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buckwheat

(Encyclopedia)buckwheat, common name for certain members of the Polygonaceae, a family of herbs and shrubs found chiefly in north temperate areas and having a characteristic pungent juice containing oxalic acid. Sp...

Calder, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Calder, Alexander kôlˈdər [key], 1898–1976, American sculptor, b. Philadelphia; son of Alexander Stirling Calder and grandson of Alexander Mine Calder, prominent sculptors. Among the most innovat...

Acadia National Park

(Encyclopedia)Acadia National Park, 48,419 acres (19,603 hectares), SE Maine, on the Atlantic coast; est. as Sieur de Monts National Monument 1916, designated Lafayette National Park 1919, renamed 1929. The first n...

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

(Encyclopedia)Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, 209,695 acres (84,926 hectares), on Hawaii island, Hawaii; est. 1916. The park contains two of the most active volcanoes in the world—Kilauea with its fiery pit crate...

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

(Encyclopedia)Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, 132.4 sq mi (343 sq km), in the San Luis Valley of S Colorado; est. as a national monument 1932, designated a national park 2004. Lying in an area of high ...

Amon, Egyptian deity

(Encyclopedia)Amon äˈmĕn [key], Egyptian deity. He was originally the chief god of Thebes; he and his wife Mut and their son Khensu were the divine Theban triad of deities. Amon grew increasingly important in Eg...

Biard, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Biard, Pierre pyĕr byär [key], c.1567–1622, French Jesuit missionary in North America. He left a professorship of theology in Lyons to head the first Jesuit mission to Canada, coming to Port Royal...

caracal

(Encyclopedia)caracal kărˈəkəl [key] or Persian lynx, mammal of the family Felidae (cat family), native to Asia and Africa. The caracal, Caracal caracal, is reddish brown with black-tufted ears. Its total lengt...

Velociraptor

(Encyclopedia)Velociraptor vəlŏsˈĭrăpˌtər [key] [Gr.,=swift robber], swift bipedal carnivorous dinosaur of the late Cretaceous period. It was relatively small, being approximately 6 ft (1.8 m) long. It was s...

Zion National Park

(Encyclopedia)Zion National Park, 146,592 acres (59,349 hectares), SW Utah. First proclaimed a national monument in 1909, it was enlarged several times and established as a national park in 1919. The park is noted ...