North America, Mangrove thickets
Ringing southern Florida and the Mexican lowlands facing the Caribbean, mangrove thickets are backed by quick-oak and palms. Ibis fleck the woods with their gleaming white feathers. Water moccasin and other venomous snakes are common in swamps, as are alligators.
Capital of Apurímac departamento, Inca región, southern Peru. It is situated on the eastern bank of the Marino River at 7,798 feet (2,377 metres) above sea level, in a cool, dry intermontane basin. The exact date of the founding of Abancay (from the Quechua Indian amankay, the name of a wildflower resembling a white lily) is unknown, but it was a leading commercial centre during the Spanish
Fossil representatives of the modern families Sialidae
Any of the first series of manned space flights conducted by the United States (1961–63). The series began with a suborbital flight about three weeks after the Soviet cosmonaut Yury Gagarin became the first human in space (see Vostok). Alan B. Shepard, Jr., rode a Mercury space capsule dubbed Freedom 7 on a 486-kilometre (302-mile) flight of 15-minute duration, attaining a maximum altitude of
A naturally occurring circular ring of mushrooms on a lawn or other location. A fairy ring starts when the mycelium (spawn) of a mushroom falls in a favourable spot and sends out a subterranean network of fine, tubular threads called hyphae. The hyphae grow out from the spore evenly in all directions, forming a circular mat of underground hyphal threads.
In electricity, mathematical description of the rate at which resistance in a circuit converts electric energy into heat energy. The English physicist James Prescott Joule discovered in 1840 that the amount of heat per second that develops in a wire carrying a current is proportional to the electrical resistance of the wire and the square of the current. He determined
Botha, Louis
The son of a voortrekker (pioneer settler of the interior), he grew up in the Orange Free State, where he received his only formal education at
The Book of Joshua takes its name from the man who succeeded Moses as the leader of the Hebrew tribes—Joshua, the son of Nun, a member of the tribe of Ephraim. In post-biblical times Joshua himself was credited with being the author of the book, though internal evidence gives no such indication. According to the views of the German biblical scholar Martin Noth, which have
Hines, Gregory
By the age of four, Hines and his older brother Maurice were taking tap lessons with renowned dancer and choreographer Henry Le Tang. The brothers soon formed the Hines Kids, a song-and-dance
As in Zulu literature, the themes of the heroic past and of the opposition between beneficent tradition and harsh modernity are much in evidence. The question of how best to come to terms with change is also central in Xhosa literature. Much important early writing, expressing Xhosa aspirations and views on Christianity and tradition, appeared in the Xhosa-language
One of the most dramatic vocalists of his generation, McPhatter grew up in a devout Christian family that moved from North Carolina to New Jersey in the mid-1940s. There, together with some high school friends (including two of author James
Of a minor clan of the ruling merchant tribe of Quraysh at Mecca, Abu Bakr purportedly was the first male convert to Islam, but this view is doubted by a majority of Muslim historians. Abu Bakr's prominence
Olgas
Aboriginal Kata Tjuta , also called Olga Rocks tors (isolated weathered rocks) in southwestern Northern Territory, Australia, comprising a circular grouping of some 36 red conglomerate domes rising from the desert plains north of the Musgrave Ranges. They occupy an area of 11 square miles (28 square km) within Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (established in 1958 as the former Ayers Rock-Mount Olga National Park) and culminate
De Gaulle's departure from the scene provoked some early speculation about the survival of the Fifth Republic and of the Gaullist party (the UDR); both, after all, had been tailored to the general's measure. But both proved to be durable, although his successors gave the system a somewhat different tone. Georges Pompidou won the presidency in June 1969 over several left and
Washington's habit of calling regular and frequent cabinet meetings began a tradition that has been followed by every succeeding president. But it is important to remember that the cabinet exists solely to help the president carry out his functions as the nation's chief executive. He is virtually free to use it or not to use it as he pleases. Presidents have thus varied greatly in their use of the cabinet. Ordinarily, all members of a cabinet are of the same political party. Attendance at U.S. cabinet meetings is not restricted exclusively to those department heads that are of cabinet rank. Cabinet appointments are for the duration of the administration, but the president may dismiss any member at his own pleasure, without approval of the Senate.
