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wildlife refuge

(Encyclopedia)wildlife refuge, haven or sanctuary for animals; an area of land or of land and water set aside and maintained, usually by government or private organization, for the preservation and protection of on...

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

(Encyclopedia)Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), international agreement that aims to ensure that trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threate...

Natural Bridge

(Encyclopedia)Natural Bridge, small village, Rockbridge co., W Va., in the Shenandoah valley; founded 1774. Nearby is the famous Natural Bridge over the gorge of Cedar Creek. It is a limestone arch 215 ft (66 m) hi...

natural childbirth

(Encyclopedia)natural childbirth: see birth.

natural gas

(Encyclopedia)natural gas, natural mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons found issuing from the ground or obtained from specially driven wells. The composition of natural gas varies in different localities. Its chief com...

natural law

(Encyclopedia)natural law, theory that some laws are basic and fundamental to human nature and are discoverable by human reason without reference to specific legislative enactments or judicial decisions. Natural la...

natural rights

(Encyclopedia)natural rights, political theory that maintains that an individual enters into society with certain basic rights and that no government can deny these rights. The modern idea of natural rights grew ou...

natural selection

(Encyclopedia)natural selection: see selection. ...

satellite, natural

(Encyclopedia)satellite, natural, celestial body orbiting a planet, dwarf planet, asteroid, or star of a larger size. The most familiar natural satellite is the earth's moon; thus, satellites of other planets are o...

Garfield, James Rudolph

(Encyclopedia)Garfield, James Rudolph, 1865–1950, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1907–9), b. Hiram, Ohio; son of President James A. Garfield. After being admitted to the Ohio bar in 1888, he became a lawyer in...