National Geographic February 1976

Handclasp in Space: Apollo- Soyuz { Apollo- Soyuz: Handclasp in Space}
As historic finale to the Apollo era, U. S. astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts rendezvous 140 miles above the earth. Text by Thomas Y. Canby.
The Azores, Nine Islands in Search of a Future
Portugal’s mid- Atlantic archipelago, still living much in the past, hears growing clamor for autonomy or full independence. Don Moser and O. Louis Mazzatenta look at the isolated world of the Azoreans.
Siberia’s Empire Road, the River Ob
One of the world’s great river systems drains north to the Arctic on the Soviet Union’s frontier between Europe and Asia. Robert Paul Jordan and Dean Conger find energetic Siberiaks bringing their oil- rich region into the technological age.
Adrift on a Raft of Sargassum
Robert F. Sisson takes a naturalist’s camera into a realm of strange life amid a vast sea of floating weed.
Thomas Jefferson: Architect of Freedom { Architect of Freedom: Thomas Jefferson}
Designs for our basic liberties and a new nation, handsome buildings and ingenious gadgets flowed from the mind of our third President, a universal man. Mike W. Edwards and Linda Bartlett offer a Bicentennial salute.
Minnesota, Where Water Is the Magic Word
The American dream seems attainable in a lake- spangled state with room enough for progressive cities, bountiful farmland, and wilderness guarded as a treasure. David S. Boyer and David Brill report.