Robert was prior of Saint-Ouen, Rouen, Fr., when elected abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Jumièges in 1037. Taken to England by King Edward in 1042, he was made bishop of London in 1044. He became Edward's chief adviser and head of the Norman party and was appointed archbishop of Canterbury
Method of age determination that makes use of the damage to crystals and the radiation from radioactive substances caused by storage of energy in electron traps. In the mineral zircon, for example, radiation damage results in a change in colour, the storage of energy in electron traps, and a change in the crystallographic constants of the mineral. Extensive damage
Awe, Loch
Longest lake in Scotland, measuring 24 miles (39 km) from northeast to southwest, situated in Argyll and Bute council area, historic county of Argyllshire, at 117 feet (36 metres) above sea level. At the lake's northern end the scenery is rugged and grand, dominated by Ben Cruachan, with an elevation of 3,695 feet (1,126 metres), but at the southern end it is much softer. The loch's shores have been the
Also spelled Alphonsine Tables the first set of astronomical tables prepared in Christian Europe. They enabled calculation of eclipses and the positions of the planets for any given time based on the Ptolemaic theory, which assumed that the Earth was at the centre of the universe. The introduction states that the work was prepared in Toledo, Spain, for King Alfonso X of León and Castile under the
The picture offered by the literary tradition of Mesopotamia is clearer but not necessarily historically relevant. The Sumerian king list has long been the greatest focus of interest. This is a literary composition, dating from Old Babylonian times, that describes kingship (nam-lugal in Sumerian) in Mesopotamia from primeval times to the end of the 1st dynasty of
Ancient unit of length, now standardized at 4 inches (10.16 cm) and used today primarily for measuring the height of horses from the ground to the withers (top of the shoulders). The unit was originally defined as the breadth of the palm including the thumb. A statute of King Henry VIII of England established the hand at four inches. Units of various lengths were used by the ancient
In its classical form, a mahakavya consists of a variable number of comparatively short cantos, each composed in a metre appropriate to its particular subject matter. The subject matter of the mahakavya is
China, Cultural developments
The Han emperors and governments posed as having a temporal dispensation that had received the blessing of Heaven together with its instructions to spread the benefits of a cultured life as widely as possible. By a cultured life the Chinese had in mind a clear distinction between their own settled agriculture and the delights of the cities, as opposed to the rough
Smith Center
City, seat (1872) of Smith county, northern Kansas, U.S. Smith Center is located about 85 miles (135 km) northwest of Salina. It was founded in 1871 by L.T. Reese with the aim of making it the county seat (the county had been named after Major J. Nelson Smith). The economy of Smith Center is based on grain and livestock. The homestead cabin of Brewster Higley, where he wrote (1873) the lyrics of the well-known
The French themselves are not happy with their record. Writing in the late 1940s, critic Jean de Trigon, in Histoire de la littérature enfantine, de ma Mère l'Oye au Roi Babar (Paris, Librairie Hachette, 1950) said: “The French have created little children's literature. They have received more than they have given, but they have assimilated, adapted, transformed. The two are not the same
Only order of plants in the subdivision Gnetopsida, a group with characteristics of both angiosperms and gymnosperms. The order contains three families: Ephedraceae, Gnetaceae, and Welwitschiaceae, each with a single genus. See also Ephedra; Gnetaceae; Welwitschiaceae.
External extension of an upper floor of a building, enclosed up to a height of about three feet (one metre) by a solid or pierced screen, by balusters (see also balustrade), or by railings. In the medieval and Renaissance periods, balconies were supported by corbels made out of successive courses of stonework, or by large wooden or stone brackets. Since the 19th century, supports
Farad
Unit of electrical capacitance (ability to hold an electric charge), in the metre–kilogram–second system of physical units, named in honour of the English scientist Michael Faraday. The capacitance of a capacitor is one farad when one coulomb of electricity changes the potential between the plates by one volt. In terms of ordinary electric and electronic equipment,
(French: “War Cross”), French military decoration created in 1915 and 1939 to reward feats of bravery, either by individuals or groups, in the course of the two World Wars. This medal may be conferred on any member of the armed forces, on French citizens and foreigners who have been mentioned in army dispatches, and, in special cases, on military units and towns. During World War II there
Also called Azande , also spelled Asande a people of central Africa who speak a language of the Adamawa-Ubangi branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Extending across the Nile-Congo drainage divide, they live partly in The Sudan, partly in Congo (Kinshasa), and partly in the Central African Republic. The regions they inhabit, savanna in the north and rainforest in the south, are mostly suitable for agriculture
The book is traditionally attributed to Sun Tzu (personal name Sun Wu), a military strategist and general who served the state of Wu near the end of the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC). It is more likely, however, that it was written early in the Warring
Kornberg, Arthur
At the U.S. National Institutes of Health,
His first book of poetry, Simbólicas (1911; “Symbolisms”), signaled a break with the Modernismo tradition, while still maintaining contacts with the Romantic and early French Symbolist poets who had influenced the Modernist movement. Eguren's often fantastic creations reflect his
The low hills on which the city lies rise gently from the
