Wikipedia:Main Page history/2022 June 17b

Welcome to Wikipedia

,
6,520,529 articles in English

From today's featured article

Depiction of the explosion aboard the ironclad Mound City (center)
Depiction of the explosion aboard the ironclad Mound City (center)

The Battle of St. Charles was fought on June 17, 1862, at St. Charles, Arkansas, during the American Civil War. Earlier in 1862, a force commanded by Samuel R. Curtis, a major general of the Union Army, became bogged down in northern Arkansas. A Union relief force was sent up the White River to resupply Curtis. The Confederates had constructed fortifications near St. Charles. An infantry unit was sent ashore to attack the fortifications on land, while Union ships attacked from the river. During the fight, a Confederate fired what has been referred to as the deadliest shot of the war, striking the ironclad USS Mound City, puncturing one of its steam drums, and filling the ship with scalding steam (depicted), killing 105 and wounding 25. Only about 25 aboard escaped unhurt. The infantrymen on land took the Confederate position. The supply mission was unable to reach Curtis, and withdrew back down the river. Curtis's army then cut loose from their supply line and marched to Helena, Arkansas. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Mechanitis polymnia chrysalis
Mechanitis polymnia chrysalis

In the news

Stephen Curry in 2017
Stephen Curry

On this day

June 17

William Cornwallis
William Cornwallis
More anniversaries:
Durango, capital and largest municipality in the state.
Durango, capital and largest municipality in the state.

The Northwest Mexico state of Durango is divided into 39 municipalities. According to the 2020 Mexican Census, Durango is the 25th most populous state with 1,832,650 inhabitants, but the 4th largest by land area spanning 123,575.36 square kilometres (47,712.71 sq mi). Durango has a population density of 14.8/km2 (38.4/sq mi), making it Mexico's second-least dense state, after Baja California Sur. Municipalities in Durango are administratively autonomous of the state according to the 115th article of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico. Every three years, citizens elect a municipal president (Spanish: presidente municipal) by a plurality voting system who heads a concurrently elected municipal council (ayuntamiento) responsible for providing all the public services for their constituents. The largest municipality by population is the state capital Durango, with 688,697 residents or approximately 35.7% of the state population. The smallest municipality by population is San Pedro del Gallo with 1,633 residents. The largest municipality by land area is also Durango which spans 9,306.43 km2 (3,593.23 sq mi). (Full list...)

A small village of white-roofed buildings sits in front of steep green mountains, with their tops obscured by clouds. An ocean bay is visible to the left of the image, and purple flowers dot the hills in the foreground.

Bolungarvík is a small town and the only built-up area in the municipality of Bolungarvíkurkaupstaður in the northwest of Iceland, located on the peninsula of the Westfjords, approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) from the town of Ísafjörður and 473 kilometres (294 miles) from the capital city Reykjavík. The town is near abundant fishing grounds and has been used as an outpost for fishing since the 17th century, making it one of the earliest in Iceland. Bolungarvík was not accessible by road until 1950, and in 2010 a tunnel was opened under the mountain to bypass the old road, which was frequently subject to avalanches and rock falls. This panoramic photograph of Bolungarvík was taken in early July 2018 from the avalanche dam that overlooks the town. Lupin, which covers much of this area of Iceland in summer, is visible at the extreme bottom left of the image.

Photograph credit: Veggies

Other areas of Wikipedia

  • Community portal – The central hub for editors, with resources, links, tasks, and announcements.
  • Village pump – Forum for discussions about Wikipedia itself, including policies and technical issues.
  • Site news – Sources of news about Wikipedia and the broader Wikimedia movement.
  • Teahouse – Ask basic questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
  • Help desk – Ask questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
  • Reference desk – Ask research questions about encyclopedic topics.
  • Content portals – A unique way to navigate the encyclopedia.

Wikipedia's sister projects

Wikipedia is written by volunteer editors and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other volunteer projects:

Wikipedia languages