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Economic Community of West African States

(Encyclopedia)Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), organization established in 1975 to increase economic cooperation and development in West Africa. Members include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, C...

Onondaga Lake

(Encyclopedia)Onondaga Lake ŏnəndäˈgə, –dôˈ– [key], brackish lake, 5 mi (8 km) long and 1 mi (1.6 km) wide, central N.Y., NW of Syracuse. In 1654, Father LeMoyne, a missionary, was taken to salt springs ...

Colquhoun, Patrick

(Encyclopedia)Colquhoun, Patrick kōho͞onˈ [key], 1745–1820, British economist and statistician, b. Scotland. Active in civic affairs in Glasgow (where he founded the chamber of commerce) and London, he became ...

Indian Reorganization Act

(Encyclopedia)Indian Reorganization Act, legislation passed in 1934 in the United States in an attempt to secure new rights for Native Americans on reservations. Its main provisions were to restore to Native Americ...

Prairie Pothole Region

(Encyclopedia)Prairie Pothole Region, large geographic area of central North America consisting of grass-covered wetlands. Stretching northwest from N Iowa through SW Minnesota, E South Dakota, E and N North Dakota...

Sekondi-Takoradi

(Encyclopedia)Sekondi-Takoradi sĕkˈəndē-täkôräˈdē [key], city (1984 pop. 93,822), capital of the Western Region, SW Ghana, on the Gulf of Guinea. An important seaport and commercial city, Sekondi-Takoradi ...

Colbert, Jean Baptiste

(Encyclopedia)Colbert, Jean Baptiste kôlbĕrˈ [key], 1619–83, French statesman. The son of a draper, he was trained in business and was hired by Cardinal Mazarin to look after his financial affairs. On his dea...

state of emergency

(Encyclopedia)state of emergency, situation in which a government or a government body is empowered to act with enhanced powers in order to respond to a crisis. The enhanced or emergency powers, and in many cases i...

asphalt

(Encyclopedia)asphalt ăsˈfôlt, –fălt [key], brownish-black substance used commonly in road making, roofing, and waterproofing. Chemically, it is a natural mixture of hydrocarbons. It varies in consistency fro...

Galápagos Islands

(Encyclopedia)Galápagos Islands gəlăpˈəgōs [key] [Span.,=tortoises], archipelago and province, 3,029 sq mi ...