Europe
Second smallest of the world's continents (after Australia), composed of the westward-projecting peninsulas of Eurasia and occupying nearly one-fifteenth of the world's total land area. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south (west to east) by the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Kuma-Manych Depression, and the
Fiedler, Leslie A.
Fiedler attended the University of Wisconsin (M.A., 1939; Ph.D., 1941), and, after service in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1942 to 1946, he did further research at Harvard University. Thereafter he taught at many universities both
Levee
Any low ridge or earthen embankment built along the edges of a stream or river channel to prevent flooding of the adjacent land. Artificial levees are typically needed to control the flow of rivers meandering through broad, flat floodplains. Levees are usually embankments of dirt built wide enough so that they will not collapse or be eroded when saturated with
Yang Yen
Yang introduced a new system of taxation into China that helped reduce the power of the aristocratic classes and eliminate their large tax-free estates. Yang abolished the various land, labour, produce, and other taxes to which the Chinese peasantry had been subject and the upper classes immune. In their place
Olybrius
Before he became head of state, Olybrius was a wealthy senator; he married Placidia, the daughter of Valentinian III (Western emperor 425 - 455). Gaiseric, king of the Vandals, a Germanic people who maintained a kingdom in North Africa, hoped that Olybrius would be made Western emperor but his support made Olybrius suspect to the
Bhandara
Town, northeastern Maharashtra state, western India, on the Wainganga River, east of Nagpur. As a fording place across the river, it developed as a commercial centre; industries include the manufacture of brassware and cigarettes. It houses a college affiliated with the University of Nagpur. Rice covers most of the surrounding cultivated area. The area is rich in mineral
Granulite Facies
One of the major divisions of the mineral facies classification of metamorphic rocks, the rocks of which formed under the most intense temperature-pressure conditions usually found in regional metamorphism. At the upper limit of the facies, migmatite formation or granitization processes may occur. Temperatures of 500� - 650� C (950� - 1,200� F) and pressures of several kilobars (one kilobar
Pyrolusite
Common manganese mineral, manganese dioxide (MnO2), that constitutes an important ore. Always formed under highly oxidizing conditions, it forms light-gray to black, metallic, moderately heavy coatings, crusts, or fibres that are alteration products of other manganese ores (e.g., rhodochrosite); bog, lake, or shallow marine products; or deposits left by circulating waters.
Arachnid
Any member of the class Arachnida, part of the invertebrate phylum Arthropoda. Arachnida includes forms such as spiders (Araneida), harvestmen (daddy longlegs; Opiliones), scorpions (Scorpionida), and mites and ticks (Acari), as well as lesser-known groups. Only a few species are of economic importance, including the acarids that transmit diseases to humans, other animals,
Argyrodite
Heavy, dark sulfosalt mineral, a silver and germanium sulfide (Ag8GeS6), in which the element germanium was discovered (1886). It is a relatively scarce mineral found in sulfide veins in Germany and in Bolivia. It forms a solid solution series with canfieldite in which tin replaces germanium in the crystal structure, which belongs to the isometric system. For detailed physical
Charles, Ray
When Charles was an infant his family moved to Greenville, Florida, and he
A-ch'eng
Pinyin �Acheng, �formerly �(until 1909) Ashihho, � city in Heilungkiang sheng (province), China. Located southeast of Harbin (Ha-erh-pin) in the basin of the A-shih River, it is a collecting and commercial centre for a rich agricultural district that provides part of Harbin's food supply. A-ch'eng is also an industrial centre with brickworks, engineering works specializing in electrical equipment and other machinery,
Roman De Fauvel
A manuscript of the poem dated
France, History Of, Attempts at a restoration
The monarchists, however, still held a comfortable majority in the assembly and continued to hope and plan for a restoration. Legitimists and Orleanists remained at odds, but a compromise seemed possible. The Bourbon pretender, the Count de Chambord (�the miracle child� of 1820), was old and childless; the Orleanist pretender, Philippe, Count de Paris, was young and prolific.
