453 résultats pour "along"
-
Bird - biology.
B Physical Adaptations for Flight The internal body parts of all birds, including flightless ones, reflect the evolution of birds as flying creatures. Birds have lightweight skeletons in which many of themajor bones are hollow. A unique feature of birds is the furculum, or wishbone, which is comparable to the collarbones of humans, although in birds the left and rightportions are fused together. The furculum absorbs the shock of wing motion and acts as a spring to help birds breathe while they...
-
Saskatchewan (province) - Geography.
The length of the frost-free season varies within the province. In the southwest, particularly in the valley lands along the South Saskatchewan River, the frost-freeperiod ranges from 150 to 160 days. Regina enjoys about 123 frost-free days, and Saskatoon has about 111. The far north has only from 85 to 95 frost-free days. One important characteristic of Saskatchewan’s climate is the great variability in temperature and precipitation from year to year, which is often critical for agriculture.The...
-
Saskatchewan (province) - Canadian History.
The length of the frost-free season varies within the province. In the southwest, particularly in the valley lands along the South Saskatchewan River, the frost-freeperiod ranges from 150 to 160 days. Regina enjoys about 123 frost-free days, and Saskatoon has about 111. The far north has only from 85 to 95 frost-free days. One important characteristic of Saskatchewan’s climate is the great variability in temperature and precipitation from year to year, which is often critical for agriculture.The...
-
Belgium - country.
European Union (EU) directives aimed at improving Belgium’s environmental conditions concern water treatment and water quality, both significant issues in such anindustrial center. Before these directives were issued, the Meuse River, a major source of drinking water, had become polluted from steel production wastes. Otherrivers were polluted with animal wastes and fertilizers. However, Belgium failed to meet EU targets set for the early 2000s for protecting its rivers from farm pollutionand for...
-
American Literature: Poetry
I
INTRODUCTION
Phyllis McGinley
American poet and author Phyllis McGinley composed light, witty verse, much of which deals with family life.
Taylor, a poet of great technical skill, wrote powerful meditative poems in which he tested himself morally and sought to identify and root out sinful tendencies. In“God's Determinations Touching His Elect” (written 1680?), one of Taylor’s most important works, he celebrates God's power in the triumph of good over evil in thehuman soul. All of Taylor’s poetry and much of Bradstreet’s served generally personal ends, and their audience often consisted of themselves and their family andclosest frie...
-
USA - Iraq War - History.
B Making the Case for War B1 “Neoconservatives” and the Bush Doctrine Long before President George W. Bush took office in 2001, elements in or close to the Republican Party had called repeatedly for firmer U.S. steps against Iraq,including a war if necessary to force a regime change. One such group authored a white paper in 1996 called A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm , which was later sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of Israel’s Likud Party. It advocated...
-
U.S.-Iraq War - U.S. History.
I
INTRODUCTION
U.S.-Iraq War, military action begun in
B Making the Case for War B1 “Neoconservatives” and the Bush Doctrine Long before President George W. Bush took office in 2001, elements in or close to the Republican Party had called repeatedly for firmer U.S. steps against Iraq,including a war if necessary to force a regime change. One such group authored a white paper in 1996 called A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm , which was later sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of Israel’s Likud Party. It advocated...
-
Missouri - geography.
Saint Francois Mountains, at the eastern end of the crest of the dome. Only in these mountains have the sedimentary rocks been sufficiently eroded away so that theunderlying igneous rocks are exposed. They form the rounded, knoblike peaks of an old mountain range. The peaks project, in isolation or in clusters, between 230 and300 m (750 and 1,000 ft) above the surrounding sedimentary basins. One of these knobs, Taum Sauk Mountain, reaches 540 m (1,772 ft) above sea level and is thehighest point...
-
-
Missouri - USA History.
