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Kingman Reef

(Encyclopedia)Kingman Reef, uninhabited reef, less than 1 sq mi (2.6 sq km), central Pacific, one of the Line Islands, 1,075 mi (1,730 km) SW of Honolulu. It was discovered by Americans in 1798 and annexed by the U...

Kuang-hsu

(Encyclopedia)Kuang-hsu or Kwang-hsü gwäng shü [key], 1871–1908, emperor of China (1875–1908). Although he was not in the direct line of succession, he was appointed to the throne by his aunt, the dowager em...

Palm Springs

(Encyclopedia)Palm Springs, city (1990 pop. 40,181), Riverside co., S Calif.; founded 1876, inc. 1938. It is a verdant desert oasis and a resort with classic mid-20th cent. architecture (known as Mid-Century Modern...

Palmyra, atoll, Pacific Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Palmyra, atoll (2 sq mi/5.2 sq km), central Pacific, one of the Line Islands, c.1,100 mi (1,770 km) SW of Honolulu. Palmyra has no permanent inhabitants. First visited by Americans in 1802, and later ...

syzygy

(Encyclopedia)syzygy sĭzˈəjē [key], in astronomy, alignment of three bodies of the solar system along a straight or nearly straight line. A planet is in syzygy with the earth and sun when it is in opposition or...

Tahoe, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Tahoe, Lake täˈhō, tāˈ– [key], 193 sq mi (500 sq km), on the Calif.-Nev. line. It occupies a basin in the Sierra Nevada and is drained by the Truckee River. Lying 6,228 ft (1,898 m) above sea l...

Taylor, Robert Love

(Encyclopedia)Taylor, Robert Love, 1850–1912, U.S. politician, governor of Tennessee (1887–91, 1897–99), b. Carter co., Tenn. A lawyer, he was a Democrat in Congress (1879–81) and in 1886 defeated his broth...

Piave

(Encyclopedia)Piave pyäˈvā [key], river, c.137 mi (220 km) long, rising in the Carnic Alps, Venetia, NE Italy, and flowing generally S, past Belluno, to the Gulf of Venice. The upper Piave basin is subject to se...

Romsdalen

(Encyclopedia)Romsdalen ro͞omsˈdälˌĕn [key], valley, c.60 mi (100 km) long, in Møre og Romsdal co., SW Norway, flanked by the mountains of Dovrefjell. It is an ancient passage from the western coast to S Norw...

quartzite

(Encyclopedia)quartzite, usually metamorphic rock composed of firmly cemented quartz grains. Most often it is white, light gray, yellowish, or light brown, but is sometimes colored blue, green, purple, or black by ...