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Gilpin, William

(Encyclopedia)Gilpin, William, 1813–94, U.S. army officer, politician, and businessman, b. Philadelphia, grad. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1833. He dropped out of West Point, but joined the army (1836) and fought in t...

Darling Range

(Encyclopedia)Darling Range, Western Australia state, Australia, at the edge of the Western Plateau, extending 200 mi (322 km) parallel with the southwest coast and rising to 1,910 ft (582 m) in Mt. Cooke. Gold and...

ghost town

(Encyclopedia)ghost town, term for any once flourishing American community that has been abandoned, generally for economic reasons. While most of the towns have little or no population, they often contain old build...

alchemy

(Encyclopedia)alchemy ălˈkəmē [key], ancient art of obscure origin that sought to transform base metals (e.g., lead) into silver and gold; forerunner of the science of chemistry. Some scholars hold that it was ...

Bonanza Creek

(Encyclopedia)Bonanza Creek, stream, c.20 mi (30 km) long, W Yukon, Canada. It flows NW to the Klondike River near Dawson. The first gold strike in the Yukon occurred there in 1896. ...

leprechaun

(Encyclopedia)leprechaun lĕpˈrəkŏn [key], Irish fairy represented as a tiny old man. Leprechauns are mischievous and elusive creatures, said to possess buried crocks of gold, the location of which they will rev...

Pingquan

(Encyclopedia)Pingquan or Pingchüan both: pĭng-chwän [key], town, NE Hebei prov., China. It is a trade center. Gold and silver are mined nearby. The town was formerly called Bakou (Pakow). ...

iridium

(Encyclopedia)iridium ĭrĭdˈēəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Ir; at. no. 77; at. wt. 192.217; m.p. about 2,410℃; b.p. about 4,130℃; sp. gr. 22.55 at 20℃; valence +3 or +4. Iridium is a very ha...

Kwekwe

(Encyclopedia)Kwekwe, formerly Que Que both: kwāˈkwāˈ [key], city (1992 pop. 75,425), central Zimbabwe, founded 1900. It is a gold-mining center and the focal point of Zimbabwe's iron and steel industry. ...

Damophon

(Encyclopedia)Damophon dămˈəfŏn [key], fl. 2d cent. b.c., Greek sculptor of Messene. He is remembered for colossal heads of Demeter and Artemis, found in Arcadia. He was a skilled worker in ivory and gold. ...