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Tanganyika, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Tanganyika, Lake, second largest lake of Africa, c.12,700 sq mi (32,890 sq km), E central Africa on the borders of Tanzania, Congo (Kinshasa), Zambia, and Burundi. It is c.420 mi (680 km) long and up ...

Kamprad, Ingvar Feodor

(Encyclopedia)Kamprad, Ingvar Feodor, 1926–, Swedish business executive. In 1943 he founded IKEA, which began selling low-priced furniture in 1947. In the 1950s the company began designing its own furniture and h...

Kasserine Pass

(Encyclopedia)Kasserine Pass kăsˈərīnˌ [key], gap, 2 mi (3.2 km) wide, central Tunisia, in the Grand Dorsal chain (an extension of the Atlas Mts.). A key point in the Allied offensive in Tunisia in World War I...

Vuelta Abajo

(Encyclopedia)Vuelta Abajo vwĕlˌtäbäˈhō [key], district, c.90 mi (140 km) long and c.10 mi (16 km) wide, Pinar del Rio prov., W Cuba, along the southern piedmont of the Órganos Mts. Famous for the fine quali...

Ballet Folklórico de México

(Encyclopedia)Ballet Folklórico de México, Mexico's national dance company. It was founded in 1952 by the dancer, choreographer, and teacher Amalia Hernández. Sponsored by the Mexican government, it is headquart...

Barnes, Harry Elmer

(Encyclopedia)Barnes, Harry Elmer, 1889–1968, American historian and sociologist, b. Auburn, N.Y. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1918 and taught economics, sociology, and history at various institutions o...

Caldwell, Sarah

(Encyclopedia)Caldwell, Sarah, 1924–2006, American opera director and conductor, b. Maryville, Mo. In 1957 she founded the Boston Opera Group, later renamed the Opera Company of Boston, and headed it until its de...

Batan Islands

(Encyclopedia)Batan Islands bätänˈ [key], island group, 76 sq mi (197 sq km), northernmost of the Philippine islands. They include the islands of Itbayat, Batan, Sabtang, and a number of islets, and comprise the...

Silver Springs

(Encyclopedia)Silver Springs, mineral spring, N central Fla., source of the Silver River. The limestone spring, one of the world's largest and most famous, has a basin 80 ft (24 m) deep and 300 ft (91 m) wide. The ...

Christ's-thorn

(Encyclopedia)Christ's-thorn, name for several Old World plants popularly said to have composed the crown of thorns. It is applied most often to two members of the family Rhamnaceae (buckthorn family): (1) the Jeru...