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Pliocene epoch

(Encyclopedia)Pliocene epoch plīˈəsēn [key], fifth epoch of the Cenozoic era of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table), from 5.1 to 2 million years ago. By the beginning of the P...

Queensland

(Encyclopedia)Queensland, state (2016 pop. 4,703,193), 667,000 sq mi (1,727,200 sq km), NE Australia. Brisbane is the capital; other important cities are Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville, Rockhampton, Cairns, and ...

Chihuahua, state, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Chihuahua chēwäˈwä [key], state, 94,831 sq mi (245,612 sq km), N Mexico, on the border of ...

swamp

(Encyclopedia)swamp, shallow body of water in a low-lying, poorly drained depression, usually containing abundant plant growth dominated by trees, such as cypress, and high shrubs. Swamps develop in moist climates,...

Bantu languages

(Encyclopedia)Bantu languages, group of African languages forming a subdivision of the Benue-Niger division of the Niger-Congo branch of the Niger-Kordofanian language family (see African languages). Bantu contains...

Silurian period

(Encyclopedia)Silurian period sĭlo͝orˈēən, sī– [key] [from the Silures, ancient tribe of S Wales, where the period was first studied; named by the British geologist R. I. Murchison], third period of the Pal...

crocodile

(Encyclopedia)crocodile, large, carnivorous reptile of the order Crocodilia, found in tropical and subtropical regions. Crocodiles live in swamps or on river banks and catch their prey in the water. They have flatt...

Champagne, historic region and former province, France

(Encyclopedia)Champagne shäNpäˈnyə [key], historic region and former province, NE France, consisting mainly of Aube, Marne, Haute-Marne, and Ardennes depts., which formed the modern administrative region of Cha...

Himalayas

(Encyclopedia)Himalayas hĭmälˈəyəz, hĭməlāˈəz [key] [Sanskrit,=abode of snow], great Asian mountain system, extending c.1,500 mi (2,410 km) E from the Indus River in Pakistan through India, the Tibet regi...

Volgograd

(Encyclopedia)Volgograd vôlgəgrätˈ [key], formerly Stalingrad, city (1989 pop. 999,000), capital of Volgograd region, SE European Russia, a port on the Volga River and the eastern terminus of the Volga-Don Cana...