(Encyclopedia) cofferdam, temporary barrier for excluding water from an area that is normally submerged. Made commonly of wood, steel, or concrete sheet piling (see pile), cofferdams are used in…
(Encyclopedia) Golden Gate, strait, 4 mi (6.4 km) long and 1 to 2 mi (1.6–3.2 km) wide, linking San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean. It was discovered in 1579 by the English explorer Sir Francis…
(Encyclopedia) Davis Mountains, W Tex., SE of El Paso. Old Baldy, 8,382 ft (2,555 m), is the highest peak. Forested slopes, springs, and deep canyons attract tourists. On the summit of Mt. Locke, 6,…
(Encyclopedia) Froude, WilliamFroude, Williamfr&oomacr;d [key], 1810–79, English engineer and naval architect, brother of J. Anthony Froude; educated at Oxford. In 1837 he worked on the Bristol…
(Encyclopedia) IquiqueIquiqueēkēˈkā [key], city (1990 est. pop. 148,500), capital of Iquique prov., N Chile. A port on the Pacific, it exports nitrates and ore from the Atacama Desert. The city,…
(Encyclopedia) Elkin, Stanley, 1930–95, American writer, b. New York City. An offbeat fiction writer, Elkin had a gift for black comedy, fantastic imagery, bizarre situations, and a kind of lyrical…
(Encyclopedia) Capitol Reef National Park: 241,904 acres (97,971 hectares), S Utah. The park features a dome-shaped white rock, said to resemble the U.S. Capitol, and a maze of deep canyons, arches,…
(Encyclopedia) Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, 30,300 acres (12,272 hectares), W central Colorado, in the Rocky Mts. The park embraces the most spectacular stretch of the 53-mi (85-km)…