Saint Francois Mountains, at the eastern end of the crest of the dome. Only in these mountains have the sedimentary rocks been sufficiently eroded away so that theunderlying igneous rocks are exposed. They form the rounded, knoblike peaks of an old mountain range. The peaks project, in isolation or in clusters, between 230 and300 m (750 and 1,000 ft) above the surrounding sedimentary basins. One of these knobs, Taum Sauk Mountain, reaches 540 m (1,772 ft) above sea level and is thehighest point...
-
Physics
I
INTRODUCTION
Physics, major science, dealing with the fundamental constituents of the universe, the forces they exert on one another, and the results produced by these forces.
Starting about 1665, at the age of 23, Newton enunciated the principles of mechanics, formulated the law of universal gravitation, separated white light into colors,proposed a theory for the propagation of light, and invented differential and integral calculus. Newton's contributions covered an enormous range of naturalphenomena: He was thus able to show that not only Kepler's laws of planetary motion but also Galileo's discoveries of falling bodies follow a combination of his ownsecond law of m...
-
Colorado (river, North America) - Geography.
sometime between AD 1300 and 1400, but their descendants, the Hopi and Pueblo people, continue to farm and irrigate using the river's waters. The first European to visit the river was probably Spanish soldier and explorer Francisco de Ulloa, who explored the mouth of the Colorado in 1539. In 1540 and 1541another Spaniard, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, traveled through much of the region around the Colorado River. An exploring party from the Coronado expedition,led by Garcia López de Cárdenas,...
-
South America - geography.
B Natural Regions Tierra del Fuego, ArgentinaUshuaia, on Argentina’s island of Tierra del Fuego, is the world’s southernmost city. Argentina claims part of the Tierra del Fuegoarchipelago, including the largest island, known as Tierra del Fuego or Great Island, and Staten Island. Chile claims the remainder ofthe islands in the territory.R. Van Nostrand/Photo Researchers, Inc. Rising abruptly from the northwestern and western coasts of the continent are the Andes. They consist of a single chain...
-
Vikings .
Wessex (England) and Charles II the Bald and Louis III in France could command their resources to move to fortify their towns, station fleets and naval patrols alongthe coasts, and organize localized and mobile military forces. Some Christian leaders paid ransom to the larger Viking armies of the 10th and early 11th centuries.Taxing their people to pay the “danegeld,” the tribute to the Vikings, became a regular defensive strategy. But in return for the cash, the Vikings often negotiatedpeaceful...
-
Guyana - country.
European patterns of living. People of mixed African and European ancestry form a distinct group in Guyana, maintaining closer social ties to the European communitythan to the African Guyanese community. Asians from the Indian subcontinent began to arrive in the 19th century, following the abolition of slavery in Guyana, to work as indentured and contract laborers. Theycontinued to arrive until 1917, when Britain outlawed indentured servitude. Thousands of Indians chose to remain in Guyana after...
-
Tunisia - country.
mixture of Berber and Arab stock, and they regard themselves as Arabs. Nearly everyone speaks Arabic. The population of Tunisia is concentrated in the coastal plain. It is fairly dense in the hilly north, but the arid plateau, basin, and south are thinly settled. About two-thirds of the country’s people live in urban areas. A Principal Cities The capital and largest city of Tunisia is the seaport of Tunis. Other important cities include Sfax, a port and center of trade on the eastern coast; Sūs...
-
Mesoamerica.
for cooking. In other regions, the earliest ceramics are more sophisticated technically and aesthetically. At around 1800 BC in the Pacific coastal region of Soconusco (in what is now southeastern Chiapas State, Mexico), the earliest pottery was very complex both in forms and decoration. It seems to have had a social function and beenused primarily for ritual feasting. III MAJOR CIVILIZATIONS Over a period of 3000 years, beginning in about 1500 BC, a number of important cultures emerged in M...
