Site of the Week
eNature.com http://www.enature.com
eNature hails itself as “the most extensive and dynamic source of information about nature on the web…” - quite a claim. And they may be right - this is certainly a huge site. The authors (a vast team of them) have really gone to town on content, though to get full access to all the sections, you have to sign up and get a username and password (you need to supply your email address, but you can opt not to join the mailing list.)
The site’s main features are the wildlife guides, which are great fun to browse through. You can look through and learn about most types of organism, from birds, mammals and insects to shells, flowers and trees. As you’d expect, there are plenty of pictures, as well as links to further online information. The content is centred on North American species, though many of these appear elsewhere in the world.
Other click-worthy sections include the e-cards page, where you can send any of the site’s stunning images to a friend, and the ‘flashcards’ database - a collection of over 3800 species factfiles, designed to be included in your very own wildlife website.
Richard Northover
Info-content *** Readability ** Appearance ** User friendliness ** Kids ** Plug-ins none