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blizzard

(Encyclopedia)blizzard, winter storm characterized by high winds, low temperatures, and driving snow; according to the official definition given in 1958 by the U.S. Weather Bureau, the winds must exceed 35 mi (56 k...

Western Cape

(Encyclopedia)Western Cape, province (2011 pop. 5,822,734), 49,986 sq mi (129,462 sq km), SW South Africa, on the Atlantic and Indian oceans. In 1994, under South Africa's post-apartheid constitution, Western Cape ...

Angola

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Angola ăng-gōˈlə [key], officially Republic of Angola (2020 est. pop. 32,870,000), including the exclave of Cabinda, 481,351 sq mi (1,246,700 sq km), SW Africa...

Fire Island

(Encyclopedia)Fire Island, barrier beach, 32 mi (52 km) long, off the south shore of Long Island, SE N.Y., separating Great South Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Robert Moses State Park is at its west end. Once access...

Byrnes, James Francis

(Encyclopedia)Byrnes, James Francis, 1879–1972, American public official, Secretary of State (1945–47), governor of South Carolina (1951–55), b. Charleston, S.C. He studied law while working (1900–1908) as ...

carpetbaggers

(Encyclopedia)carpetbaggers, epithet used in the South after the Civil War to describe Northerners who went to the South during Reconstruction. Although regarded as transients because of the carpetbags in which the...

Soweto

(Encyclopedia)Soweto [acronym for south-west townships], city, now part of City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality, Gauteng prov., NE South Africa. Located 10 mi (16 km) SW of Johannesburg, Soweto grew as bl...

Tropic of Capricorn

(Encyclopedia)Tropic of Capricorn, parallel of latitude at 23°30′ south of the equator; it is the southern boundary of the tropics. This parallel marks the farthest point south at which the sun can be seen direc...

Scapa Flow

(Encyclopedia)Scapa Flow skăpˈə [key], area of water, 15 mi (24 km) long and 8 mi (12.9 km) wide, in the Orkney Islands, off N Scotland. It is bounded by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsa...

Massachusetts Bay

(Encyclopedia)Massachusetts Bay, inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay, with its arms (Boston, Cape Cod, and Plymouth bays), extends 65 mi (105 km) from Cape Ann on the north to Cape Cod on the south. Its coastline ...