-
-
Cat Family - biology.
cats have coats that are mainly brown, yellow, or gray, often with white underbellies. The cubs of many species of cats have spotted coats, which helps hide them ingrass and underbrush from predators. Adult cats that have mainly spotted patterns in their fur include cheetahs, leopards, clouded leopards, jaguars, ocelots, margays, Geoffroy’s cat, and servals. Singlecolor coats are found in lions, pumas, and jaguarundis. Some individuals among leopards and jaguars, and more rarely in other species...
-
Native American Art
I
INTRODUCTION
Native American Art, the visual works crafted by indigenous people of North America, starting after their arrival on the continent thousands of years ago and continuing
until the present.
artists in the Ohio area cut delicate flat forms from sheets of mica in the shape of birds, human figures, and large hands. They also carved quite natural-looking birdsand animals on stone platform pipes. These figures sat on the pipe’s flat base, or platform, and on some pipes they were part of the pipe bowl. Prominent people ofthese cultures were buried with a wealth of ornaments, such as jewelry of shells and copper, and headdresses elaborated with animal forms. The period of Mississippian cu...
-
Azerbaijan - country.
second most important industrial center after Baku. A Ethnic Groups Azerbaijan, including the autonomous exclave of Naxçivan, is populated mostly by ethnic Azerbaijanis, who are also known as Azeris. The ethnic composition of thecountry changed due to a civil war between the government of Azerbaijan and Armenian secessionists in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Beginning in 1988, when thepeople of Nagorno-Karabakh unilaterally decided to secede from Azerbaijan, nearly the entire Azerbaijani popula...
-
Cell (biology) - biology.
proteins, or other proteins required by the cell. While relatively simple in construction, prokaryotic cells display extremely complex activity. They have a greater range of biochemical reactions than those found in theirlarger relatives, the eukaryotic cells. The extraordinary biochemical diversity of prokaryotic cells is manifested in the wide-ranging lifestyles of the archaebacteria andthe bacteria, whose habitats include polar ice, deserts, and hydrothermal vents—deep regions of the ocean un...
-
Sydney (Australia) - geography.
blocks in the eastern suburbs and around railway stations elsewhere; and homes on large lots in the outer suburbs, especially those to the northwest. For publichousing, the state government built a number of high-rise apartment blocks in run-down inner suburbs after World War II (1939-1945). These housing projects weresoon deemed unsuccessful and were discontinued because they fostered crime and other social problems. More recently, public housing has taken the form of separateor semidetached ho...
-
Croatia - country.
III PEOPLE OF CROATIA The total population of Croatia at the time of the 1991 census was 4,784,265; a 2008 estimate was 4,491,543. During and after the war ethnic Serbs fled Croatia whileethnic Croats moved in. Croatia’s population growth rate in 2008 was -0.04 percent, despite population gains due to immigration. Croatia’s natural population growthrate, which measures births and deaths, has been negative since 1998. Life expectancy at birth was 75 years in 2008. The population density in 2008...
-
Finland - country.
Productive forestland is the most valuable natural resource of Finland. Spruce, pine, and silver birch are the principal trees used to manufacture wood and pulp andpaper products. Finland lacks coal and petroleum resources and is a net importer of energy resources. However, Finland does have significant deposits of peat, which is cut from thenumerous peat bogs that cover much of the north. Peat is an important heat source for homes, and it provides about 7 percent of Finland’s electricity needs....
-
Algeria - country.
areas to fishing. National parks, including the giant Tassili N’Ajjer National Park in the eastern corner of the country, comprise a large proportion of the protected area. The effects of Algeria’s human population on the fragile landscape have been severe. The greatest ecological threats are deforestation and burning of scrub vegetation,conversion of steppe habitat to arable land, and soil erosion due to overgrazing and poor farming practices. Pollution of Mediterranean coastal waters is pervas...
-
-
Star (astronomy) - astronomy.
absorbing the missing colors of light. For example, the set of dark lines made by hydrogen includes a dark red line, the set of dark lines made by sodium includes a pairof dark yellow lines, and the set of dark lines made by iron includes lines of nearly every color. Each element in the gaseous outer layer of a star produces its ownparticular pattern of dark spectrum lines, depending on the temperature and pressure of the gas. Astronomers have observed spectrum lines, or spectra, for hundredsof...
