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borer

(Encyclopedia)borer, name applied to various animals that are injurious because of their ability to penetrate plant or animal tissues. Among insects, some borers are beetles, e.g., the flatheaded apple-tree borer, ...

waterfall

(Encyclopedia)waterfall, a sudden unsupported drop in a stream. It is formed when the stream course is interrupted as when a stream passes over a layer of harder rock—often igneous—to an area of softer and ther...

Rephidim

(Encyclopedia)Rephidim rĕfˈĭdĭm, rēfĭdˈĭm [key], in the Bible, unlocated place in Sinai where Moses struck the rock and brought forth water. ...

Ellora

(Encyclopedia)Ellora ĕlōˈrə [key], village, E central Maharashtra state, India. Extending more than 1 mi (1.6 km) on a hill are 34 rock and cave temples (5th–13th cent.), most of them Hindu but some Buddhist ...

Arkansas, University of

(Encyclopedia)Arkansas, University of, mainly at Fayetteville; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1871, opened 1872; called Arkansas Industrial Univ. until 1899. The Univ. of Arkansas for Medi...

Hastings, Thomas, American composer

(Encyclopedia)Hastings, Thomas, 1784–1872, American composer, b. Washington, Conn. Of his hymns, Rock of Ages is most famous. He compiled several books of hymns, including Musica Sacra (1815) and Spiritual Songs ...

Cohen, Leonard Norman

(Encyclopedia)Cohen, Leonard Norman, 1934–2016, Canadian songwriter, singer, and poet, b. Montreal, B.A. McGill Univ., 1955. He initially wrote poetry, publishing his first collection, Let Us Compare Mythologies,...

Pei, I. M.

(Encyclopedia)Pei, I. M. (Ieoh Ming Pei) pā [key], 1917–2019, Chinese-American architect, b. Guangzhou, China. Pei immigrated to the United States in 1935 and studied at the Univ. of Pennsylvania, the Massachuse...

Devils Tower National Monument

(Encyclopedia)Devils Tower National Monument, 1,347 acres (546 hectares), overlooking the Belle Fourche River, NE Wyo.; it was the first designated U.S. national monument (1906). Devils Tower, 865 ft (264 m) high a...

pumice

(Encyclopedia)pumice pŭmˈĭs [key], volcanic glass formed by the solidification of lava that is permeated with gas bubbles. Usually found at the surface of a lava flow, it is colorless or light gray and has the g...