Galveston, Texas

Galveston /ˈɡælvᵻstən/ is a coastal city located on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of 208.3 square miles (539 km²), with its population of 47,762 people (2012 Census estimate), is the county seat and second-largest municipality of Galveston County. It is located within Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area.

Named after Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez (born in Málaga, Spain), Galveston's first European settlements on the island were constructed around 1816 by French pirate Louis-Michel Aury to help the fledgling Republic of Mexico fight Spain. The Port of Galveston was established in 1825 by the Congress of Mexico following its successful independence from Spain. The city served as the main port for the Texas Navy during the Texas Revolution, and later served as the capital of the Republic of Texas.

During the 19th century, Galveston became a major U.S. commercial center and one of the largest ports in the United States. It was devastated by the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, whose effects included flooding and a storm surge. The natural disaster on the exposed barrier island is still ranked as the deadliest in United States history, with an estimated toll of 8,000 people.

Galveston Island

Galveston Island is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast in the United States, about 50 miles (80.5 km) southeast of Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston in Galveston County.

The island is about 27 miles (43.5 km) long and no more than 3 miles (4.8 km) wide at its widest point. The island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the Gulf of Mexico on the east and south, West Bay on the west, and Galveston Bay on the north. The island's main access point from the mainland is the Interstate Highway 45 causeway that crosses West Bay on the northeast side of the island.

The far north end of the island is separated from the Bolivar Peninsula by Galveston Harbor, the entrance to Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel. Ferry service is available between Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. The southern end of the island is separated from the mainland by San Luis Pass. The San Luis Pass-Vacek Toll Bridge connects the San Luis Pass Road on Galveston Island with the Bluewater Highway that leads south into the town of Surfside Beach.

Glen Campbell

Glen Travis Campbell (born April 22, 1936) is an American rock and country music singer, guitarist, songwriter, television host, and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.

During his 50 years in show business, Campbell has released more than 70 albums. He has sold 45 million records and accumulated 12 RIAA Gold albums, 4 Platinum albums and 1 Double-Platinum album. He has placed a total of 80 different songs on either the Billboard Country Chart, Billboard Hot 100, and/or the Adult Contemporary Chart, of which 29 made the Top 10 and of which nine reached number one on at least one of those charts. Campbell's hits include his recordings of John Hartford's "Gentle on My Mind"; Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", and "Galveston"; Larry Weiss's "Rhinestone Cowboy"; and Allen Toussaint's "Southern Nights".

Campbell made history in 1967 by winning four Grammys total, in the country and pop categories. For "Gentle on My Mind" he received two awards in country and western, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" did the same in pop. Three of his early hits later won Grammy Hall of Fame Awards (2000, 2004, 2008), while Campbell himself won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. He owns trophies for Male Vocalist of the Year from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM), and took the CMA's top award as 1968 Entertainer of the Year. In 1969 actor John Wayne picked Campbell to play alongside him in the film True Grit, which gave Campbell a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. Campbell sang the title song which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Iron Shark

Iron Shark is a steel roller coaster at Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier. The Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster opened to the public on June 1, 2012. Iron Shark was the first of its kind in the state of Texas. The ride was installed by Ride Entertainment Group, who handles all of Gerstlauer's operations in the Western Hemisphere.

Ride

Iron Shark is an Iron Shark-designed Euro-Fighter by German company Gerstlauer. The roller coaster stands 100 feet (30 m) above the pier with some parts of the roller coaster standing over the Gulf of Mexico. The ride features 4 inversions.

The ride begins with a 180° turn out of the station. It then's proceed up a 100-foot (30 m) vertical lift hill. After peaking the hill, the ride enters into a beyond vertical drop. The train then enters an Immelmann loop followed by a dive loop. A short stretch of high speed curves lead the train into a cutback followed by an inclined loop. This returns the train to the station.

See also

Island

An island /ˈaɪlənd/ or isle /ˈaɪl/ is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait, or a holm. A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands is called an archipelago, e.g. the Philippines.

An island may be described as such despite the presence of an artificial land bridge, for example Singapore and its causeway, or the various Dutch delta islands, such as IJsselmonde. Some places may even retain "island" in their names for historical reasons after being connected to a larger landmass by a wide land bridge, such as Coney Island or Coronado Island. Conversely, when a piece of land is separated from the mainland by a man-made canal, for example the Peloponnese by the Corinth Canal, it is generally not considered an island.

There are two main types of islands: continental islands and oceanic islands. There are also artificial islands.