Town, northeastern Queensland, Australia, on the delta of the Burdekin River. The settlement was surveyed and gazetted in 1881. Declared a town in 1882 and named after the Scottish birthplace of Sir Thomas McIllwraith, then state premier, it became a shire in 1903. On the north coast rail line and the Bruce Highway to Townsville (45 miles [70 km] northwest) and Brisbane (657 miles [1,057 km] southeast), it
Once the ore is removed from veins (narrow channels) or lodes (roughly spherical deposits) in the Earth, usually at depths of about 60 metres, the ore is treated at concentrating mills. Here the ore is finely crushed, sometimes to particle diameters of less than 0.1 millimetre (0.004 inch), and then treated by one of several mineral concentration processes. Such processes are designed
For 70 peaceful years Byang-chub rgyal-mtshan (died 1364) and his two successors ruled a domain wider than that of the Sa-skya-pa. Thereafter, although the Phag-mo-gru Gong-ma (as the ruler was called) remained nominally supreme, violent dissension erupted again. In 1435 the lay princes of Rin-spungs, ministers of Gong-ma and patrons of the increasingly influential Karma-pa sect, rebelled
Born to British parents, he was first a painter and later a racing motorist. With his brother Maurice he modified a Voisin pusher biplane and in January 1908 won a £2,000 prize that had been offered for a circular
Essexite
Dark gray to black, fine-grained, intrusive igneous rock that occurs in Essex County, Mass.; at Mount Royal, near Montreal; near Oslo, Nor.; at Roztoky, Czech Republic; and at Carclout, Scot. It contains plagioclase as the dominant feldspar, as well as orthoclase feldspar, augite, biotite, hornblende, olivine, and nepheline. As the proportion of nepheline increases, essexite
The ice content of permafrost is probably the most important feature of permafrost affecting human life in the north. Ice in the perennially frozen ground exists in various sizes and shapes and has definite distribution characteristics. The forms of ground ice can be grouped into five main types: (1) pore ice, (2) segregated, or Taber, ice, (3) foliated, or wedge, ice, (4) pingo ice,
Qabus Ibn Sa'id
Qabus was educated at Bury Saint Edmunds, Suffolk, England, and at Sandhurst, the Royal Military Academy, in Berkshire. He was called home in 1965 by his father, Sa'id ibn Taymur, who kept his son a virtual prisoner for six years while maintaining his subjects in a state of relative underdevelopment despite the country's growing oil revenues.
In furniture, a type of side table placed against a wall and normally fixed to it, requiring legs or other decorative support only at the front. Because it was viewed only from the front or sides, the back was left undecorated; the top was often of marble. In 17th-century Italy the console table was a major manifestation of the fashion of furniture made for display. Many examples
Honouring the Chu Hsi school did not reinvigorate the Nan Sung administration, but the military, despite some weaknesses, maintained an effective defense against the Mongols for four decades—the longest stand against Mongol invasions anywhere. The final Sung defeat came in part because the Mongol forces, frustrated for many years in their attempts to break the
Whether in countryside or town, the layperson's touch with Christ became more personal and more direct. The crusade was kept alive in France by the widely shared conviction of Jewish guilt and Muslim (and Byzantine) schism. The 13th was the last medieval century in which French Jews could live securely with their Christian neighbours, but their position became progressively
The 20th century opened with great hope but also with some apprehension, for the new century marked the onset of a new millennium. For many, mankind was entering upon an unprecedented era. H.G. Wells's utopian studies, the aptly titled Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought (1901) and A Modern Utopia (1905), both captured and
Gág was the daughter of a Bohemian immigrant artist. While attending high school in Minnesota, she helped support her family by contributing
Action Potential
The brief (about one-thousandth of a second) reversal of electric polarization of the membrane of a nerve cell (neuron) or muscle cell. In the neuron it constitutes the nerve impulse, and in the muscle cell it produces the contraction required for all movement. Sometimes called a propagated potential because a wave of excitation is actively transmitted along the nerve
Arts, South Asian, Indian sculpture in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC: relief sculpture of Andhradesa
Besides the schools of northern India, a very accomplished style also existed in southeast India; the most important sites are Jaggayyapeta and Amaravati, activity at the latter site extending well into the 2nd century AD. The early remains are strikingly similar to those at Bharhut, the relief generally even shallower and the modelling comparatively flat. In contrast
City, Cleveland county, central Oklahoma, U.S., a southern suburb of Oklahoma City. First settled in 1887 and originally called Verbeck, it was renamed for a conductor of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Its population remained small until the 1960s when planned urban and industrial development began. Industries include the manufacture of aircraft parts, building
Chabrier was attracted in his youth to both music and painting. He studied law in Paris from 1858 to 1862. During these years he also studied the piano and harmony and counterpoint. His
Plant family comprising the order Fabales (q.v.).
Kafue
Town, south-central Zambia, about 25 miles (40 km) south of Lusaka, the national capital. The town is located on the northern bank of the Kafue River, whose water is diverted northward by channel to Chilanga and Lusaka. The town's industrial area, which gets its power supply from the Kafue hydroelectric scheme, houses an ammonium nitrate fertilizer plant, a textile mill, an iron
Yoshitoki succeeded his father, Hojo Tokimasa (q.v.), as regent, making this office the hereditary post of the Hojo family. Thereafter, although the emperor at Kyoto was the official
Of the two schools, the old Nyaya system was concerned with the critical examination of
