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Valmy

(Encyclopedia)Valmy välmēˈ [key], village (1993 est. pop. 293), Marne dept., NE France, in the Argonne region. The “cannonade of Valmy,” a Franco-Prussian artillery skirmish, was fought near there on Sept. 2...

Rondônia

(Encyclopedia)Rondônia ro͝ondôˈnyə [key], state (1996 pop. 1,132,692), 93,839 sq mi (243,043 sq km), NW Brazil, on the border with Bolivia. Pôrto Velho is the capital. Rain forests still cover much of the sta...

forest

(Encyclopedia)forest, a dense growth of trees, together with other plants, covering a large area of land. The science concerned with the study, preservation, and management of forests is forestry. A forest is an ec...

Head, Bessie

(Encyclopedia)Head, Bessie, 1937–86, South African writer. Born in South Africa to a white mother and black father, she was placed in foster homes and orphanages as a child. After 1964, she lived in exile in Bots...

Cameroon, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Cameroon, Mount kămˈəro͞on [key], active volcano, 13,354 ft (4,070 m) high, in the Cameroon Highlands, W Cameroon; highest point in W Africa. The mountain and surrounding area are in Mt. Cameroon ...

Pindus

(Encyclopedia)Pindus pĭnˈdəs [key], Gr. Píndhos, chief mountain range of Greece, extending c.100 mi (160 km) S from the Albanian border through NW Greece. Mt. Smólikas (8,650 ft/2,637 m) is the highest peak. T...

hay, livestock fodder

(Encyclopedia)hay, wild or cultivated plants, chiefly grasses and legumes, mown and dried for use as livestock fodder. Hay is an important factor in cattle raising and is one of the leading crops of the United Stat...

Guaporé

(Encyclopedia)Guaporé gwəpo͝orĕˈ [key], river, c.750 mi (1,207 km) long, rising in the mountains of Mato Grosso state, W Brazil. It flows northwest through rain forest and forms part of the Brazil-Bolivia bord...

Donen, Stanley

(Encyclopedia)Donen, Stanley, 1924–2019, American film director, choreographer, and producer, b. Columbia, S.C. He is best known for directing some of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's finest musicals. In 1940 Donen danced i...

thunderstorm

(Encyclopedia)thunderstorm, violent, local atmospheric disturbance accompanied by lightning, thunder, and heavy rain, often by strong gusts of wind, and sometimes by hail. The typical thunderstorm caused by convect...