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De Smet, Pierre Jean

(Encyclopedia)De Smet, Pierre Jean pyĕr zhäN də smĕtˈ [key], 1801–73, Jesuit missionary in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, b. Belgium. He emigrated to the United States in 1821, served his novitiate in Florissan...

tumbleweed

(Encyclopedia)tumbleweed, any of several plants, particularly abundant in prairie and steppe regions, that commonly break from their roots at maturity and, drying into a rounded tangle of light, stiff branches, rol...

purslane

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Purslane, Portulaca oleraceae purslane, common name for some plants of the Portulaceae, a family of herbs and a few small shrubs, chiefly of the Americas. The portulacas or purslanes (genus Po...

Kendall, Amos

(Encyclopedia)Kendall, Amos kĕnˈdəl [key], 1789–1869, American journalist and statesman, b. Dunstable, Middlesex co., Mass. He edited (1816–29) at Frankfort, Ky., the Argus of Western America, one of the mos...

Odenwald

(Encyclopedia)Odenwald ōˈdənvält [key], hilly, forested region, S central Germany, bordering on the Neckar and Main rivers and the Rhine plain. Its highest point (2,055 ft/626 m) is the Katzenbuckel. Fruit and ...

Trans-Canada Highway

(Encyclopedia)Trans-Canada Highway, c.4,800 mi (7,700 km) long, S Canada; dedicated 1962; completed 1970. The world's longest national highway, it traverses North America from St. John's, N.L., to Victoria, British...

Virginia City

(Encyclopedia)Virginia City, uninc. village (1990 pop. 920), seat of Storey co., W Nev.; settled 1859. Now largely a tourist center, it was the site of the Comstock Lode and a major hub for the mining of silver and...

collect

(Encyclopedia)collect kŏlˈĕkt [key] [Late Lat.,=meeting], in Western liturgies, short prayer proper to an occasion, often asking a particular favor. In the Roman Catholic Church the collect is said, typically, a...

Gersoppa, Falls of

(Encyclopedia)Gersoppa, Falls of gərsŏpˈə [key], cataract of the Sharavati River, Karnataka state, SW India. It is one of the most spectacular natural beauties of India. The river cuts through the Western Ghats...

evening star

(Encyclopedia)evening star or morning star, planet that becomes visible in the western sky shortly after sunset or in the eastern sky shortly before sunrise. It can usually be seen in twilight, when it is too light...