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rift valley

(Encyclopedia)rift valley, elongated depression, trough, or graben in the earth's crust, bounded on both sides by normal faults and occurring on the continents or under the oceans. The central flat block forming th...

Allen, Woody

(Encyclopedia)Allen, Woody, 1935–, American actor, writer, and director, one of contemporary America's leading filmmakers, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Allen Stewart Konigsberg. Allen began his career writing for televi...

Garrett, João Batista de Almeida

(Encyclopedia)Garrett, João Batista de Almeida zhwouN bətēshˈtə dĭ əlmāˈdə gərĕtˈ [key], 1799–1854, Portuguese dramatist, poet, journalist, and orator, leader of the romantic movement in Portugal. Af...

Niagara Falls, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Niagara Falls, city (1990 pop. 61,840), Niagara co., W N.Y., at the great falls of the Niagara River opposite Niagara Falls, Ont.; inc. 1892. Tourism is one of its oldest industries, and many state pa...

numbat

(Encyclopedia)numbat nŭmˈbăt [key], small marsupial, of SW Australia, also known as the marsupial anteater. The numbat, Myrmecobius fasciatus, resembles a squirrel in size and general appearance, but is adapted ...

Medici, Gian Gastone de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Gian Gastone de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1671–1737, grand duke of Tuscany (1723–37); son and successor of Cosimo III de' Medici. Gian Gastone was the last male member ...

Windischgrätz, Alfred, Fürst zu

(Encyclopedia)Windischgrätz or Windisch-Grätz, Alfred, Fürst zu älˈfrāt fürst tso͞o vĭnˈdĭshgrĕtsˈ [key], 1787–1862, Austrian field marshal. He was military governor of Bohemia when the revolutions o...

higher criticism

(Encyclopedia)higher criticism, name given to a type of biblical criticism distinguished from textual or lower criticism. It seeks to interpret text of the Bible free from confessional and dogmatic theology. Higher...

Genet, Edmond Charles Édouard

(Encyclopedia)Genet, Edmond Charles Édouard ĕdmôNˈ shärl ādwärˈ zhənāˈ [key], 1763–1834, French diplomat, known as Citizen Genet. He had served as a French representative in Berlin, Vienna, and St. Pet...

Prairie Pothole Region

(Encyclopedia)Prairie Pothole Region, large geographic area of central North America consisting of grass-covered wetlands. Stretching northwest from N Iowa through SW Minnesota, E South Dakota, E and N North Dakota...