- The World Factbook
The World Factbook provides basic intelligence on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, environment, communications, transportation, military, terrorism, and transnational issues for 265 world entities.
- After declaring independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, Albania experienced a period of political upheaval that led to a short-lived monarchy, which ended in 1939 when Italy conquered the country. Germany then occupied Albania in 1943, and communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960) and then with China (until 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended communist rule and established a multiparty democracy.
- Twin Falls (waterfallsnorthwest.com)
The seemingly incorrectly named Twin Falls is the tallest waterfall along the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River and the third tallest among any branch of the Snoqualmie after Kanim Falls and Snoqualmie Falls. Twin Falls actually consists of five distinct tiers, three of which are often referred to as individual waterfalls. The first two tiers drop about 30 and 45 feet respectively, with the upper of the two being mostly hidden from view of the trailside viewpoints due to the shape of the adjacent cliff. At the bottom of the second drop the river forms a large pool which leads directly into the third tier which cascades in stair-step fashion for about 25 feet directly upstream of a high footbridge which spans the gorge. Directly below the footbridge the fourth tier drops about 10 feet, and as the finale the river rolls over a curvaceous 110-foot tall horsetail that slams into an undercut cliff face as it veils down a very bulbous protrusion of rock.