for victory in 1888). Instead, Cleveland became the third of only five candidates to obtain a plurality or majority of the popular vote but lose their respective presidential elections (Andrew Jackson in 1824, Samuel J. Tilden in 1876, Al Gore in 2000, and Hillary Clinton in 2016).


text: Cleveland bested Harrison in the popular vote by slightly more than ninety thousand votes (0.8%), though that margin was only made possible by massive disenfranchisement and voter suppression of hundreds of thousands of Republican blacks in the South. Harrison won the Electoral College by a 233-168 margin, largely by virtue of his 1.09% win in Cleveland's home state of New York.


text: Four states returned results where the winner won by less than 1 percent of the popular vote. Cleveland earned 24 of his electoral votes from states he won by less than one percent: Connecticut, Virginia, and West Virginia. Harrison earned fifteen of his electoral votes from a state he won by less than 1 percent: Indiana. Harrison won New York (36 electoral votes) by a margin of 1.09%. Despite the narrow margins in several states, only two states switched sides in comparison to Cleveland's first presidential election (New York and Indiana).


text: Of the 2,450 counties/independent cities making returns, Cleveland led in 1,290 (52.65%) while Harrison led in 1,157 (47.22%). Two counties (0.08%) recorded a Streeter plurality while one county (0.04%) in California split evenly between Cleveland and Harrison.


text: Upon leaving the White House at the end of her husband's first term, First Lady Frances Cleveland is reported to have told the White House staff to take care of the building since the Clevelands would be returning in four years. She proved correct, becoming the only First Lady to preside at two nonconsecutive administrations.


text: This was the last election in which the Republicans won Colorado and Nevada until 1904. It was also the last election until 1968 when bellwether Coös County, New Hampshire, did not support the winning candidate. This was the first time in American history that a party was voted out after a single four-year term, this would occur again in 1892, but not for Democrats until 1980.


text: Source: Data from Walter Dean Burnham, "Presidential ballots, 1836–1892" (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1955) pp 247–57.


text: In 1968 the Michael P. Antoine Company produced the Walt Disney Company musical film "The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band" which centers around the election of 1888 and the annexing and subdividing of the Dakota Territory into states (which was a major issue of the election).


title: Hiking

text: Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Religious pilgrimages have existed much longer but they involve walking long distances for a spiritual purpose associated with specific religions.


title: Hiking

text: "Hiking" is the preferred term in Canada and the United States; the term "walking" is used in these regions for shorter, particularly urban walks. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the word "walking" describes all forms of walking, whether it is a walk in the park or backpacking in the Alps. The word hiking is also often used in the UK, along with rambling , hillwalking, and fell walking (a term mostly used for hillwalking in northern England). The term bushwalking is endemic to Australia, having been adopted by the Sydney Bush Walkers club in 1927. In New Zealand a long, vigorous walk or hike is called tramping. It is a popular activity with numerous worldwide, and studies suggest that all forms of walking have health benefits.


title: Hiking

text: In the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom, hiking means walking outdoors on a trail, or off trail, for recreational purposes. A day hike refers to a hike that can be completed in a single day. However, in the United Kingdom, the word walking is also used, as well as rambling, while walking in mountainous areas is called hillwalking. In Northern England, Including the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales, fellwalking describes hill or mountain walks, as fell is the common word for both features there.


title: Hiking

text: Hiking sometimes involves bushwhacking and is sometimes referred to as such. This specifically refers to difficult walking through dense forest, undergrowth, or bushes where forward progress requires pushing vegetation aside. In extreme cases of bushwhacking, where the vegetation is so dense that human passage is impeded, a machete is used to clear a pathway. The Australian term bushwalking refers to both on and off-trail hiking. Common terms for hiking used by New Zealanders are tramping (particularly for overnight and longer trips), walking or bushwalking. Trekking is the preferred word used to describe multi-day hiking in the mountainous regions of India, Pakistan, Nepal, North America, South America, Iran, and the highlands of East Africa. Hiking a long-distance trail from end-to-end is also referred to as trekking and as thru-hiking in some places. In North America, multi-day hikes, usually with camping, are referred to as backpacking.


title: Hiking

text: The poet Petrarch is frequently mentioned as an early example of someone hiking. Petrarch recounts that on April 26, 1336, with his brother and two servants, he climbed to the top of Mont Ventoux (, a feat which he undertook for recreation rather than necessity. The exploit is described in a celebrated letter addressed to his friend and confessor, the monk Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro, composed some time after the fact. However, some have suggested that Petrarch's climb was fictional.


