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Carson, Rachel Louise

(Encyclopedia)Carson, Rachel Louise, 1907–64, American writer and marine biologist, b. Springdale, Pa., M.A. Johns Hopkins, 1932. Her well-known books on sea life—Under the Sea-Wind (1941), The Sea around Us (1...

stork

(Encyclopedia)stork, common name for members of a family of long-legged wading birds. The storks are related to the herons and ibises and are found in most of the warmer parts of the world. Storks have long, broad,...

Mangyshlak Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Mangyshlak Peninsula mən-gĭshläkˈ [key], W Kazakhstan, extending into the NE Caspian Sea. Except for the Kara-Tau range, the peninsula is below sea level; Batyr Sink is c.430 ft (130 m) below sea ...

Jordan, river, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Jordan, river, c.200 mi (320 km) long, formed in the Hula basin, N Israel, by the confluence of three headwater streams and meandering S through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea; the region of Pales...

Ibizan hound

(Encyclopedia)Ibizan hound ēbēˈzŏn, ĭbˈə– [key], also called Ibizan Podenco, breed of tall, swift dog of ancient origin now found chiefly in the Balearic Islands and other areas of Spain. It stands from 22...

Ross, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Ross, Alexander, 1783–1856, Canadian fur trader and pioneer, b. Scotland. He went to Canada in 1805, taught school in Upper Canada, and in 1810 left for Oregon as a clerk in John Jacob Astor's Pacif...

nitrogen mustard

(Encyclopedia)nitrogen mustard, any of various poisonous compounds originally developed for military use (see poison gas). Like mustard gas and lewisite, it is a vesicant (blistering agent). In the form of its crys...

Uslar Pietri, Arturo

(Encyclopedia)Uslar Pietri, Arturo ärto͞oˈrō o͞osˈlär pyāˈtrē [key], 1906–2001, Venezuelan novelist and essayist. Uslar Pietri is considered one of the most powerful regional writers in modern Spanish-A...

Vyg

(Encyclopedia)Vyg vĭg [key], Finn. Uikujärvi, Rus. Vygozero, lake, c.300 sq mi (780 sq km), NW European Russia, in Karelia, between Lake Onega and the White Sea. It is fed by the Vyg River, which also drains it i...

jasper, type of quartz

(Encyclopedia)jasper, opaque, impure cryptocrystalline quartz, usually red, but also yellow, green, and grayish blue. It is used as a gem. Ribbon jasper has the colors in stripes. ...