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pickerelweed

(Encyclopedia)pickerelweed, common name for the Pontederiaceae, a family of chiefly tropical perennial aquatic herbs found in freshwater. The pickerelweeds (genus Pontederia) range north into temperate regions, inc...

Namib-Naukluft National Park

(Encyclopedia)Namib-Naukluft National Park, 19,216 sq mi (49,768 sq km), W Namibia, encompassing parts of the Namib Desert and the Naukluft mountain range. It was established in 1979 when the Namib Desert Park (beg...

Pan-American Highway

(Encyclopedia)Pan-American Highway, system of roads, c.16,000 mi (25,750 km) long, linking the nations of the Western Hemisphere. It was suggested at the Fifth International Conference of American States (1923) and...

Rocky Mountain spotted fever

(Encyclopedia)Rocky Mountain spotted fever, infectious disease caused by a rickettsia. The bacterium is harbored by wild rodents and other animals and is carried by infected ticks of several species that attach the...

Rambouillet sheep

(Encyclopedia)Rambouillet sheep rămˈbo͝olāˌ [key], fine-wool breed developed in France from the Spanish Merino sheep. It has become very popular in the United States and is the foundation of most of the Wester...

Bergonzi, Carlo

(Encyclopedia)Bergonzi, Carlo, 1924–2014, Italian opera singer. He began his career as a baritone, debuting in 1948, but he made a second debut as a tenor in 1951 after realizing his voice was better suited to th...

cline

(Encyclopedia)cline, in biology, any gradual change in a particular characteristic of a population of organisms from one end of the geographical range of the population to the other. Gradients of characteristics us...

Rhodope

(Encyclopedia)Rhodope rŏdˈəpē [key], Bulg. Rodopi Planina, Gr. Rodope, mountain range of the Balkan Peninsula, extending c.200 mi (320 km) from the Struma River, SE Bulgaria, to the lower Maritsa River, NE Gree...

Pindus

(Encyclopedia)Pindus pĭnˈdəs [key], Gr. Píndhos, chief mountain range of Greece, extending c.100 mi (160 km) S from the Albanian border through NW Greece. Mt. Smólikas (8,650 ft/2,637 m) is the highest peak. T...

Bohemian Forest

(Encyclopedia)Bohemian Forest, Czech Český Les, Ger. Böhmerwald, mountain range, extending c.150 mi (240 km) along the S Czech-German border and extending into Austria. The Czech name for its southern section is...
 

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