title: Hiking

text: Jakob Burckhardt, in "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy" (in German in 1860) declared Petrarch "a truly modern man", because of the significance of nature for his "receptive spirit"; even if he did not yet have the skill to describe nature. Petrarch's implication that he was the first to climb mountains for pleasure, and Burckhardt's insistence on Petrarch's sensitivity to nature have been often repeated since. There are also numerous references to Petrarch as an "alpinist", although Mont Ventoux is not a hard climb, and is not usually considered part of the Alps. This implicit claim of Petrarch and Burckhardt, that Petrarch was the first to climb a mountain for pleasure since antiquity, was disproven by Lynn Thorndike in 1943. Mount Ventoux was climbed by Jean Buridan, on his way to the papal court in Avignon before the year 1334, "in order to make some meteorological observations". There were ascents accomplished during the Middle Ages; Lynn Thorndike mentions that "a book on feeling for nature in Germany in the tenth and eleventh centuries, noted various ascents and descriptions of mountains from that period", and that "in the closing years of his life archbishop Anno II, Archbishop of Cologne ((c. 1010 – 1075)) climbed his beloved mountain oftener than usual".


title: Hiking

text: However, the idea of taking a walk in the countryside only really developed during the 18th century in Europe, and arose because of changing attitudes to the landscape and nature associated with the Romantic movement. In earlier times walking generally indicated poverty and was also associated with vagrancy. In previous centuries long walks were undertaken as part of religious pilgrimages and this tradition continues throughout the world.


title: Hiking

text: The Swiss scientist and poet Albrecht von Haller's poem "Die Alpen" (1732) is an historically important early sign of an awakening appreciation of the mountains, though it is chiefly designed to contrast the simple and idyllic life of the inhabitants of the Alps with the corrupt and decadent existence of the dwellers in the plains.


title: Hiking

text: Numerous travellers explored Europe on foot in the last third of the 18th century and recorded their experiences. A significant example is Johann Gottfried Seume, who set out on foot from Leipzig to Sicily in 1801, and returned to Leipzig via Paris after nine months.


title: Hiking

text: Thomas West, a Scottish priest, popularized the idea of walking for pleasure in his guide to the Lake District of 1778. In the introduction he wrote that he aimed to encourage the taste of visiting the lakes by furnishing the traveller with a Guide; and for that purpose, the writer has here collected and laid before him, all the select stations and points of view, noticed by those authors who have last made the tour of the lakes, verified by his own repeated observations. To this end he included various 'stations' or viewpoints around the lakes, from which tourists would be encouraged to enjoy the views in terms of their aesthetic qualities. Published in 1778 the book was a major success.


title: Hiking

text: Another famous early exponent of walking for pleasure was the English poet William Wordsworth. In 1790 he embarked on an extended tour of France, Switzerland, and Germany, a journey subsequently recorded in his long autobiographical poem "The Prelude" (1850). His famous poem "Tintern Abbey" was inspired by a visit to the Wye Valley made during a walking tour of Wales in 1798 with his sister Dorothy Wordsworth. Wordsworth's friend Coleridge was another keen walker and in the autumn of 1799, he and Wordsworth undertook a three-week tour of the Lake District. John Keats, who belonged to the next generation of Romantic poets began, in June 1818, a walking tour of Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District with his friend Charles Armitage Brown.


title: Hiking

text: More and more people undertook walking tours through the 19th century, of which the most famous is probably Robert Louis Stevenson's journey through the Cévennes in France with a donkey, recorded in his "Travels with a Donkey" (1879). Stevenson also published in 1876 his famous essay "Walking Tours". The subgenre of travel writing produced many classics in the subsequent 20th century. An early American example of a book that describes an extended walking tour is naturalist John Muir's "A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf" (1916), a posthumously published account of a long botanizing walk, undertaken in 1867.


title: Hiking

text: Due to industrialisation in England, people began to migrate to the cities where living standards were often cramped and unsanitary. They would escape the confines of the city by rambling about in the countryside. However, the land in England, particularly around the urban areas of Manchester and Sheffield, was privately owned and trespass was illegal. Rambling clubs soon sprang up in the north and began politically campaigning for the legal 'right to roam'. One of the first such clubs was 'Sunday Tramps' founded by Leslie White in 1879. The first national grouping, the Federation of Rambling Clubs, was formed in London in 1905 and was heavily patronized by the peerage.


title: Hiking

text: Access to Mountains bills, that would have legislated the public's 'right to roam' across some private land, were periodically presented to Parliament from 1884 to 1932 without success. Finally, in 1932, the Rambler's Right Movement organized a mass trespass on Kinder Scout in Derbyshire. Despite attempts on the part of the police to prevent the trespass from going ahead, it was successfully achieved due to massive publicity. However, the Mountain Access Bill that was passed in 1939 was opposed by many walkers' organizations, including The Ramblers, who felt that it did not sufficiently protect their rights, and it was eventually repealed.


title: Hiking

text: The effort to improve access led after World War II to the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, and in 1951 to the creation of the first national park in the UK, the Peak District National Park. The establishment of this and similar national parks helped to improve access for all outdoors enthusiasts. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 considerably extended the right to roam in England and Wales.


