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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...

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...

Ulúa

(Encyclopedia)Ulúa o͞olo͞oˈä [key], river, c.200 mi (320 km) long, rising in the Cordillera de Opalaca, W Honduras, and flowing north to the Caribbean Sea. The Ulúa, with its tributaries, drains almost the en...

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 ...

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...

Worcester, town, South Africa

(Encyclopedia)Worcester, town, now part and seat of the Breede Valley local municipality, Western Cape prov., SW South Africa. It produces wine and liquor and processes the fruits and vegetables of the surrounding ...

Frémont, John Charles

(Encyclopedia)Frémont, John Charles, 1813–90, American explorer, soldier, and political leader, b. Savannah, Ga. He taught mathematics to U.S. naval cadets, then became an assistant on a surveying expedition (18...

Joachim, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Joachim, Saint jōˈəkĭm [key], in tradition, the father of the Virgin and husband of St. Anne; there is no mention of him in the Bible. His cult is ancient in the East, but modern in the western Ch...

Kurgan

(Encyclopedia)Kurgan ko͞orgänˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 356,000), capital of Kurgan region, W Siberian Russia, on the Tobol River. Kurgan is the important junction of the western branches of the Trans-Siberian RR....

menhir

(Encyclopedia)menhir mĕnˈhērˌ [key] [Breton,=long stone], in archaeology, name given to the single standing stones of Western Europe, and by extension to those of other lands. Their size varies and their shape ...