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Hokkaido

(Encyclopedia)Hokkaido hōkīˈdō [key], island, c.30,130 sq mi (78,040 sq km), N Japan, separated from Ho...

duck

(Encyclopedia)duck, common name for wild and domestic waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and swans. It is hunted and bred for its meat, eggs, and feathers. Strictly speaking, duck refers to...

Burns, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Burns, Robert, 1759–96, Scottish poet. Burns's art is at its best in songs such as “Flow Gently, Sweet Afton,” “My Heart's in the Highlands,” and “John Anderson My Jo.” Two collections...

Liaoning

(Encyclopedia)Liaoning lyouˈnĭngˈ [key], province (2010 pop. 43,746,323), c.58,400 sq mi (151,295 sq km), NE China, on the Bohai and Korea Bay. The capital is Shenyang (Mukden). A part of Manchuria, it encompass...

Sakha Republic

(Encyclopedia)Sakha Republic yəko͞oˈshēə [key], constituent republic (1995 pop. 1,035,000), c.1,200,000 sq mi (3,108,000 sq km), NE Siberian Russia. Yakutsk is the capital. The Sakha Republic is bounded in the...

ice skating

(Encyclopedia)ice skating, gliding along an ice surface on keellike runners known as ice skates. The earliest skates (c.9th cent.), made of bone, were found in Sweden. Wooden skates with iron facings appeared in ...

Sea Islands

(Encyclopedia)Sea Islands, chain of more than 100 low islands off the Atlantic coast of S.C., Ga., and N Fla., extending from the Santee River to the St. Johns River. The ocean side of the islands is generally sand...

ozone layer

(Encyclopedia)ozone layer or ozonosphere, region of the stratosphere containing relatively high concentrations of ozone, located at altitudes of 12–30 mi (19–48 km) above the earth's surface. Ozone in the ozone...

Masaryk, Thomas Garrigue

(Encyclopedia)Masaryk, Thomas Garrigue gərēgˈ [key], 1850–1937, Czechoslovak political leader and philosopher, first president and chief founder of Czechoslovakia. He is revered by most Czechs and was internat...

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