title: Hiking

text: An early example of an interest in hiking in the United States is Abel Crawford and his son Ethan's clearing of a trail to the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire in 1819. This 8.5-mile path is the oldest continually used hiking trail in the United States. The influence of British and European Romanticism reached North America through the transcendentalist movement, and both Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) and Henry David Thoreau (1817-62) were important influences on the outdoors movement in North America. Thoreau's writing on nature and on walking include the posthumously published "Walking" (1862)". His earlier essay "A Walk to Wachusett" (1842) describes a four-day walking tour Thoreau took with a companion from Concord, Massachusetts to the summit of Mount Wachusett, Princeton, Massachusetts and back. In 1876 the Appalachian Mountain Club, America’s earliest recreation organization, was founded to protect the trails and mountains in the northeastern United States.


title: Hiking

text: Despite clubs such as the Appalachian Mountain Club, hiking during the early twentieth century was still primarily in New England, San Francisco, and the Pacific Northwest. Eventually, there were similar clubs formed in the Midwest and following the Appalachian range. As interest grew hiking culture was spread throughout the nation.


title: Hiking

text: The Scottish-born, American naturalist John Muir (1838 –1914), was another important early advocate of the preservation of wilderness in the United States. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is now one of the most important conservation organizations in the United States. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings inspired others, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large areas of undeveloped countryside. He is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks". In 1916, the National Park Service was created to protect national parks and monuments.


title: Hiking

text: In 1921, Benton MacKaye, a forester, conceived the idea of what would become America's first National Scenic Trail, the Appalachian Trail (AT). The AT was completed in August 1937, running from Maine to Georgia. The Pacific Crest Trail ("PCT") was first explored in the 1930s by the YMCA hiking groups and was eventually registered as a complete border to border trail from Mexico to Canada.


title: Hiking

text: Pilgrimage routes are now treated by some walkers as long-distance routes, and the route taken by the British National Trail the North Downs Way closely follows that of the Pilgrims' Way to Canterbury.


title: Hiking

text: The ancient pilgrimage, the Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, has become more recently the source for a number of long-distance hiking routes. This is a network of pilgrims' ways leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain. Many follow its routes as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth.


title: Hiking

text: The French Way is the most popular of the routes and runs from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the French side of the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles on the Spanish side and then another on to Santiago de Compostela through the major cities of Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos and León. A typical walk on the "Camino francés" takes at least four weeks, allowing for one or two rest days on the way. Some travel the Camino on bicycle or on horseback. Paths from the cities of Tours, Vézelay, and Le Puy-en-Velay meet at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The French long-distance path GR 65 (of the Grande Randonnée network), is an important variant route of the old Christian pilgrimage way.


title: Hiking

text: The Abraham Path is a cultural route believed to have been the path of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish patriarch Abraham’s ancient journey across the Ancient Near East. The path was established in 2007 as a pilgrimage route between Urfa, Turkey, possibly his birthplace, and his final destination of the desert of Negev.


title: Hiking

text: National parks are often important hiking destinations, such as National Parks of England and Wales; of Canada; of New Zealand, of South Africa, etc.


title: Hiking

text: Frequently, nowadays long-distance hikes (walking tours) are undertaken along long-distance paths, including the National Trails in England and Wales, the Kungsleden (Sweden) and the National Trail System in the United States. The Grande Randonnée (France), Grote Routepaden, or Lange-afstand-wandelpaden (The Netherlands), Grande Rota (Portugal), Gran Recorrido (Spain) is a network of long-distance footpaths in Europe, mostly in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. There are extensive networks in other European countries of long-distance trails, as well as in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, and to a lesser extent other Asiatic countries, like Turkey, Israel, and Jordan. In the Alps of Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy walking tours can be made from 'hut-to-hut', using an extensive system of mountain huts.


title: Hiking

text: In the late 20th-century, there has been a proliferation of official and unofficial long-distance routes, which mean that hikers now are more likely to refer to using a long-distance way (Britain), trail (US), "The Grande Randonnée" (France), etc., than setting out on a walking tour. Early examples of long-distance paths include the Appalachian Trail in the US and the Pennine Way in Britain.


title: Hiking

text: In the Middle East the Jordan Trail is a 650 km (400 miles) long hiking trail in Jordan established in 2015 by the Jordan Trail Association. And Israel has been described as "a trekker's paradise" with over 9,656 km (6,000 miles) of trails.


title: Hiking

text: The Lycian Way is a marked long-distance trail in southwestern Turkey around part of the coast of ancient Lycia. It is over in length and stretches from Hisarönü (Ovacık), near Fethiye, to Geyikbayırı in Konyaaltı about from Antalya. It was conceived by Briton Kate Clow, who lives in Turkey. It takes its name from the ancient civilization, which once ruled the area.


title: Hiking

text: The Great Himalaya Trail is a route across the Himalayas. The original concept of the trail was to establish a single long distance trekking trail from the east end to the west end of Nepal that includes a total of roughly 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi) of path. The proposed trail will link together a range of the less explored tourism destinations of Nepal's mountain region.


