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whirlwind

(Encyclopedia)whirlwind, revolving mass of air resulting from local atmospheric instability, such as that caused by intense heating of the ground by the sun on a hot summer day. Examples of whirlwinds are waterspou...

Ustyurt

(Encyclopedia)Ustyurt o͝ostˌyo͞ortˈ [key], desert plateau, c.62,000 sq mi (160,600 sq km), Central Asia, between the Caspian and Aral seas. It rises to between c.490 and 980 ft (150–300 m). It occupies the so...

Zuhair

(Encyclopedia)Zuhair zo͞ohīrˈ [key], fl. 6th cent., Arab poet. Zuhair is often considered the greatest writer of Arabic poetry in pre-Islamic times. His work is represented in the Muallaqat. Zuhair's poems deal ...

hermit

(Encyclopedia)hermit [Gr.,=desert], one who lives in solitude, especially from ascetic motives. Hermits are known in many cultures. Permanent solitude was common in ancient Christian asceticism; St. Anthony of Egyp...

Gobi

(Encyclopedia)Gobi gōˈbē [key], Mandarin Yintai shamo, great stony desert of N central Asia, c.500,000 sq mi (1,295,000 sq km), extending c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) from east to west across SE Mongolia and N China fr...

Chimu

(Encyclopedia)Chimu chēmo͞oˈ [key], ancient civilization on the desert coast of N Peru. It is believed to have begun c.1200. The Moche, an earlier civilization, was previously known as early Chimu or proto-Chimu...

Tularosa Basin

(Encyclopedia)Tularosa Basin, desert basin, c.6,500 sq mi (16,800 sq km), S N.Mex. and W Tex. From Texas east of El Paso the basin, an area of interior drainage, extends c.170 mi (275 km) to the north, and ranges c...

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

(Encyclopedia)Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region nĭngˈshyäˈ hwē [key], autonomous region (2010 pop. 6,301,350), c.25,600 sq mi (66,321 sq km), N China. The capital is Yinchuan. Ningxia is part of the Inner Mongolia...

Antiphilus

(Encyclopedia)Antiphilus ăntĭfˈĭləs [key], fl. 4th cent. b.c., Greek painter, of Alexandrian origin. Pliny and Quintilian wrote about his paintings of gryllos, a creature part man, part animal or bird. Pliny f...

Walker, Horatio

(Encyclopedia)Walker, Horatio, 1858–1938, Canadian painter, b. Ontario, largely self-taught. Though he lived in Rochester and New York City, he painted chiefly scenes from the simple life of the inhabitants of th...