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Nyad, Diana

(Encyclopedia)Nyad, Diana nīˈăd [key], 1949–, American distance swimmer, b. New York City as Diana Sneed, grad. Lake Forest College, 1973. She began swimming seriously as a teenager, becoming interested in dis...

Winston-Salem

(Encyclopedia)Winston-Salem, city (1990 pop. 143,485), seat of Forsyth co., central N.C., in the Piedmont; inc. 1913. It is one of North Carolina's largest cities and foremost industrial centers. Historically a maj...

Tampico

(Encyclopedia)Tampico tämpēˈkō [key], city (1990 pop. 272,690), Tamaulipas state, E Mexico, on the Pánuco River, a few miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. Rivaling Veracruz as Mexico's most important seaport...

Manco Capac, legendary founder of the Inca dynasty of Peru

(Encyclopedia)Manco Capac mängˈkō käpäkˈ [key], legendary founder of the Inca dynasty of Peru. According to the most frequently told story, four brothers, Manco Capac, Ayar Anca, Ayar Cachi, and Ayar Uchu, an...

Iditarod

(Encyclopedia)Iditarod īdĭtˈərŏdˌ [key], abandoned town in SW Alaska, site of a 1908 gold rush, on the Iditarod River. The town site and river lie on the Iditarod National Historic Trail, 2,350 mi (3,781 km) ...

Plautus

(Encyclopedia)Plautus (Titus Maccius Plautus) plôˈtəs [key], c.254–184 b.c., Roman writer of comedies, b. Umbria. His plays, adapted from those of Greek New Comedy, are popular and vigorous representations of ...

speedometer

(Encyclopedia)speedometer, instrument that indicates speed. A cable from an automotive speedometer is attached to the rear of the transmission of an automobile; the cable turns at a rate proportional to the speed o...

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway

(Encyclopedia)Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, railroad system in much of the United States (except the Northeast) and in S Canada, created in 1995 from the merger of Burlington Northern Inc. and the Santa Fe ...

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

(Encyclopedia)Carlsbad Caverns National Park, 46,766 acres (18,940 hectares), SE N.Mex., in the Guadalupe Mts.; designated a national park in 1930. These connecting limestone caves, with remarkable stalactite and s...

derecho

(Encyclopedia)derecho dərāˈchō [key], a long-lived windstorm over a wide expanse that is associated with a line of rapidly moving thunderstorms or showers. The winds in a derecho generally exceed 57 mph (92 kph...