title: Hiking

text: In Latin America, Peru and Chile are important hiking destinations. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru is very popular and a permit is required. The longest hiking trail in Chile is the informal 3,000 km (1,850 mi) Greater Patagonia Trail that was created by a non-governmental initiative.


title: Hiking

text: In Africa a major trekking destination is Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in Tanzania, which is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest single free-standing mountain in the world: above sea level and about above its plateau base.


title: Hiking

text: The equipment required for hiking depends on a variety of factors, including local climate. Day hikers often carry water, food, a map, hat, and rain-proof gear. Hikers have traditionally worn sturdy hiking boots for stability over rough terrain. In recent decades this has become less common as some long-distance hikers have switched to trail running shoes. Boots are still commonly used in mountainous terrain. The Mountaineers club recommends a list of "Ten Essentials" equipment for hiking, including a compass, sunglasses, sunscreen, a flashlight, a first aid kit, a fire starter, and a knife. Other groups recommend items such as hat, gloves, insect repellent, and an emergency blanket. A GPS navigation device can also be helpful and route cards may be used as a guide. Trekking poles are also recommended, especially when carrying a heavy backpack. Winter hiking requires a higher level of skill and generally more specialized gear than in other seasons (see winter hiking below).


title: Hiking

text: Proponents of ultralight backpacking argue that long lists of required items for multi-day hikes increases pack weight, and hence fatigue and the chance of injury. Instead, they recommend reducing pack weight, in order to make hiking long distances easier. Even the use of hiking boots on long-distances hikes is controversial among ultralight hikers, because of their weight.


title: Hiking

text: Hiking times can be estimated by Naismith's rule or Tobler's hiking function, while distances can be measured on a map with an opisometer. A pedometer is a device that records the distance walked.


title: Hiking

text: The American Hiking Society advises that parents with young children should encourage them to participate in decision-making about route-finding and pace. Alisha McDarris, writing in "Popular Science", suggests that, whilst hiking with children poses particular challenges, it can be a rewarding experience for them, particularly if a route is chosen with their interests in mind.


title: Hiking

text: Young children are prone to becoming fatigued more rapidly than adults, requiring fluids and energy-rich foods more frequently, and are also more sensitive to variations in weather and terrain. Hiking routes may be chosen with these factors in mind, and appropriate clothing, equipment and sun-protection need to be available.


title: Hiking

text: Natural environments are often fragile and may be accidentally damaged, especially when a large number of hikers are involved. For example, years of gathering wood can strip an alpine area of valuable nutrients, and can cause deforestation; and some species, such as martens or bighorn sheep, are very sensitive to the presence of humans, especially around mating season. Generally, protected areas such as parks have regulations in place to protect the environment, so as to minimize such impact. Such regulations include banning wood fires, restricting camping to established campsites, disposing or packing out faecal matter, and imposing a quota on the number of hikers. Many hikers espouse the philosophy of Leave No Trace, following strict practices on dealing with food waste, food packaging, and other impacts on the environment.


title: Hiking

text: Human feces are often a major source of environmental impact from hiking, and can contaminate the watershed and make other hikers ill. 'Catholes' dug 10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 inches) deep, depending on local soil composition and covered after use, at least 60 m (200 feet) away from water sources and trails, are recommended to reduce the risk of bacterial contamination.


title: Hiking

text: Fire is a particular source of danger, and an individual hiker can have a large impact on an ecosystem. For example, in 2005, a Czech backpacker accidentally started a fire that burnt 5% of Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.


title: Hiking

text: Because hikers may come into conflict with other users of the land or may harm the natural environment, hiking etiquette has developed.


title: Hiking

text: Hiking can be hazardous because of terrain, inclement weather, becoming lost, or pre-existing medical conditions. The dangerous circumstances hikers can face include specific accidents or physical ailments. It is especially hazardous in high mountains, crossing rivers and glaciers, and when there is snow and ice. At times hiking may involve scrambling, as well as the use of ropes, ice axes and crampons and the skill to properly use them.


title: Hiking

text: Potential hazards involving physical ailments may include dehydration, frostbite, hypothermia, sunburn, sunstroke, or diarrhea, and such injuries as ankle sprains, or broken bones. Hypothermia is a danger for all hikers and especially inexperienced hikers. Weather does not need to be very cold to be dangerous since ordinary rain or mist has a strong cooling effect. In high mountains a further danger is altitude sickness. This typically occurs only above , though some are affected at lower altitudes. Risk factors include a prior episode of altitude sickness, a high degree of activity, and a rapid increase in elevation.


title: Hiking

text: Other threats include attacks by animals (e.g., bears, snakes, and insects or ticks carrying diseases such as Lyme) or contact with noxious plants that can cause rashes (e.g., poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, or stinging nettles). Lightning is also a threat, especially on high ground.


title: Hiking

text: Walkers in high mountains, and during winter in many countries, can encounter hazardous snow and ice conditions, and the possibility of avalanches. Year round glaciers are potentially hazardous. Fast flowing water presents another danger and a safe crossing may requires special techniques.


