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geyser

(Encyclopedia)geyser gīˈzər [key] [Icel.], hot spring from which water and steam are ejected periodically to heights ranging from a few to several hundred feet. Notable geysers are found in Iceland, New Zealand,...

Witwatersrand

(Encyclopedia)Witwatersrand wĭtwôˈtərzrăndˌ [key] [Afrik.,=white water ridge] or the Rand, region, Gauteng prov. (formerly a part of Transvaal), South Africa. The area, which forms the watershed between the V...

Crespi, Giovanni Battista

(Encyclopedia)Crespi, Giovanni Battista jōvänˈnē bät-tēsˈtä krāsˈpē [key], c.1575–1632, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect of the Milanese school. He was also called Il Cerano. His paintings are ...

cline

(Encyclopedia)cline, in biology, any gradual change in a particular characteristic of a population of organisms from one end of the geographical range of the population to the other. Gradients of characteristics us...

Hoel, Sigurd

(Encyclopedia)Hoel, Sigurd sēˈgo͝or hōˈəl [key], 1890–1960, Norwegian novelist. Hoel's sophisticated novels of urban life include the witty satire Sinners in Summertime (1927, tr. 1930) and the more serious...

Gerard, James Watson

(Encyclopedia)Gerard, James Watson jərärdˈ [key], 1867–1951, U.S. ambassador to Germany (1913–17), b. Geneseo, N.Y. As ambassador, he handled many delicate negotiations, including those concerning the German...

frog's-bit

(Encyclopedia)frog's-bit, common name for members of the Hydrocharitaceae, a family of aquatic herbs found in warm fresh- and saltwaters throughout the world. Most species grow partially or completely submerged, ra...

Koninck, Philips de

(Encyclopedia)Koninck or Coningh, Philips de fēˈlĭps də kōˈnĭngk, kōˈnĭng [key], 1619–88, Dutch landscape and portrait painter. His panoramic landscapes, rich and warm in tone, suggest dramatic atmosphe...

Carossa, Hans

(Encyclopedia)Carossa, Hans häns kärôsˈä [key], 1878–1956, German poet and novelist. His autobiographical novel Childhood (1922, tr. 1930) and its sequels (1928, 1941) are noted for clear, graceful style. F�...

Jáchymov

(Encyclopedia)Jáchymov yäˈkhĭmôf [key], Ger. Joachimsthal, town, NW Czech Republic, in Bohemia, in the Erzgebirge [ore mountains]. The productivity of its uranium mines, once extensive, has declined since Worl...