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Today's featured article Ganoga Lake is a natural lake in Colley Township in southeast Sullivan County in Pennsylvania, United States. The Ricketts family purchased the lake in the early 1850s, and built a stone house on the lake shore by 1852 or 1855; this served as a hunting lodge and tavern. R. Bruce Ricketts added the lake to his extensive holdings after the American Civil War, and in 1873 built a large wooden addition north of the stone house, which became the North Mountain House hotel. The hotel had one of the first summer schools in the United States in 1876 and 1877. After the death of R. Bruce Ricketts in 1918, his heirs sold much of his 80,000 acres (32,000 ha) to the state for Pennsylvania State Game Lands and Ricketts Glen State Park. The state tried to purchase the lake in 1957, but was outbid by investors who turned the land around it into a private housing development; as such it is "off limits" to the public. Ganoga Lake is on the Allegheny Plateau, just north of the Allegheny Front, in sedimentary rocks from the Pocono Formation. The Wisconsin Glaciation some 20,000 years ago changed the drainage patterns of the lake; this diverted its waters to Kitchen Creek and carved the 24 named waterfalls in Ricketts Glen State Park in the process. (more...) Recently featured: Courageous class battlecruiser – Uncle Tupelo – RKO Pictures Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that East German Ortrun Enderlein (pictured) was the first Olympic gold medalist in women's luge? ... that the Siege of Gibraltar of 1309 was a battle of the Reconquista which saw a Castilian victory ending almost 600 years of Muslim rule over the city of Gibraltar? ... that Ricardo Arjona's "El Amor" is his first single ever to top the Billboard Tropical Songs chart? ... that one of the reasons Russia stopped using the missile defence radar in Sevastopol, Ukraine, was because it was being jammed by fishing boats? ... that since the San Marino national football team played its first match in 1990, 97 players have represented San Marino in international matches? ... that Vincent de Roulet, when serving as United States Ambassador to Jamaica, was declared persona non grata by the Prime Minister of Jamaica? ... that the Bosom Friends affair, like the Tinky-Winky controversy, concerned the alleged homosexuality of a children's character?

In the news The National Forces Alliance, led by Mahmoud Jibril (pictured), gains a plurality in the Libyan General National Congress election, the first election since the deposition of Muammar Gaddafi. English keyboardist Jon Lord dies at age 71 from a pulmonary embolism. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is elected head of the African Union Commission, becoming the first woman to lead the organisation. The Red Cross declares the Syrian uprising a civil war, triggering the application of international humanitarian law. A road tanker explosion kills more than 120 people in Okobie, Nigeria. Tongan Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala marries Sinaitakala Fakafanua in Nukuʻalofa. Astronomers announce the discovery of S/2012 P 1, the fifth moon of Pluto. On this day... July 18: Constitution Day in Uruguay (1830) 1389 – France and England agreed to the Truce of Leulinghem, establishing a 13-year peace during the Hundred Years' War. 1870 – The First Vatican Council declared that the Pope is infallible when he solemnly declares a dogmatic teaching on faith as being contained in divine revelation. 1942 – German engineers test flew the Messerschmitt Me 262 (pictured) with jet engines for the first time. 1984 – A gunman massacred 21 people and injured 15 others at a McDonald's restaurant in the San Ysidro section of San Diego, California. 1994 – Eighty-five people died when a bomb exploded at a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, making it Argentina's deadliest bombing ever. 1995 – After a long period of dormancy, the Soufrière Hills volcano began a still-ongoing eruption, devastating the island of Montserrat. More anniversaries: July 17 – July 18 – July 19 It is now July 18, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture The Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) is a European damselfly. It is often found among fast-flowing waters. Males (shown here) have metallic blue wings and metallic blue-green bodies. Females have dark brown iridescent wings, a white pseudopterostigma near the tip of the wings and a metallic green body with a bronze tip of the abdomen. Photo: Richard Bartz Recently featured: James Abbot McNeill Whistler – Ramose murex shell – Sarychev Peak, Matua Island

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