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cheetah

(Encyclopedia)cheetah chēˈtə [key], carnivore of the cat family, Acinonyx jubatus, native to Africa and SW Asia as far east as India. Formerly numerous all over their range, they are extinct now in Asia except f...

Namib-Naukluft National Park

(Encyclopedia)Namib-Naukluft National Park, 19,216 sq mi (49,768 sq km), W Namibia, encompassing parts of the Namib Desert and the Naukluft mountain range. It was established in 1979 when the Namib Desert Park (beg...

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...

Mariotte, Edme

(Encyclopedia)Mariotte, Edme ĕdˈmə märyôtˈ [key], 1620?–1684, French physicist. His De la nature de l'air (1676) includes a statement of Boyle's law (see gas laws), which he discovered independently and whi...

Vaygach

(Encyclopedia)Vaygach or Vaigach both: vīgächˈ [key], island, 1,312 sq mi (3,398 sq km), Nenets Autonomous Area, off NE European Russia, in the Arctic Ocean, between the mainland and Novaya Zemlya. A continuatio...

Qaidam

(Encyclopedia)Qaidam tsīˈdäm, chī-däm [key], arid basin, c.350 mi (560 km) long and c.100 mi (160 km) wide, between two branches of the Kunlun range, central Qinghai prov., W China. A salt marsh occupies most ...

ammeter

(Encyclopedia)ammeter ămˈmēˌtər [key], instrument used to measure the magnitude of an electric current of several amperes or more. An ammeter is usually combined with a voltmeter and an ohmmeter in a multipurp...

Gastein

(Encyclopedia)Gastein gäˈstīn [key], valley, Salzburg prov., central Austria, in the N Hohe Tauern range. A popular and beautiful resort area, it has hot radioactive springs. Badgastein, one of the most fashiona...

Grossglockner

(Encyclopedia)Grossglockner grōsˈglôknər [key], peak, 12,460 ft (3,797 m) high, in Tyrol, S Austria, the highest point in the Hohe Tauern range and in Austria. It is traversed by the Grossglocknerstrasse (built...

Pikes Peak

(Encyclopedia)Pikes Peak, 14,110 ft (4,301 m) high, central Colo., in the Front Range of the Rocky Mts.; discovered by U.S. explorer Zebulon Pike in 1806. There are many higher peaks in the Rockies, but this is the...