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avalanche

(Encyclopedia)avalanche, rapidly descending large mass of snow, ice, soil, rock, or mixtures of these materials, sliding or falling in response to the force of gravity. Avalanches, which are natural forms of erosio...

Brown, Harold

(Encyclopedia)Brown, Harold, 1927–2019, American nuclear physicist and government official, b. New York City, Ph.D. Columbia, 1949. He joined (1952) the staff of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory (now Lawrence Li...

Tuskegee

(Encyclopedia)Tuskegee təskēˈgē [key], city (1990 pop. 12,257), seat of Macon co., SE Ala., in a cotton, corn, and dairy region; settled before 1763, inc. 1843. It has gristmills and plants that make cottonseed...

Xalapa

(Encyclopedia)Xalapa ānrēˈkās [key], city (1990 pop. 279,451), capital of Veracruz state, E central Mexico, on the slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental. It is located in a rich agricultural region of fertile val...

Saint Petersburg, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Saint Petersburg, city (1990 pop. 238,629), Pinellas co., W Fla., on Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico at the southern end of the Pinellas peninsula; settled in the mid-1800s, inc. 1892. A port with a ...

warfare

(Encyclopedia)warfare, violent conflict between armed enemies. In modern times warfare has usually been conducted by the armed forces (e.g., army, navy, and air force) of a nation or other politically organized gro...

ballistics

(Encyclopedia)ballistics bəlĭsˈtĭks [key], science of projectiles. Interior ballistics deals with the propulsion and the motion of a projectile within a gun or firing device. Its problems include the ignition a...

Doniphan, Alexander William

(Encyclopedia)Doniphan, Alexander William dŏnˈĭfən [key], 1808–87, American lawyer and soldier, b. Mason co., Ky. He began (1830) to practice law in Lexington, Mo., and served three terms in the state legisla...

Mubarak, Muhammad Hosni

(Encyclopedia)Mubarak, Muhammad Hosni hōsˈnē mo͞obəˈrək [key], 1928–2020, president of Egypt (1981–2011). Air force commander (1972–75) and vice president (1975–81) of Egypt, he became president afte...

Laffite, Jean

(Encyclopedia)Laffite, Jean zhäN läfētˈ [key], c.1780–1826?, leader of a band of privateers and smugglers. The name is often spelled Lafitte. He and his men began operating (1810) off the Baratarian coast S o...