-
Baseball.
pitcher or argue a call with an umpire. Two or more coaches, positioned closer to the field, assist the manager by communicating with the players. For example,managers may decide what pitches should be thrown, when batters should swing at a pitch, and how runners should move around the bases. The manager relays thesedecisions through special hand signals that the coaches repeat to communicate to the players. Umpires are responsible for interpreting and enforcing the rules of play. They rule on...
-
Colorado - geography.
Although the rivers of Colorado are navigable only by small boats, they are important as a source of irrigation water for use in Colorado and adjoining states. However,the water level of the rivers fluctuates seasonally and from year to year. The level is generally low in winter and high in spring and summer, during the runoff of meltedsnow from the mountains. Colorado has no large lakes of natural origin, but there are numerous small lakes in the mountains. The largest bodies of water in Colora...
-
Colorado - USA History.
Although the rivers of Colorado are navigable only by small boats, they are important as a source of irrigation water for use in Colorado and adjoining states. However,the water level of the rivers fluctuates seasonally and from year to year. The level is generally low in winter and high in spring and summer, during the runoff of meltedsnow from the mountains. Colorado has no large lakes of natural origin, but there are numerous small lakes in the mountains. The largest bodies of water in Colora...
-
Archaeology.
Prehistoric archaeology is practiced by archaeologists known as prehistorians and deals with ancient cultures that did not have writing of any kind. Prehistory, a term coined by 19th-century French scholars, covers past human life from its origins up to the advent of written records. History—that is, the human past documented insome form of writing—began 5000 years ago in parts of southwestern Asia and as recently as the late 19th century AD in central Africa and parts of the Americas. Becaus...
-
Ecosystem.
work. The tiny bacteria and fungi feed upon the remains of the salmon. They break down the salmon intochemical nutrients. Nutrients from the salmon go into the soil. The roots of plants along the riverbank take up the nutrients. They use the nutrients to make food. Inthis way, nutrients get recycled back through the ecosystem. WHAT CAN HARM AN ECOSYSTEM? Any change in one living or nonliving part of an ecosystem can cause changes in other parts. Droughts,storms, and fires can change ecosystems....
-
Colorado (river, North America) - geography.
Grand Canyon and the Colorado RiverA scenic lookout on the edge of the Grand Canyon provides expansive views of the gorge’s steep, multicolored walls and the ColoradoRiver below. Beginning about 6 million years ago, water erosion caused by the river, combined with the rising or upwarping of theColorado Plateau, carved the steep walls of the vast canyon.© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. The Colorado River's major upper tributaries rise in the central Rocky Mountains in Colorado and Wy...
-
Ancient Egypt - history.
The Nile River runs through the ancient city of Thebes in eastern Egypt. For a time, beginning in 2040 bc, Thebes was the capital ofEgypt.Farrell Grehan/Photo Researchers, Inc. According to inscriptions and documents found by archaeologists, the Egyptians called their country Kemet, meaning “the Black Land,” a reference to the dark, fertile soil that remained after the Nile floodwaters had receded. They also used another term, Deshret, or “the Red Land,” a designation for the desert sands th...
-
-
Ancient Egypt.
around 4500 BC. The style and decoration of the pottery found at these sites differ from those of pottery found in Upper Egypt. The northern type eventually fell out of use. Other differences between the peoples in Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt include the nature of their architecture and the arrangements for burial of the dead, thelatter perhaps signifying differing religious beliefs. B Unification and Early Dynastic Period By 3500 BC, the settlement of Hierakonpolis, located on the west bank...
-
Belize - country.
Education is compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Attendance at primary schools was nearly universal in 2002–2003, but only 78 percent of children ofsecondary school age were enrolled in school. Higher education is available at colleges in Belize City and Corozal. The literacy rate of 93 percent is one of the highest inLatin America. C Government Belize is governed under a constitution that became effective at independence in 1981. Belize recognizes the British monarch as its o...
