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river blindness

(Encyclopedia)river blindness or onchocerciasis, disease caused by the parasitic nematode worm Onchocerca volvulus. The worm larvae are transmitted by the bites of blackflies (genus Simulium) that live in fast movi...

taiga

(Encyclopedia)taiga tīˈgə [key], northern coniferous-forest belt of Eurasia, bordered on the north by the treeless tundra and on the south by the steppe. This vast belt, comprising about one third of the forest ...

Varkaus

(Encyclopedia)Varkaus värˈkous [key], town (1996 pop. 24,096), Eastern Finland prov., S central Finland, on Lake Saimaa. In an abundant forest region, it is a major timber, pulp, and paper-manufacturing center. L...

Winnibigoshish, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Winnibigoshish, Lake wĭnˌĭbĭgōˈshĭsh [key], 179 sq mi (464 sq km), N central Minn., in Chippewa National Forest, E of Bemidji. The outlet of the lake, one of the largest reservoirs of the Missi...

Arendal

(Encyclopedia)Arendal äˈrəndäl [key], city, capital of Aust-Agder co., SE Norway, a port on the Skagerrak. Manufactures include forest products and processed metal, food, and tobacc...

American Samoa, The National Park of

(Encyclopedia)American Samoa, The National Park of, c.9,000 acres (3,645 hectares), American Samoa, S Pacific Ocean. Comprising areas on the islands of Ofu, Ta'u, and Tutuila, the park features the only paleotropic...

Söderhamn

(Encyclopedia)Söderhamn södərhäˈmən [key], city (1990 pop. 13,260), Gävleborg co., E Sweden, a seaport on the Gulf of Bothnia; chartered 1620. It is a commercial and industrial center with sawmills and ironw...

Pilatus

(Encyclopedia)Pilatus pēläˈto͝os [key], mountain, 6,800 ft (2,073 m) high, in the Alps of the Four Forest Cantons, central Switzerland. According to medieval legend, the corpse of Pontius Pilate was thrown into...

Radford

(Encyclopedia)Radford, city (1990 pop. 15,940), surrounded by but independent of Pulaski and Montgomery counties, SW Va., on the New River; settled 1756, inc. as a city 1892. Motors, iron castings, clothing and tex...

Skien

(Encyclopedia)Skien shēˈən, shāˈən [key], city (1995 pop. 48,341), capital of Telemark co., SE Norway, a port on the Skienselva River and on the Telemark Canal. Manufactures include forest products and proces...