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weathering

(Encyclopedia)weathering, collective term for the processes by which rock at or near the earth's surface is disintegrated and decomposed by the action of atmospheric agents, water, and living things. Some of these ...

Edgerton, Harold

(Encyclopedia)Edgerton, Harold, 1903–90, American inventor and educator, b. Fremont, Nebr. He was educated at the Univ. of Nebraska and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (D.Sc., 1931), and taught at the l...

gesneria

(Encyclopedia)gesneria gĕsnĭrˈēə [key], common name for some members of the Gesneriaceae, a family of chiefly tropical and subtropical perennial herbs and shrubs with showy blossoms. The best-known members of ...

schooner

(Encyclopedia)schooner sko͞oˈnər [key], sailing vessel, rigged fore-and-aft, with from two to seven masts. Schooners can lie closer to the wind than square-rigged sailing ships, need a smaller crew, and are very...

Albert I, king of the Belgians

(Encyclopedia)Albert I, 1875–1934, king of the Belgians (1909–34), nephew and successor of Leopold II. He married (1900) Elizabeth, a Bavarian princess. In World War I his heroic resistance (1914) to the German...

White River

(Encyclopedia)White River. 1 River, c.690 mi (1,110 km) long, rising in the Boston Mts., NW Ark., and flowing first N into SW Missouri, then generally SE through NE Arkansas to the Mississippi River. Its chief trib...

Zion National Park

(Encyclopedia)Zion National Park, 146,592 acres (59,349 hectares), SW Utah. First proclaimed a national monument in 1909, it was enlarged several times and established as a national park in 1919. The park is noted ...

Catawba, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Catawba kətôˈbə [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). They have for centuries occupied a r...

Feld, Eliot

(Encyclopedia)Feld, Eliot, 1942–, American dancer and choreographer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. As a teenager he danced in musicals, notably West Side Story on Broadway and film, and on television. While a dancer (1963–...

Anuradhapura

(Encyclopedia)Anuradhapura ənäˈräjə– [key], city (1995 est. pop. 40,000), N central Sri Lanka, on the Aruvi River. Rice plantations and vegetable gardens surround the city, which is famous chiefly for its va...