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magnesite

(Encyclopedia)magnesite măgˈnəsīt [key], mineral, magnesium carbonate, MgCO3, white, yellow, or gray in color. It originates through the alteration of olivine or of serpentine by waters carrying carbon dioxide;...

altiplano

(Encyclopedia)altiplano ălˌtĭpläˈnō [key], high plateau (alt. c.12,000 ft/3,660 m) in the Andes Mts., c.65,000 sq mi (168,350 sq km), W Bolivia, extending into S Peru. The altiplano is a sediment-filled depre...

Coast Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Coast Mountains, range, W British Columbia and SE Alaska, extending c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) parallel to the Pacific coast, from the mountains of Alaska near the Yukon border to the Cascade Range near th...

albumin

(Encyclopedia)albumin ălbyo͞oˈmən [key] [Lat.,=white of egg], member of a class of water-soluble, heat-coagulating proteins. Albumins are widely distributed in plant and animal tissues, e.g., ovalbumin of egg, ...

chernozem

(Encyclopedia)chernozem chĕrˈnəzĕmˌ [key] or black earth, variety of soil rich in organic matter in the form of humus. It is generally a modified type of loess. True chernozem is black in color, but there are ...

mercurous chloride

(Encyclopedia)mercurous chloride, mercury (I) chloride, or calomel, chemical compound, Hg2Cl2, a white crystalline powder, very slightly soluble in water. It was once used medicinally as a purgative, cathartic, li...

FitzRoy, Robert

(Encyclopedia)FitzRoy, Robert, 1805–65, British naval officer, meteorologist, and hydrologist. Given (1829) temporary command of the HMS Beagle, he completed a survey of the coasts of Patagonia and Tierra del Fue...

eider, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)eider: see duck.

diet, in nutrition

(Encyclopedia)diet, food and drink regularly consumed for nourishment. Nutritionists generally recommend eating a wide variety of foods; however, some groups of people survive on a very limited diet. The traditiona...

dike, in technology

(Encyclopedia)dike, in technology: see levee.