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Chambersburg

(Encyclopedia)Chambersburg, borough (2020 pop. 21,903), seat of Franklin co., S Pa.; settled 1730, inc. 1803. Food products, apparel, construction materials, and tran...

apatite

(Encyclopedia)apatite ăpˈətīt [key], mineral, a phosphate of calcium containing chlorine or fluorine, or both, that is transparent to opaque in shades of green, brown, yellow, white, red, and purple. Apatite is...

junco

(Encyclopedia)junco or snowbird, small seed-eating bird of North America closely related to the sparrows. Juncos have white underparts and gray (sometimes also brown) backs. They travel in flocks. The dark-eyed jun...

Newsom, Gavin Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Newsom, Gavin Christopher, 1967– American businessman and politician, b. San Francisco. He was a cofounder (1991) of the PlumpJack Group, whose businesses grew from a wine store to include wineries,...

Kostelanetz, André

(Encyclopedia)Kostelanetz, André änˈdrā kŏsˌtəläˈnĭts [key], 1901–80, American pianist and conductor, b. St. Petersburg, Russia. After studying at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music, he emigrated ...

killdeer

(Encyclopedia)killdeer, common North American shorebird related to the plover and the sandpiper. It is about 10 in. (25 cm) in length and its plumage is grayish brown with a double black band across a white breast....

bushmaster

(Encyclopedia)bushmaster, large venomous snake, Lachesis muta, of Central America and N South America. It is a member of the pit viper family, which also includes the rattlesnake. The largest New World snake, it re...

cassiterite

(Encyclopedia)cassiterite kəsĭtˈərīt [key], heavy, brown-to-black mineral, tin oxide, SnO2, crystallizing in the tetragonal system. It is found as short prismatic crystals and as irregular masses, usually in v...

cattail

(Encyclopedia)cattail or reed mace, any plant of the genus Typha, perennial herbs found in almost all open marshes. The cattail (also called club rush) has long narrow leaves, sometimes used for weaving chair seats...

tanzanite

(Encyclopedia)tanzanite tănzănˈīt [key], beautiful gemstone discovered in 1967 in the Umba Valley near the Usambara Mts. in Tanzania, a precious variety of the mineral zoisite, a calcium aluminum silicate. Zois...