Daumier, Honor�
He did not do so, however, for he had become preoccupied with new technical studies; earlier than others, he had discovered Impressionism - faces and bodies devoured by the surrounding light and becoming one with the atmosphere. He painted a great deal, and the more so as his studies in the new technique did not interest the satirical journals to which he now submitted
Gabon, Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Although agriculture (mainly subsistence farming) occupies about two-thirds of the population, it plays but a small part in the economy of the country as a whole. Moreover, its appeal as a way of life has declined. Better educational and employment opportunities in the towns and cities have emptied the countryside of young people. Despite government efforts during
Sorcery
The practice of malevolent magic, derived from casting lots as a means of divining the future in the ancient Mediterranean world. Some scholars distinguish sorcery from witchcraft by noting that it is learned rather than intrinsic. Other scholars, noting that modern witches claim to learn their craft, suggest that sorcery's intent is always evil and that of witchcraft
Allemontite
The mineral arsenic antimonide (AsSb). It commonly occurs in veins, as at Allemont, Is�re, Fr.; Valtellina, Italy; and the Comstock Lode, Nevada. It also is present in a lithium pegmatite at Varutr�sk, Swed. Polished sections of most specimens of allemontite show an intergrowth of allemontite with either pure arsenic in a vein occurrence or with nearly pure antimony in a
Allen, Richard
Soon after Allen was born, to slave parents, the family was sold to a Delaware farmer. At age 17 he became a Methodist convert and at 22 was permitted to preach. Two years later (1784), at the first general conference of the
Nerchinsk, Treaty Of
(1689), peace settlement between Russia and the Manchu Chinese empire that checked Russia's eastward expansion by removing its outposts from the Amur River basin. By the treaty's terms Russia lost easy access to the Sea of Okhotsk and Far Eastern markets but secured its claim to Transbaikalia (the area east of Lake Baikal) and gained the right of passage to Beijing for its
Bradley, Bill
Bradley began to play basketball at the age of nine and became one of the best players in Missouri high school basketball history. At Princeton University, Bradley, a forward, was a playmaker and high scorer, averaging 30.1 points a game during three seasons, in each
Polar Bear Provincial Park
Wilderness park, northern Ontario, Canada, on Hudson and James bays. A huge undeveloped area of 9,300 square miles (24,087 square km), it is the largest of Ontario's provincial parks; it was established in 1970. Polar Bear Provincial Park is accessible only by plane or boat, and travel within the park is restricted in order to help preserve the abundant wildlife, which includes caribou, bearded
Kerguelen Cabbage
(species Pringlea antiscorbutica), plant resembling the common cabbage and belonging to the same family (Brassicaceae). It was named for Kerguelen Island. The leaves of the plant contain a pale-yellow, highly pungent essential oil rich in ascorbic acid (vitamin C), for which reason it was a useful dietary supplement against scurvy. It was discovered by the British explorer
Astronomical Observatory
Any structure containing telescopes and auxiliary instruments with which to observe celestial objects. Observatories can be classified on the basis of the part of the electromagnetic spectrum in which they are designed to observe. The largest number of observatories are optical; i.e., they are equipped to observe in and near the region of the spectrum visible
Arroyo, Gloria Macapagal
On Jan. 20, 2001, after angry protesters had driven Philippines Pres. Joseph Estrada from the presidential residence, Malaca�ang Palace, in Manila, the country's vice president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, assumed power. The demonstrations had been sparked by the Senate's halting of Estrada's impeachment trial on corruption charges. The armed forces withdrew support from Estrada;
Mahajanga
Formerly �Majunga, � town and major port, northwestern Madagascar. It lies on the island's northwest coast, at the mouth of the Betsiboka River, whose estuary widens there into Bombetoka Bay. The town was the capital of the 18th-century kingdom of Boina. The French occupied Mahajanga in 1895 at the beginning of their conquest of Madagascar. The town's old sector is confined mainly to the harbour
Papeete
Commune, capital of French Polynesia, lying on the northwest coast of Tahiti. A gracious tropical city with tall palms and abundant flowers, Papeete is one of the largest urban centres in the South Pacific. Its excellent harbour made it, by 1829, a place of trade and a favourite port of call for whalers. After annexation by the French (1880), it was made the seat of the governor, and in
Tsitsihar
The site was originally settled by nomadic Tungus and Daghur herdsmen, who called it Pu-k'uei (a Daghur word meaning �frontier�). A settlement was also said to have been established there under the Mongols in 1333, but the town remained small
La Guaira
City, northern distrito federal (�federal district�), northern Venezuela. One of the nation's leading seaports, La Guaira lies in the narrow, arid coastal zone along the Caribbean at the foot of the central highlands. Although the city dates to 1577, extremely high temperatures and the lack of room for expansion long hindered its growth. With the modernization of port facilities,
La Guaira
Also called �Sal Ammoniac� the salt of ammonia and hydrogen chloride. Its principal use is as an electrolyte in dry cells, and it is also extensively employed as a constituent of galvanizing, tinning, and soldering fluxes to remove oxide coatings from metals and thereby improve the adhesion of the solders. It is a component of many proprietary cold medicines and cough remedies. Ammonium chloride
