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Bjørgen, Marit

(Encyclopedia)Bjørgen, Marit, 1980–, Norwegian cross-country skier, b. Trondheim. The most decorated winter Olympian of all time, with 15 medals, she initially excelled as a sprinter, but later became accomplish...

Rapid City

(Encyclopedia)Rapid City, city (1990 pop. 54,523), seat of Pennington co., SW S.Dak., on Rapid Creek, in an irrigated farm region served by the Bureau of Reclamation's Rapid Valley project; founded 1876 after the d...

Lynn Canal

(Encyclopedia)Lynn Canal, natural inlet, c.90 mi (145 km) long, 7–12 mi (11–19 km) wide, SE Alaska. It connects in the S with Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage and thrusts north between mountains to break fin...

Kolar

(Encyclopedia)Kolar kōlärˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 83,287), Karnataka state, SW India. Manufactures include textiles and leather goods. Founded in the late 19th cent., Kolar was the center of the Indian gold-mini...

American

(Encyclopedia)American, river, 30 mi (48 km) long, rising in N central Calif. in the Sierra Nevada and flowing SW into the Sacramento River at Sacramento. The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill (see Sutter, John Au...

Ballarat

(Encyclopedia)Ballarat bălˈərătˈ [key], city, Victoria, SE Australia. It is an industrial center; clothing, ...

Archimedes

(Encyclopedia)Archimedes ärkĭmēˈdēz [key], 287–212 b.c., Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor. He is famous for his work in geometry (on the circle, sphere, cylinder, and parabola), physics, mechanic...

Mansa Musa

(Encyclopedia)Mansa Musa (Musa I) mänˈsä mo͞oˈsä [key], c.1280–1337, ruler of the Mali empire (1312–37). A devout Muslim, he brought the Mali empire to its greatest height, encompassing what is now Niger ...

Boa Vista

(Encyclopedia)Boa Vista bōˈə vēshˈtə [key], city, capital of Roraima state, NW Brazil, on the Rio Branco. Its ...

Zeya

(Encyclopedia)Zeya zāˈä, Rus. zyāˈə [key], river, c.800 mi (1,290 km) long, rising in the Stanovoy Range, Russian Far East, and flowing south to join the Amur River at Blagoveshchensk. It carries gold in its ...