-
Houston - geography.
Prominent historical and cultural institutions include the Civic Center Complex, located in the central business district. The complex is composed of the George R. BrownConvention Center; the Wortham Center, which is the home of the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Ballet; and the Jesse H. Jones Hall for Performing Arts, whichis the home of the Houston Symphony. The nearby Alley Theatre houses a professional repertory acting company. Among other local professional performance groupsare the Ma...
-
Latin American Painting
I
INTRODUCTION
Diego Rivera Museum Gallery
The studio of Mexican painter Diego Rivera is now maintained as an art museum in Mexico City.
The Viceroy Arrives at PotosíThe discovery of silver on a hillside near the town of Potosí in 1545 turned this Bolivian city into a key Spanish possessionin the Americas. The population of Potosí shot up until it reached 150,000 inhabitants by the year 1611. The work shownhere, The Viceroy Arrives at Potosí, by 17th-century Bolivian painter Melchor Pérez de Holguín, was painted during thezenith of the town’s fortunes.Archivo Fotografico Oronoz From about 1580 to 1650 European styles became domin...
-
Kuwait (country) - country.
Oil revenues have allowed Kuwait to build an extensive educational system, yielding a literacy rate of 84 percent. Public school is free and compulsory from the age of 6to 13, and several private schools also teach this age group. Kuwait University (founded in 1966) is also free and offers programs in a wide range of professional andscientific fields at several campuses. Both the extensive library system at Kuwait University and the collection at Kuwait National Museum (1957) were heavily damage...
-
Soil.
I
INTRODUCTION
Soil, the loose material that covers the land surfaces of
an exchange between plants and the atmosphere, as oxygen diffuses into the soil and is used by roots for respiration. In turn, the resulting carbon dioxide diffusesthrough pore spaces and returns to the atmosphere. This exchange is most efficient in soils with a high degree of porosity. For farmers, gardeners, landscapers, andothers with a professional interest in soil health, the process of aeration—making holes in the soil surface to permit the exchange of air—is a crucial activity. Theburrowi...
-
Ear.
I
INTRODUCTION
Ear, organ of hearing and balance. Only vertebrates, or animals
line or rotates in any direction. Each canal also contains sensory areas with sensory hair cells that project into a cone-shaped cap of gelatin. Two of the semicircularcanals are in a vertical position and are used to detect vertical movement, such as jumping or falling. The third canal is horizontal and detects horizontal movement,such as turning or spinning. The action of the canals depends on the inertia of the fluid inside. When the motion of the body changes, the fluid lags behind, causing...
-
Jupiter (planet) - astronomy.
Beneath the supercritical fluid zone, the pressure reaches 3 million Earth atmospheres. At this depth, the atoms collide so frequently and violently that the hydrogenatoms are ionized—that is, the negatively charged electrons are stripped away from the positively charged protons of the hydrogen nuclei. This ionization results in asea of electrically charged particles that resembles a liquid metal and gives rise to Jupiter’s magnetic field. This liquid metallic hydrogen zone is 30,000 to 40,000 k...
-
-
New France - Canadian History.
the colony now consisted of a governor-general, an intendant , and a Sovereign Council, all located at Québec, with local governors at Trois-Rivières and Montréal, and law courts for all three districts. The senior official was the governor-general, responsible for military matters and for relations with the indigenous nations and theEnglish colonies. The intendant, a noble trained in law, was the official responsible for civil affairs: justice, law enforcement, and the maintenance of the colon...
-
Kyrgyzstan - country.
are Bishkek, the capital, located on the Chu River in the far north; and Osh, located in the Fergana Valley. A Ethnic Groups Ethnic Kyrgyz make up about 65 percent of the population of Kyrgyzstan. Uzbeks, who live primarily in the Fergana Valley, constitute about 14 percent of thepopulation. Russians, who live principally in Bishkek and other industrial centers, make up about 13 percent of the population. Other ethnic groups include Hui (ChineseMuslims, also known as Dungans), Ukrainians, Uygur...
