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platypus

(Encyclopedia)platypus plătˈəpəs [key], semiaquatic egg-laying mammal, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Tasmania and E Australia. Also called duckbill, or duckbilled platypus, it belongs to the order Monotremata (s...

shaft sinking

(Encyclopedia)shaft sinking, excavation from the surface of an opening in the earth. Shafts, which are generally vertical, are usually distinguished from tunnels, which are horizontal. Little difficulty is experien...

flood, in hydrology

(Encyclopedia)flood, inundation of land by the rise and overflow of a body of water. Floods occur most commonly when water from heavy rainfall, from melting ice and snow, or from a combination of these exceeds the ...

aqueduct

(Encyclopedia)aqueduct ăkˈwədŭkt [key] [Lat.,=conveyor of water], channel or trough built to convey water, chiefly for providing a densely populated region with a supply of freshwater. The flow in aqueducts is ...

Medina Sidonia, Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, duque de

(Encyclopedia)Medina Sidonia, Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, duque de älōnˈsō pāˈrĕth thā go͞othmänˈ do͞oˈkā ᵺā māᵺēˈnä sēᵺōˈnyä [key], 1550–1615, Spanish nobleman and commander in chief o...

Mont-Saint-Michel

(Encyclopedia)Mont-Saint-Michel môN-săN-mēshĕlˈ [key], rocky isle (1993 est. pop. 72) in the Gulf of Saint-Malo, an arm of the English Channel, Manche dept., NW France, 1 mi (1.6 km) off the coast, near Avranc...

Pasadena

(Encyclopedia)Pasadena păsˌədēˈnə [key]. 1 City (1990 pop. 131,591), Los Angeles co., S Calif., at the base of the San Gabriel Mts.; inc. 1866. The city is a research and technological center with manufacture...

Outer Banks

(Encyclopedia)Outer Banks or the Banks, chain of sand barrier islands and peninsulas, c.175 mi (280 km), along the Atlantic coast of SE Va. and E N.C. Separated by inlets and enclosing several saltwater lagoons, or...

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