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ranch

(Encyclopedia)ranch, large farm devoted chiefly to raising and breeding cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. The cattle ranch was introduced from Latin America to Texas and the plains of the W United States and Canada...

Rarotonga

(Encyclopedia)Rarotonga rärōtôngˈgä, rărətŏngˈgə [key], formerly Goodenough's Island, volcanic island (2006 pop. 15,153), 26 sq mi (67 sq km), South Pacific, capital of the Cook Islands. The most southwes...

Nuristan

(Encyclopedia)Nuristan no͝orĭstănˈ [key] [Persian,=land of light or the enlightened], region on the southern slopes of the Hindu Kush, NE Afghanistan, bordered on the E by Pakistan. Formerly called Kafiristan [...

papaya

(Encyclopedia)papaya pəpīˈə [key], soft-stemmed tree (Carica papaya) of tropical America resembling a palm with a crown of palmately lobed leaves. It is cultivated for its melonlike yellow fruits eaten raw or c...

Ave Maria

(Encyclopedia)Ave Maria äˈvā märēˈä [key] [Lat.,=hail, Mary], prayer to the Virgin Mary universal among Roman Catholics, also called the Ave, the Hail Mary, and the Angelic Salutation. The words in English a...

Warner Robins

(Encyclopedia)Warner Robins, city (1990 pop. 43,726), Houston co., central Ga., in an agricultural region; inc. 1943. The surrounding area yields peanuts, grain, fruit, and livestock. There is diverse manufacturing...

Vaughan, Herbert

(Encyclopedia)Vaughan, Herbert, 1832–1903, English churchman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Educated at Stonyhurst College and on the Continent, Vaughan was ordained in 1854 and joined the Oblate Fathers...

Carolina parakeet

(Encyclopedia)Carolina parakeet, small, long-tailed bird, Canuropsis carolinensis, now believed extinct. The Carolina parakeet was the northernmost representative of the parrot family. It had green plumage with a y...

Brazil nut

(Encyclopedia)Brazil nut, common name for the Lecythidaceae, a family of tropical trees. It includes the anchovy pear (Grias cauliflora), a West Indian species with edible fruit used for pickles, and several lumber...

Urmia

(Encyclopedia)Urmia ûrˈmēə [key], formerly Rezaiyeh, city (1991 pop. 357,399), capital of West Azerbaijan prov., NW Iran, near Lake Urmia. It is the trade center for a fertile agricultural region where fruit an...