title: Hiking

text: In various countries, borders may be poorly marked. In 2009, Iran imprisoned three Americans for hiking across the Iran-Iraq border. It is illegal to cross into the US on the Pacific Crest Trail from Canada. Going south to north it is more straightforward and a crossing can be made, if advanced arrangements are made with Canada Border Services. Within the Schengen Area, which includes most of the E.U., and associated nations like Switzerland and Norway, there are no impediments to crossing by path, and borders are not always obvious.


title: Hiking

text: Hiking in winter offers additional opportunities, challenges and hazards. Crampons may be needed in icy conditions, and an ice ax is recommended on steep, snow covered paths. Snowshoes and hiking poles, or cross country skis are useful aid for those hiking in deep snow.


title: Hiking

text: An example of a close relationship between skiing and hiking is found in Norway, where The Norwegian Trekking Association maintains over 400 huts stretching across thousands of kilometres of trails which hikers can use in the summer and skiers in the winter. For longer routes in snowy conditions, hikers may resort to ski touring, using specialised skis and boots for uphill travel. In winter, factors such as shortened daylight, changeable weather conditions and avalanche risk can raise the hazard level of hiking.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: Patch Adams is a 1998 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Robin Williams in the lead role, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bob Gunton, Daniel London, and Peter Coyote. Set in the late 1960s/early 1970s, it is loosely based on the life story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams and the book "Gesundheit: Good Health Is a Laughing Matter" by Dr. Adams and Maureen Mylander. It received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, with criticism for the sentimentality and direction. Despite the terrible reviews, the film was a box office success grossing $202.3 million against a $50–90 million budget.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: In 1969, Hunter "Patch" Adams, after developing suicidal thoughts, admits himself to a mental institution. Once there, he finds that using humor, rather than doctor-centered psychotherapy, better helps his fellow patients and provides him with a new purpose in life. Because of this, he wants to become a medical doctor, and swiftly leaves the facility. Two years later, he enrolls at the Medical College of Virginia (now known as VCU School of Medicine) as the oldest first-year student. He questions the school's soulless approach to medical care, particularly why students don't work with patients until their third year, as well as the methods of the school's Dean Walcott, who takes an instant disliking to Patch and believes that doctors must treat patients his way and not befriend them. Because of this and incidents such as setting up a giant model papier-mâché pair of legs in stirrups during an obstetric conference, he is expelled from the medical school, although he is later reinstated when it becomes apparent to the school that his unorthodox methods often improve his patients' physical and mental health. Adams encourages medical students to work closely with nurses, learn interviewing skills early, and argues that death should be treated with dignity and sometimes even humor.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: Patch begins a friendship with fellow student Carin Fisher and, during their third year as medical students, develops his idea for a medical clinic built around his philosophy of treating patients using humor and compassion. With the help of Arthur Mendelson, a wealthy man who was a patient whom Patch met while in the mental hospital, he purchases in West Virginia to construct the future Gesundheit! Institute. Together with Carin, medical student Truman Schiff, and some old friends, he renovates an old cottage into a clinic. When they get the clinic running, they treat patients without medical insurance and perform comedy sketches for them.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: Patch's close friendship with Carin soon turns into romance. When Carin reveals to him that she had been molested as a child, Patch comforts her and reassures her that she can overcome her pain by helping others. Encouraged, Carin wants to help a disturbed patient, Lawrence "Larry" Silver. However, Larry murders Carin with a shotgun, then immediately commits suicide. Patch, guilt-ridden by Carin's death, begins to question the goodness in humanity. Standing on a cliff, he contemplates suicide again and asks God for an explanation. He then sees a butterfly that reminds him that Carin had always wished she was a caterpillar that could turn into a butterfly and fly away. The butterfly lands on his medical bag and shirt before flying away. With his spirits revived, Patch decides to dedicate his work to her memory.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: Walcott eventually discovers that Patch has been illegally running a clinic and practicing medicine without a license and attempts to expel him again because of this, as well as complaints that he has made his patients uncomfortable (which is obviously not true). Desperate to prove Walcott wrong, Patch files a grievance with the state medical board on the advice of his former medical school roommate, conservative Mitch Roman. Patch succeeds in convincing the board that he must treat the spirit as well as the body. The board, although they still find some of his methods very unorthodox, allows him to graduate and he receives a standing ovation from the packed hearing room.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: At graduation, Patch receives his Doctor of Medicine and, bowing to the professors and audience, reveals himself to be naked underneath his cap and gown.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: The film was shot in three locations: Treasure Island, California (near San Francisco), Asheville (North Carolina), and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A diner was temporarily placed in Point Richmond (a neighborhood in Richmond, California) and served as the University Diner. Several interior classroom scenes were filmed on the campus of UC Berkeley.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: The film has several major departures from Adams' real history. One is that the character of Carin is fictional but is analogous to a real-life friend of Adams (a man) who was murdered under similar circumstances. Another difference is the then-47-year-old Robin Williams portrays Adams as enrolling in medical school very late in his life, his older age even being brought up in dialogue. In reality, Adams started medical school immediately and his educational progress was quite normal for a physician: he graduated high school at 18, college at 22, and medical school at 26.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: The film was released on December 25, 1998, in the United States and Canada and grossed $25.2 million in 2,712 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #1 at the box office. Upon opening, it achieved the third-highest December opening weekend, behind "Titanic" and "Scream 2". It went on to set a record for having the highest Christmas opening weekend, beating "Michael". For two years, the film would hold this record until 2000 when "Cast Away" took it. After its first weekend, it was the #2 film for four weeks. The film grossed US$202.3 million worldwide—$135 million in the United States and Canada and $67.3 million in other territories.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, "Patch Adams" has an approval score of 22% based on 69 reviews and an average rating of 4.20/10. The critical consensus reads, "Syrupy performances and directing make this dramedy all too obvious." On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 25 out of 100 based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" criticized the film's lowbrow comedy, which did not mesh well with its "maudlin streak" and that the sentiment felt "fabricated". Lisa Schwarzbaum of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film an F, deeming it "an offensive and deeply false 'inspirational' drama", lambasting the over-simplified portrayal of the medical establishment of the time. Robert K. Elder of the "Chicago Tribune" called Monica Potter "the best thing about the otherwise dopey "Patch Adams"."


