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polar front

(Encyclopedia)polar front, zone of transition between polar and tropical air masses. Its average position during the winter is at about 30° lat. and during the summer at about 60° lat. In the N Atlantic Ocean, fo...

Astrakhan, city, Russia

(Encyclopedia)Astrakhan ăsˈtrəkăn, Rus. äˈstrəkhənyə [key], city (2020 pop. 535,000), capital of Astrakhan region, SE European Russia. A Caspian Sea port on the Volga R...

Mülheim an der Ruhr

(Encyclopedia)Mülheim an der Ruhr mülˈhīm än dĕr ro͞or [key] or Mülheim, city (1994 pop. 177,175), North Rhine–Westphalia, W Germany, on the Ruhr River. It is an industrial center of the Ruhr district and...

Florida Keys

(Encyclopedia)Florida Keys, chain of coral and limestone islands and reefs, c.150 mi (240 km) long, extending from Virginia Key, S of Miami Beach, to Key West, and forming the southern extremity of Florida. Between...

icebreaker

(Encyclopedia)icebreaker, ship of special hull design and wide beam, with relatively flat bottom, designed to force its way through ice. When the icebreaker charges into the ice at full speed, its sharply inclined ...

Bismarck

(Encyclopedia)Bismarck, city (2020 pop. 73,622), state capital and seat of Burleigh co., S central N.Dak., on hills overlooking the Missouri River; inc. 1873. The tra...

evaporation

(Encyclopedia)evaporation, change of a liquid into vapor at any temperature below its boiling point. For example, water, when placed in a shallow open container exposed to air, gradually disappears, evaporating at ...

negligence

(Encyclopedia)negligence, in law, especially tort law, the breach of an obligation (duty) to act with care, or the failure to act as a reasonable and prudent person would under similar circumstances. For a plaintif...

narcotic

(Encyclopedia)narcotic, any of a number of substances that have a depressant effect on the nervous system. The chief narcotic drugs are opium, its constituents morphine and codeine, and the morphine derivative hero...

Rhine

(Encyclopedia)Rhine rīn [key], Du. Rijn, Fr. Rhin, Ger. Rhein, Lat. Rhenus, principal river of Europe, c.820 mi (1,320 km) long. It rises in the Swiss Alps and flows generally north, passing through or bordering o...