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West Bank

(Encyclopedia)West Bank, territory, formerly part of Palestine, after 1949 administered by Jordan, since 1967 largely occupied by Israel (2005 est. pop. 2,386,000), 2,165 sq mi (5,607 sq km), west of the Jordan Riv...

ash, in botany

(Encyclopedia)ash, in botany, any plant of the genus Fraxinus of the family Oleaceae (olive family), trees and shrubs mainly of north temperate regions. The ashes are characterized by small clusters of greenish flo...

Karachay-Cherkess Republic

(Encyclopedia)Karachay-Cherkess Republic kärächīˈ-chĕrkĕsˈ [key], constituent republic (1990 est. pop. 420,000), c.5,500 sq mi (14,200 sq km), Stavropol Territory, SE European Russia, in the Greater Caucasus...

gibbon

(Encyclopedia)gibbon, small ape, family Hylobatidae, found in the forests of SE Asia. The gibbons are known as the small, or lesser, apes; they are the most highly adapted of the apes to arboreal life. They are hig...

Genovese, Eugene Dominick

(Encyclopedia)Genovese, Eugene Dominick, 1930–2012, American historian, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Brooklyn College (B.A., 1953), Columbia (M.A., 1955; Ph.D., 1959). Known for his penetrating studies of slavery and...

Della Robbia

(Encyclopedia)Della Robbia dĕlˌə rŏbˈēə, Ital. dĕlˈlä rôbˈbyä [key], Florentine family of sculptors and ceramists famous for their enameled terra-cotta or faience. Many of the Della Robbia pieces are s...

serotonin

(Encyclopedia)serotonin sĕrˌətōˈnĭn [key], organic compound that was first recognized as a powerful vasoconstrictor occurring in blood serum. It was partially purified, crystallized, and named in 1948, and it...

Réunion

(Encyclopedia)CEE Réunion rāünyôNˈ [key], island and overseas department of France (2015 est. pop. 863,000), c.970 sq mi (2,510 sq km), one of the Mascarene Islands, in the Indian Ocean c.430 mi (690 km) E ...

Balkan Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Balkan Peninsula, southeasternmost peninsula of Europe, c.200,000 sq mi (518,000 sq km), bounded by the Black Sea, Sea of Marmara, Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Ionian Sea, and Adriatic Sea. Although...

Pará, state, Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Pará pəräˈ [key], state (1996 pop. 5,552,783), 474,896 sq mi (1,229,981 sq km), N Brazil, in the lower Amazon River basin bordering on the Guianas and the Atlantic Ocean. Belém is the capital. Mo...