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zither

(Encyclopedia)zither zĭthˈər [key], stringed musical instrument, derived from the psaltery and the dulcimer. It has a flat sound box over which are stretched from 30 to 45 strings; these are plucked with the fin...

Pocatello

(Encyclopedia)Pocatello pōkətĕlˈō [key], city (1990 pop. 46,080), seat of Bannock co., SE Idaho, between mountains on the Portneuf River near its junction with the Snake (there dammed to form the American Fall...

Ayolas, Juan de

(Encyclopedia)Ayolas, Juan de hwän dā äyōˈläs [key], d. 1537?, Spanish conquistador, explorer of the Río de la Plata country. He accompanied Pedro de Mendoza on his expedition of 1535–36. Sent to look for ...

Altai

(Encyclopedia)Altai or Altay both: ăltīˈ, äl–, ălˈtī, Rus. əltīˈ [key], geologically complex mountain system of central Asia; largely in the Altai Republic, Russia, and in Kazakhstan, but extending into...

El Paso

(Encyclopedia)El Paso ĕl păˈsō [key], city (2020 pop. 678,815), seat of El Paso co., extreme W Tex., on ...

mountain men

(Encyclopedia)mountain men, fur trappers and traders in the Rocky Mts. during the 1820s and 30s. Their activities opened that region of the United States to general knowledge. Since the days of French domination th...

edelweiss

(Encyclopedia)edelweiss āˈdəlvīs [key], perennial aster plant (genus Leontopodium) found at high altitudes in the mountains of Europe, Asia, and South America. It is about 6 in. (15.2 cm) tall with woolly-white...

Hindu Kush

(Encyclopedia)Hindu Kush hĭnˈdo͞o ko͝osh [key], a high mountain system, extending c.500 mi (800 km) W from the Pamir Knot, N Pakistan, into NE Afghanistan; rising to 25,236 ft (7,692 m) in Tirich Mir, on the bo...

Gifford, Sanford Robinson

(Encyclopedia)Gifford, Sanford Robinson, 1823–80, American painter, b. Greenfield, N.Y. A major painter of the American movement known as luminism, Gifford, who was influenced by Thomas Cole early in his career, ...

Montpelier, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Montpelier mŏntpēlˈyər [key], city (1990 pop. 8,247), state capital (since 1805) and seat of Washington co., central Vt., at the junction of the Winooski and North Branch rivers; inc. 1855. The ec...