-
Latvia - country.
The population of Latvia is about 2,245,423 (2008 estimate), yielding an average population density of 35 persons per sq km (91 per sq mi). Latvia is highly urbanized.Some 66 percent of the population lives in urban areas, with nearly one-third of the total population residing in the capital, Rīga. Other important cities includeDaugavpils, an industrial center in the southeast, on the Daugava River; Liep āja, an important port on the Baltic Sea; Jelgava, an industrial center near Rîga; J ūrmala,...
-
National Parks and Preserves.
Some ibex raised in Italy’s 700 sq km (220 sq mi) Gran Paradiso National Park (1922) were transferred to aid herd restoration elsewhere in the country. Switzerlandreturned lynx to Swiss National Park to keep red deer populations in check. The growth of national parks also enabled many European countries to restore forests thathad given way to industrialization by the early 20th century. Africa’s wildlife was hunted heavily from the late 19th century well into the 20th century. By 1920 big-game h...
-
Berlin - geography.
boroughs of Wedding and Tiergarten. Other important central areas include Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain, now united as the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough, andPrenzlauer Berg, now incorporated as a part of the Pankow borough. Tiergarten contains a large wooded park, a zoo, and a variety of public monuments as well as the large, modern Congress Hall and the Reichstag building, which wasbuilt from 1884 to 1894. The Reichstag and the surrounding area have undergone renovation to accommodate the Bun...
-
Belarus - country.
In the last complete census conducted in the Soviet Union in 1989, the population of Belarus was 10,151,806; a 2008 estimate was 9,685,768, giving the country apopulation density of 47 persons per sq km (121 per sq mi). The most notable demographic trend since the 1950s has been the steady migration of the population fromthe villages to urban centers, and the correspondent aging of the population remaining in the rural areas. In 1959 urban residents accounted for 31 percent of thepopulation; in...
-
Egyptian Art and Architecture - USA History.
The kings of the 1st Dynasty (2920 BC-2770 BC) were buried in the cemetery of their ancestors at Abydos in southern Egypt. Their burial sites were built of mud brick (bricks baked in the sun) and consisted of two parts: a tomb in the desert where the king was buried, and a rectangular funerary enclosure at the desert's edge, whererituals were performed. A pair of stone slabs called stelae marked the tombs and bore the name of the royal occupant. In the 2nd Dynasty (2770 BC-2649 BC), most r...
-
Uzbekistan - country.
E Environmental Issues The evaporation of the Aral Sea is one of the worst ecological disasters in the world. The Aral has shrunk so much that it now holds only about one-fifth the volume ofwater it held in 1960. The shrinkage is due to irrigation withdrawals from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, a practice that began on a massive scale in the early 1960s aspart of the Soviet Union’s ill-conceived drive to increase cotton yields in Central Asia. Growing cotton in the naturally arid and saline soil...
-
-
Switzerland - country.
formation over higher elevations. The wind reverses direction about sundown and moves down the valley as a cool downdraft. The foehn, which occurs during the wintermonths, is a dry and relatively warm airflow that is drawn northward over the Alps. The foehn can quickly melt snow and ice, increasing the risk of mudslides andavalanches. D Natural Resources Waterpower is the chief natural resource of Switzerland. The principal source of water is runoff from the considerable annual precipitation th...
-
Greek Art and Architecture - USA History.
The struggle between these two city-states and their allies ultimately led to the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), which Sparta won. Despite this conflict, the 5th century, often called the Classical period, is usually considered the culmination of Greek art, architecture, and drama, with its highest achievements being the Temple ofZeus at Olympia, the Parthenon in Athens, and the plays of Athenian dramatists Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. The 4th century, or Late Classical p...