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: "Chicago Sun-Times" film critic Roger Ebert gave the film one and a half stars out of four and wrote, ""Patch Adams" made me want to spray the screen with Lysol. This movie is shameless. It's not merely a tearjerker. It extracts tears individually by liposuction, without anesthesia." It received "Two Thumbs Down" on his television series "Siskel & Ebert", with particular criticism towards the character of Patch, who was viewed as "overbearing", "obnoxious" and "sanctimonious" as well as noting that they would never trust a doctor who acted like Adams does. Co-host Gene Siskel said "I would rather turn my head and cough than see another moment of "Patch Adams" again". He later singled it out as the worst film of 1998; it was the last film he gave a "Worst of" to before his death in 1999.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: Marc Shaiman's score was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score. The film was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards, for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Robin Williams).


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: The real Patch Adams has been openly critical of the film, saying that it sacrificed much of his message to make a selling film. He also said that out of all aspects of his life and activism, the film portrayed him merely as a funny doctor. At a Conference on World Affairs, he told film critic Roger Ebert, "I hate that movie."


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: During a speech in 2010 at the Mayo Clinic, Patch Adams said, "The film promised to build our hospital. None of the profits from the film ever came to us, and so, basically 40 years into this work, we are still trying to build our hospital." Furthermore, Adams stated,


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: [Robin Williams] made $21 million for four months of pretending to be me, in a very simplistic version, and did not give $10 to my free hospital. Patch Adams, the person, would have, if I had Robin's money, given all $21 million to a free hospital in a country where 80 million cannot get care."


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: Adams later clarified that he did not hate Williams, and Williams actively supported St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for several years. After Williams' death in 2014, Adams said "I'm enormously grateful for his wonderful performance of my early life, which has allowed the Gesundheit Institute to continue and expand our work."


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: "Patch Adams" was released on a Collector's Edition DVD on June 22, 1999. On August 16, 2016, the film was released on Blu-ray for the first time.


title: Patch Adams (film)

text: The soundtrack for "Patch Adams" was released on December 22, 1998 on CD and cassette by Universal Records.


title: Meteorite

text: A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the atmospheric gases cause it to heat up and radiate energy. It then becomes a meteor and forms a fireball, also known as a shooting star; astronomers call the brightest examples "bolides". Once it settles on the larger body's surface, the meteor becomes a meteorite. Meteorites vary greatly in size. For geologists, a bolide is a meteorite large enough to create an impact crater.


title: Meteorite

text: Meteorites that are recovered after being observed as they transit the atmosphere and impact the Earth are called meteorite falls. All others are known as meteorite finds.


title: Meteorite

text: Meteorites have traditionally been divided into three broad categories: stony meteorites that are rocks, mainly composed of silicate minerals; iron meteorites that are largely composed of ferronickel; and stony-iron meteorites that contain large amounts of both metallic and rocky material. Modern classification schemes divide meteorites into groups according to their structure, chemical and isotopic composition and mineralogy. "Meteorites" less than ~1 mm in diameter are classified as micrometeorites, however micrometeorites differ from meteorites in that they typically melt completely in the atmosphere and fall to Earth as quenched droplets. Extraterrestrial meteorites have been found on the Moon and on Mars.


title: Meteorite

text: Most meteoroids disintegrate when entering the Earth's atmosphere. Usually, five to ten a year are observed to fall and are subsequently recovered and made known to scientists. Few meteorites are large enough to create large impact craters. Instead, they typically arrive at the surface at their terminal velocity and, at most, create a small pit.


