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Transantarctic Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Transantarctic Mountains, mountain chain stretching across Antarctica from Victoria Land to Coats Land; separating the E Antarctic and W Antarctic subcontinents. Mt. Markham (14,275 ft/4,351 m high), ...

Pluto, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Pluto, in astronomy, a dwarf planet and the first Kuiper belt, or transneptunian, object (see comet) to be discovered (1930) by astronomers. Pluto has an elliptical orbit usually lying beyond that of ...

julep

(Encyclopedia)julep jo͞olĭp [key] or mint julep, alcoholic beverage of the S United States. Its basis is properly bourbon whiskey, which is combined with water, sugar, crushed ice, and mint leaves. Juleps are som...

varve

(Encyclopedia)varve, in geology, pair of thin sedimentary layers formed annually by seasonal climatic changes. Usually found in glacial lake deposits, varves consist of a coarse-grained, light-colored summer deposi...

Scoresby Sound

(Encyclopedia)Scoresby Sound, arm of the Greenland Sea, E Greenland. It has numerous fjords that branch out generally westward to the ice cap. Some of the branches extend more than 180 mi (290 km) inland. At its mo...

erosion

(Encyclopedia)erosion ĭrōˈzhən [key], general term for the processes by which the surface of the earth is constantly being worn away. The principal agents are gravity, running water, near-shore waves, ice (most...

sea level

(Encyclopedia)sea level, the level of the sea, which serves as the datum used for measurement of land elevations and ocean depths. Theoretically, one would expect sea level to be a fixed and permanent horizontal su...

Glendale

(Encyclopedia)Glendale. 1 City (2020 pop. 248,325), Maricopa co., S central Ariz., adjacent to Phoenix; inc. 1910. It is located in a rich agricultural region ...

water polo

(Encyclopedia)water polo, swimming game encompassing features of soccer, football, basketball, and hockey. The object of the game is to maneuver, by head, feet, or hand, a leather-covered ball 27 to 28 in. (about 7...

Foxe Basin

(Encyclopedia)Foxe Basin, a widening of the waterway between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula, c.340 mi (550 km) long and c.225 mi (360 km) wide, Nunavut Territory, Canada. The basin is shallow and is ice-c...