INDIA Fifty Years of Independence
Nearly a billion peoplea sixth of the planets populationlive in India. Packed into a space onethird the size of the United States, they speak a thousand languages and dialects and practice several major religions.
Giving direction to this mammoth population has been the great challenge of 50 years of democracy. Some 20 political parties vie for Indias helm. Among their constituents are 270 million members of an expanding middle classdetermined to see life improve.
India is a second home for writer Geoffrey C. Ward, who lived there as a boy in the 1950s and returns regularly. The nation is also the favorite subject of photographer Steve McCurry: Its so beautiful, so culturally diverse. Theres always something youve never seen before. Thats the greatest thing for a photographer.
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ICELANDS TRIAL BY FIRE
Fire battled ice for two hellish weeks as Iceland weathered one of its worst volcanic eruptions in this century. Yet this fall 1996 nightmare was only the herald of a greater cataclysm.
That was the jökulhaup, or titanic flood, of November 5the countrys most powerful deluge in almost 60 years. For a few hours the water volume rivaled that of the Congo. Mammoth blocks of iceweighing about a thousand tons (907,000 kilograms)rode the currents, wiping out bridges and turning the nations main highway into a boulder field.
Photographer Steve Winter captures this geological drama, and writer Glenn Oeland interprets the breathtaking images.
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LA SALLES LAST VOYAGE
The mission: Reach the Mississippi by sea. The goal: Link Frances Canadian holdings with the Gulf of Mexico. The ultimate agenda: Make the French the masters of this whole continent.
The man: Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. Backed by Louis XIV, he set sail in the late 17th century with four ships and 300 men and women. Poor navigation, disease, and low morale plagued the illfated mission. La Salle reached Texas, attempted a colony, lost his small fleet, and aroused an implacable hatred among his crewwho killed him.
The Belle, La Salles last ship and last hope for success, sank in 1686 and lay below Matagorda Bay till 1995. The ships second crewa team of archaeologistshas excavated bronze cannon, lice combs, a womans ring, and even human bones.
Geographic writer Lisa Moore LaRoe and photographer Robert Clark document the legacy of La Salle and his tragedy.
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EXPANDING WORLDS The Dawn of Humans
Smarter and faster than its predecessors, Homo erectus was the first hominid
to leave Africa and spread throughout the Old Worldtwo million years ago.
Rick Gore and Kenneth Garrett follow the path of the species out of Africa. This article is the latest in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICs continuing series on early humans. Art by John Sibbick.
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HUNTING THE MIGHTY PYTHON
Sambo was 15, a boy in Cameroon. His father forced him into a burrow inhabited by a gbagokgreat snakeand told him not to come out without it. The boy obeyed.
Today Sambo and some other members of the Gbaya ethnic group continue the tradition of stalking pythons for meat, skin, and honor. Capturing a provoked 20foot (6meter) constrictor with bare hands takes craftand courage.
French photographer Gilles Nicolet goes into the burrows for an intimate encounter. Text by Karen Lange.
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A WILD RIDE Biking Across the Alaska Range
Three cyclists set themselves an incredible obstacle course: a 775mile (1,247kilometer) trek across stunning yet often inhospitable terrain. Hardship called forth ingenuity: Paul Adkins used his bike as an ice ax to make it down a steep drop.
Only days before the sevenweek trek ended, the trail finally flattened out. But by then, says Carl Tobin, I was so tired that only a bear could have speeded me up.
Photographer Bill Hatcher nearly disappeared into a crevasse in a field of ice during one of his stints with the team. Author and cyclist Roman Dial, an environmental science instructor, provides a vivid account of mountains, glaciers, and the grit to cross them.
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In Next Months Issue of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC:
French Polynesia: Charting a New Course; Black Pearls of French Polynesia; In Focus: Central Africas Cycle of Violence; Old Ironsides; Special Places: Hemingwayss Many Hearted Fox River; Cats: Natures Masterwork; The Family Line: The HumanCat Connection; Okinawa, Claiming Its Birthright.
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