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Massif Central

(Encyclopedia)Massif Central mäsēfˈ säNträlˈ [key] [Fr.,=central highlands], great mountainous plateau, c.33,000 sq mi (85,470 sq km), S central France, covering almost a sixth of the surface of the country. ...

Central America

(Encyclopedia)Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. Historically, geographe...

Central Australia

(Encyclopedia)Central Australia: see Northern Territory, Australia. ...

central bank

(Encyclopedia)central bank, financial institution designed to regulate and control the money supply of a nation, with the goal of fostering economic growth without inflation. Although central banking systems have v...

Central Falls

(Encyclopedia)Central Falls, city (2020 pop. 22,583), Providence co., N R.I., on the Blackstone River NW of Pawtucket; inc. 1895. It is a small industrial center, now...

Central Park

(Encyclopedia)Central Park, 840 acres (340 hectares), the largest park in Manhattan, New York City; bordered by 59th St. on the south, Fifth Ave. on the east, 110th St. on the north, and Central Park West on the we...

Central Powers

(Encyclopedia)Central Powers, in World War I, the coalition of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. ...

Central Valley

(Encyclopedia)Central Valley, great trough of central Calif., c.450 mi (720 km) long and c.50 mi (80 km) wide, between the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Ranges. The Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers drain much of the...

Office of Strategic Services

(Encyclopedia)Office of Strategic Services (OSS), U.S. agency created (1942) during World War II under the jurisdiction of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the purpose of obtaining information about enemy nations and ...

Colby, William Egan

(Encyclopedia)Colby, William Egan, 1920–96, American public official, b. St. Paul, Minn., grad. Princeton, 1940. During World War II he served in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and in 1944 was dropped by ...