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landslide

(Encyclopedia)landslide, rapid slipping of a mass of earth or rock from a higher elevation to a lower level under the influence of gravity and water lubrication. More specifically, rockslides are the rapid downhill...

era

(Encyclopedia)era, period of historic time. In geology, it is the name applied to large divisions of geological process, e.g., Paleozoic era (see geology). In chronology an era is a period reckoned from a fixed poi...

Adams, Maude

(Encyclopedia)Adams, Maude, 1872–1953, American actress, b. Salt Lake City, Utah. Her father's name was Kiskadden, but she used her mother's maiden name. She began acting at an early age and became leading lady t...

Saraswati, Dayananda

(Encyclopedia)Saraswati, Dayananda däyənŭnˈdə särŭsˈwətē [key], 1824–83, Indian religious reformer, founder of the Arya Samaj movement. He was a Brahman from Gujarat who became the major spokesman for t...

Clampitt, Amy

(Encyclopedia)Clampitt, Amy, 1920–94, American poet, b. New Providence, Iowa. A librarian and editor, she wrote little until the 1960s. Her first major magazine publication was in 1974, and her first commercially...

Alaska North Slope

(Encyclopedia)Alaska North Slope or Arctic North Slope, region, N Alaska, sloping from the Brooks Range N to the Arctic Ocean. In 1968 large petroleum reserves were found in the Prudhoe Bay area. In 1977 the 800-mi...

Cheyne, Thomas Kelly

(Encyclopedia)Cheyne, Thomas Kelly chāˈnē [key], 1841–1915, English cleric and biblical critic, educated at Oxford. While studying at Göttingen, he was influenced by Georg Ewald and gained a view of German bi...

Metcalfe, Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Metcalfe, Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron, 1785–1846, British colonial administrator, b. India. He entered the Indian civil service as a young man, rose quickly, and was provisional governor-...

melon

(Encyclopedia)melon, fruit of Cucumis melo, a plant of the family Curcurbitaceae (gourd family) native to Asia and now cultivated extensively in warm regions. There are many varieties, differing in taste, color, an...

Melville Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Melville Peninsula, 24,156 sq mi (62,564 sq km), c.250 mi (400 km) long and from 70 to 135 mi (113–217 km) wide, Nunavut, Canada, between the Gulf of Bothnia and Foxe Basin, and separated from Baffi...