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concretion

(Encyclopedia)concretion, mass or nodule of mineral matter, usually oval or nearly spherical in shape, and occurring in sedimentary rock. It is formed by the accumulation of mineral matter in the pore spaces of the...

Avebury

(Encyclopedia)Avebury āˈbərē [key], village, Wiltshire, S central England. The village, with a medieval church and Elizabethan manor house, lies within Avebury Circle, a Neolithic circular group of upright ston...

Vigo

(Encyclopedia)Vigo vēˈgō [key], city (1990 pop. 279,986), Pontevedra prov., NW Spain, in Galicia, on an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. A naval base and one of the most active ports of Spain, it has the country's m...

Flannagan, John Bernard

(Encyclopedia)Flannagan, John Bernard flănˈəgən [key], 1895–1942, American sculptor, b. Fargo, N.Dak., studied at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. His early life was a bitter struggle against poverty. Too p...

Soulages, Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Soulages, Pierre, 1919–, French abstract painter. Largely self-taught, he has been influenced by the carved prehistoric standing stones, Romanesque sculptures, and other art found where he was raise...

stonefly

(Encyclopedia)stonefly, any insect of the order Plecoptera. North American species, of which there are more than 200, are yellowish, greenish, or brownish in the adult stage and have transparent wings, usually two ...

flight simulator

(Encyclopedia)flight simulator, device providing a controlled environment in which a flight trainee can experience conditions approximating those of actual flight. A simulator generally consists of an enclosure hou...

Parkfield

(Encyclopedia)Parkfield, uninc. town (2000 pop. 37), Monterey co., Calif., among rolling hills in the Coast Ranges. A mining center for mercury and coal in the early 1900s, when the town had 900 inhabitants, Parkfi...

thunder

(Encyclopedia)thunder, sound produced along a path of a lightning flash, caused by the rapid heating and expansion of the adjacent air; lightning can heat air to temperatures as much as five times hotter than those...

rake

(Encyclopedia)rake, farm implement consisting of a row of straight or curved teeth of metal or wood attached to a bar or frame. It is used for gathering hay or grain into piles; for clearing fields, lawns, and yard...