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Øresund

(Encyclopedia)Øresund örəsŭndˈ [key] or the Sound, Swed. Öresund, c.45 mi (70 km) long, strait between the Danish island of Sjælland and Sweden, connecting the Kattegat with the Baltic Sea, to which it is th...

Earn, Loch

(Encyclopedia)Earn, Loch lŏkh ûrn [key], lake, 7 mi (11.2 km) long and 1 mi (1.6 km) wide, Perth and Kinross and Stirling, central Scotland. Ardvorlich House, on its shore, is the Darlinvarach of Sir Walter Scott...

harvestman

(Encyclopedia)harvestman, arachnid, often called daddy longlegs because of its eight long, slender legs. The harvestman has a rounded or oval body possessing glands that give off an acrid scent. Its food consists o...

Zab

(Encyclopedia)Zab zäb, zăb [key], name applied to the two principal tributaries of the Tigris River. The Great Zab, 265 mi (426 km) long, rises in SE Turkey and flows generally S through Iraq to the Tigris. The L...

Weser

(Encyclopedia)Weser vāˈzər [key], river, c.300 mi (480 km) long, formed at Hannoversch-Münden, central Germany, by the junction of the Fulda and Werra rivers. It flows generally N past Minden, where it passes t...

giraffe

(Encyclopedia)giraffe, African ruminant mammal, genus Giraffa, living in open savanna S of the Sahara. Giraffes have historically been considered to be one species, G. camelopardalis, with a number of subspecies, b...

kangaroo rat

(Encyclopedia)kangaroo rat, small, jumping desert rodent, genus Dipodomys, related to the pocket mouse. There are about 20 kangaroo rat species, found throughout the arid regions of Mexico and the S and W United St...

avocet

(Encyclopedia)avocet ăvˈəsĕt [key], common name for a long-legged wading bird about 15 to 18 in. (37.5–45 cm) long, related to the snipe and belonging to the same family as the stilt. The American avocet or b...

Rocky Mountain goat

(Encyclopedia)Rocky Mountain goat, hoofed ruminant mammal, Oreamnos americanus, found in the high mountains of S Alaska, W Canada, and the extreme NW United States. Although it is not a true goat it belongs to the ...

Dasht-e Kavir

(Encyclopedia)Dasht-e Kavir däsht-ēkävērˈ [key], great salt desert, c.500 mi (800 km) long and c.200 mi (320 km) wide, SE of the Elburz Mts., N central Iran. It is a huge basin of interior drainage named after...