title: Meteorite

text: Large meteoroids may strike the earth with a significant fraction of their escape velocity (second cosmic velocity), leaving behind a hypervelocity impact crater. The kind of crater will depend on the size, composition, degree of fragmentation, and incoming angle of the impactor. The force of such collisions has the potential to cause widespread destruction. The most frequent hypervelocity cratering events on the Earth are caused by iron meteoroids, which are most easily able to transit the atmosphere intact. Examples of craters caused by iron meteoroids include Barringer Meteor Crater, Odessa Meteor Crater, Wabar craters, and Wolfe Creek crater; iron meteorites are found in association with all of these craters. In contrast, even relatively large stony or icy bodies such as small comets or asteroids, up to millions of tons, are disrupted in the atmosphere, and do not make impact craters. Although such disruption events are uncommon, they can cause a considerable concussion to occur; the famed Tunguska event probably resulted from such an incident. Very large stony objects, hundreds of meters in diameter or more, weighing tens of millions of tons or more, can reach the surface and cause large craters but are very rare. Such events are generally so energetic that the impactor is completely destroyed, leaving no meteorites. (The very first example of a stony meteorite found in association with a large impact crater, the Morokweng impact structure in South Africa, was reported in May 2006.)


title: Meteorite

text: Several phenomena are well documented during witnessed meteorite falls too small to produce hypervelocity craters. The fireball that occurs as the meteoroid passes through the atmosphere can appear to be very bright, rivaling the sun in intensity, although most are far dimmer and may not even be noticed during the daytime. Various colors have been reported, including yellow, green, and red. Flashes and bursts of light can occur as the object breaks up. Explosions, detonations, and rumblings are often heard during meteorite falls, which can be caused by sonic booms as well as shock waves resulting from major fragmentation events. These sounds can be heard over wide areas, with a radius of a hundred or more kilometers. Whistling and hissing sounds are also sometimes heard but are poorly understood. Following the passage of the fireball, it is not unusual for a dust trail to linger in the atmosphere for several minutes.


title: Meteorite

text: As meteoroids are heated during atmospheric entry, their surfaces melt and experience ablation. They can be sculpted into various shapes during this process, sometimes resulting in shallow thumbprint-like indentations on their surfaces called regmaglypts. If the meteoroid maintains a fixed orientation for some time, without tumbling, it may develop a conical "nose cone" or "heat shield" shape. As it decelerates, eventually the molten surface layer solidifies into a thin fusion crust, which on most meteorites is black (on some achondrites, the fusion crust may be very light-colored). On stony meteorites, the heat-affected zone is at most a few mm deep; in iron meteorites, which are more thermally conductive, the structure of the metal may be affected by heat up to below the surface. Reports vary; some meteorites are reported to be "burning hot to the touch" upon landing, while others are alleged to have been cold enough to condense water and form a frost.


title: Meteorite

text: Meteoroids that disintegrate in the atmosphere may fall as meteorite showers, which can range from only a few up to thousands of separate individuals. The area over which a meteorite shower falls is known as its strewn field. Strewn fields are commonly elliptical in shape, with the major axis parallel to the direction of flight. In most cases, the largest meteorites in a shower are found farthest down-range in the strewn field.


title: Meteorite

text: Most meteorites are stony meteorites, classed as chondrites and achondrites. Only about 6% of meteorites are iron meteorites or a blend of rock and metal, the stony-iron meteorites. Modern classification of meteorites is complex. The review paper of Krot et al. (2007) summarizes modern meteorite taxonomy.


title: Meteorite

text: About 86% of the meteorites are chondrites, which are named for the small, round particles they contain. These particles, or chondrules, are composed mostly of silicate minerals that appear to have been melted while they were free-floating objects in space. Certain types of chondrites also contain small amounts of organic matter, including amino acids, and presolar grains. Chondrites are typically about 4.55 billion years old and are thought to represent material from the asteroid belt that never coalesced into large bodies. Like comets, chondritic asteroids are some of the oldest and most primitive materials in the Solar System. Chondrites are often considered to be "the building blocks of the planets".


title: Meteorite

text: About 8% of the meteorites are achondrites (meaning they do not contain chondrules), some of which are similar to terrestrial igneous rocks. Most achondrites are also ancient rocks, and are thought to represent crustal material of differentiated planetesimals. One large family of achondrites (the HED meteorites) may have originated on the parent body of the Vesta Family, although this claim is disputed. Others derive from unidentified asteroids. Two small groups of achondrites are special, as they are younger and do not appear to come from the asteroid belt. One of these groups comes from the Moon, and includes rocks similar to those brought back to Earth by Apollo and Luna programs. The other group is almost certainly from Mars and constitutes the only materials from other planets ever recovered by humans.


