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Amazon, river, Peru and Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Amazon, Port. Amazonas ämäzōˈnəs [key], world's second longest river, c.3,900 mi (6,280 km) long, formed by the junction in N Peru's Andes Mts. of two major headstreams, the Ucayali and the short...

Panama, country, Central America

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Panama pănˈəmäˌ [key], Span. Panamá, officially Republic of Panama, republic (2015 est. pop. 3,657,000), 29,760 sq mi (77,081 sq km), occupying the Isthmus of Panama, which connects Centr...

Spanish-American literature

(Encyclopedia)Spanish-American literature, the writings of both the European explorers of Spanish America and its later inhabitants. See also Spanish literature; Portuguese literature; Brazilian literature. T...

Harrison, William Henry

(Encyclopedia)Harrison, William Henry, 1773–1841, 9th President of the United States (Mar. 4–Apr. 4, 1841), b. “Berkeley,” Charles City co., Va.; son of Benjamin Harrison (1726?–1791) and grandfather of B...

Natives, Middle American

(Encyclopedia)Natives, Middle American or Mesoamerican, aboriginal peoples living in the area between present-day United States and South America. Although most of Mexico is geographically considered part of North ...

coal

(Encyclopedia)coal, fuel substance of plant origin, largely or almost entirely composed of carbon with varying amounts of mineral matter. Coal is found in beds or seams interstratified with shales, clays, sands...

palm

(Encyclopedia)palm, common name for members of the Palmae, a large family of chiefly tropical trees, shrubs, and vines. Most species are treelike, characterized by a crown of compound leaves, called fronds, termina...

Native American languages

(Encyclopedia)Native American languages, languages of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere and their descendants. A number of the Native American languages that were spoken at the time of the European arriv...

platinum

(Encyclopedia)platinum plătˈənəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Pt; at. no. 78; at. wt. 195.084; m.p. 1,772℃; b.p. 3,827±100℃; sp. gr. 21.45 at 20℃; valence +2 or +4. Pure platinum is a malleab...

secession, in political science

(Encyclopedia)secession, in political science, formal withdrawal from an association by a group discontented with the actions or decisions of that association. The term is generally used to refer to withdrawal from...