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Libyan Desert

(Encyclopedia)Libyan Desert, northeast part of the Sahara Desert, NE Africa, in SW Egypt, E Libya, and NW Sudan; called the Western Desert in Egypt. It is a region of sand dunes, stony plains, and rocky plateaus. T...

Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul von

(Encyclopedia)Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul von poul fən lĕtˈō-fôrˈbĕk [key], 1870–1964, German general. In World War I he conducted a brilliant defense of German East Africa against vastly superior Allied power. ...

Ras Dashen

(Encyclopedia)Ras Dashen räs dä-shĕnˈ [key], highest peak of Ethiopia, 15,158 ft (4,620 m) high, N Amhara Plateau, E Africa. It is of volcanic origin and has many craters. ...

Semliki

(Encyclopedia)Semliki sĕmˈlĭkē [key], river, c.130 mi (209 km) long, E Congo (Kinshasa), E central Africa, flowing N from Lake Edward to Lake Albert. It forms part of the Congo-Uganda border. ...

Abruzzi, Luigi Amedeo, duca degli

(Encyclopedia)Abruzzi, Luigi Amedeo, duca degli lwēˈjē ämādĕˈō do͞oˈkä dāˈlyē abro͞otˈtsē [key], 1873–1933, Italian explorer and mountain climber; cousin of Victor Emmanuel III. He led (1897) the...

Lugard, Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Lugard, Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron lo͞ogärdˈ [key], 1858–1945, British colonial administrator. After an early military career, he entered (1889) the service of the British East Afri...

Pohamba, Hifikepunye

(Encyclopedia)Pohamba, Hifikepunye hēfēkĕpo͞onˈyä pōhämˈbä [key], 1935–, Namibia rebel and political leader. A miner, he was a founder of the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) and became ...

Bloemfontein

(Encyclopedia)Bloemfontein blo͞omˈfŏntānˌ [key], city, judicial capital of South Africa, capital of Free State prov., and seat of Mangaung metropolitan municipality. It is a transportation hub and industrial c...

river blindness

(Encyclopedia)river blindness or onchocerciasis, disease caused by the parasitic nematode worm Onchocerca volvulus. The worm larvae are transmitted by the bites of blackflies (genus Simulium) that live in fast movi...

Cape Town

(Encyclopedia)Cape Town or Capetown, city, legislative capital of South Africa, capital of Western Cape prov., and seat of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality; a port on the Atlantic Ocean. It was the c...