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Auchinleck, Sir Claude John Eyre

(Encyclopedia)Auchinleck, Sir Claude John Eyre âr ôˌkĭnlĕkˈ, ôˌkhĭn– [key], 1884–1981, British field marshal. In World War II he commanded briefly (1940) at Narvik, Norway, then in building defenses in...

Mary, city, Turkmenistan

(Encyclopedia)Mary or Mari mäˈrē [key], city (1991 pop. 94,900), capital of Mary region, SE Turkmenistan. Lying in a large oasis of the Kara Kum desert, on the Murgab River delta, Mary is the center of a rich co...

Ar Ramadi

(Encyclopedia)Ar Ramadi är rämäˈdē [key], town, provincial capital, central Iraq, on the Euphrates River. It is the eastern terminus of a highway across the desert from the Mediterranean Sea. The town was foun...

Kharga

(Encyclopedia)Kharga äl khärˈēnjä [key], large oasis (1986 pop. 38,544), S central Egypt, in the Libyan (Western) Desert. Populated chiefly by Arab Bedouins and Arab-speaking Berbers, the irrigated oasis produ...

Swakopmund

(Encyclopedia)Swakopmund sfäˈkôpmənt [key], municipality (1991 pop. 17,681), W Namibia, on the Atlantic at mouth of Swakop River. A rail terminus and seaside resort surrounded by the Namib desert, the town was ...

Suiyuan

(Encyclopedia)Suiyuan swāˈyüänˈ [key], former province (c.126,000 sq mi/326,340 sq km), N China. The capital was Guisui (Hohhot). The region of Suiyuan, part of Inner Mongolia, is chiefly a high arid plateau; ...

Croghan, George, d. 1782, American Indian agent

(Encyclopedia)Croghan, George krōˈgən [key], d. 1782, American Indian agent, b. Ireland. He migrated to North America in 1741 and became (1756) deputy superintendent of Indian affairs under Sir William Johnson. ...

Monument Valley

(Encyclopedia)Monument Valley, scenic arid region, c.2,000 sq mi (5,000 sq km), SE Utah and NE Ariz. Located in the Navajo Indian Reservation, Monument Valley is not a true valley but an area of monolithlike buttes...

caper

(Encyclopedia)caper, common name for members of the Capparidaceae, a family of tropical plants found chiefly in the Old World and closely related to the family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; mustard family). Capparis...

Balkash, lake, Kazakhstan

(Encyclopedia)Balkash, lake, 6,562 sq mi (16,996 sq km), c.350 mi (560 km) long, maximum width c.45 mi (70 km), in E Kazakhstan. The lake, which has an average depth of 20 ft (6 m), stretches from the Kazakh Upland...