title: Meteorite

text: About 5% of meteorites that have been seen to fall are iron meteorites composed of iron-nickel alloys, such as kamacite and/or taenite. Most iron meteorites are thought to come from the cores of planetesimals that were once molten. As with the Earth, the denser metal separated from silicate material and sank toward the center of the planetesimal, forming its core. After the planetesimal solidified, it broke up in a collision with another planetesimal. Due to the low abundance of iron meteorites in collection areas such as Antarctica, where most of the meteoric material that has fallen can be recovered, it is possible that the percentage of iron-meteorite falls is lower than 5%. This would be explained by a recovery bias; laypeople are more likely to notice and recover solid masses of metal than most other meteorite types. The abundance of iron meteorites relative to total Antarctic finds is 0.4%.


title: Meteorite

text: Stony-iron meteorites constitute the remaining 1%. They are a mixture of iron-nickel metal and silicate minerals. One type, called pallasites, is thought to have originated in the boundary zone above the core regions where iron meteorites originated. The other major type of stony-iron meteorites is the mesosiderites.


title: Meteorite

text: Tektites (from Greek "tektos", molten) are not themselves meteorites, but are rather natural glass objects up to a few centimeters in size that were formed—according to most scientists—by the impacts of large meteorites on Earth's surface. A few researchers have favored tektites originating from the Moon as volcanic ejecta, but this theory has lost much of its support over the last few decades.


title: Meteorite

text: In March 2015, NASA scientists reported that complex organic compounds found in DNA and RNA, including uracil, cytosine, and thymine, have been formed in the laboratory under outer space conditions, using starting chemicals, such as pyrimidine, found in meteorites. Pyrimidine and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may have been formed in red giants or in interstellar dust and gas clouds, according to the scientists.


title: Meteorite

text: In January 2018, researchers found that 4.5 billion-year-old meteorites found on Earth contained liquid water along with prebiotic complex organic substances that may be ingredients for life.


title: Meteorite

text: In November 2019, scientists reported detecting sugar molecules in meteorites for the first time, including ribose, suggesting that chemical processes on asteroids can produce some organic compounds fundamental to life, and supporting the notion of an RNA world prior to a DNA-based origin of life on Earth.


title: Meteorite

text: In April 2022, a Japanese group reported that they had found adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and uracil (U) inside carbon-rich meteorites. These compounds


title: Meteorite

text: are building blocks of DNA and RNA, the genetic code of all life on Earth. These compounds have also occurred spontaneously in laboratory settings emulating conditions in outer space.


title: Meteorite

text: Most meteorites date from the early Solar System and are by far the oldest extant material on Earth. Analysis of terrestrial weathering due to water, salt, oxygen, etc. is used to quantify the degree of alteration that a meteorite has experienced. Several qualitative weathering indices have been applied to Antarctic and desertic samples.


title: Meteorite

text: The most commonly employed weathering scale, used for ordinary chondrites, ranges from W0 (pristine state) to W6 (heavy alteration).


title: Meteorite

text: "Fossil" meteorites are sometimes discovered by geologists. They represent the highly weathered remains of meteorites that fell to Earth in the remote past and were preserved in sedimentary deposits sufficiently well that they can be recognized through mineralogical and geochemical studies. The Thorsberg limestone quarry in Sweden has produced an anomalously large number – exceeding one hundred – fossil meteorites from the Ordovician, nearly all of which are highly weathered L-chondrites that still resemble the original meteorite under a petrographic microscope, but which have had their original material almost entirely replaced by terrestrial secondary mineralization. The extraterrestrial provenance was demonstrated in part through isotopic analysis of relict spinel grains, a mineral that is common in meteorites, is insoluble in water, and is able to persist chemically unchanged in the terrestrial weathering environment. Scientists believe that these meteorites, which have all also been found in Russia and China, all originated from the same source, a collision that occurred somewhere between Jupiter and Mars. One of these fossil meteorites, dubbed Österplana 065, appears to represent a distinct type of meteorite that is "extinct" in the sense that it is no longer falling to Earth, the parent body having already been completely depleted from the reservoir of near-Earth objects.


title: Meteorite

text: A "meteorite fall", also called an "observed fall", is a meteorite collected after its arrival was observed by people or automated devices. Any other meteorite is called a "meteorite find". There are more than 1,100 documented falls listed in widely used databases, most of which have specimens in modern collections. , the "Meteoritical Bulletin Database" had 1,180 confirmed falls.


title: Meteorite

text: Most meteorite falls are collected on the basis of eyewitness accounts of the fireball or the impact of the object on the ground, or both. Therefore, despite the fact that meteorites fall with virtually equal probability everywhere on Earth, verified meteorite falls tend to be concentrated in areas with higher human population densities such as Europe, Japan, and northern India.


title: Meteorite

text: A small number of meteorite falls have been observed with automated cameras and recovered following calculation of the impact point. The first of these was the Přibram meteorite, which fell in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) in 1959. In this case, two cameras used to photograph meteors captured images of the fireball. The images were used both to determine the location of the stones on the ground and, more significantly, to calculate for the first time an accurate orbit for a recovered meteorite.