Polar Bear

Also called �White Bear, Water Bear, Sea Bear, or Ice Bear� (Ursus maritimus, formerly Thalarctos maritimus), semiaquatic northern bear, family Ursidae, found throughout Arctic regions, generally on drifting oceanic ice floes. The polar bear is sought for its trophy value and (especially by Eskimo) for its hide, tendons, fat, and flesh; the liver, however, is inedible and often poisonous because of its high vitamin

Arabia, The Hejaz and Asir

A virtually unbroken escarpment runs the length of the peninsula above the Red Sea. The stretch from the Gulf of Aqaba to a point about 200 miles south of Mecca is called the Hejaz (Al-Hijaz, meaning �The Barrier�), and the higher stretch from there to the Najran region near the Yemeni border has acquired the name of Asir ('Asir; from the name, meaning �Difficult,� of a prominent highland

Yakima River

River, south-central Washington, U.S., rising in the Cascade Range, near Snoqualmie Pass. It flows southeastward about 200 miles (320 km) past Ellensburg and Yakima to join the Columbia River near Kennewick in Benton county. The Yakima and its tributaries irrigate about 460,000 acres (190,000 hectares) in the river valley. The Keechelus Dam, near the river's source, is a major unit of the U.S. Bureau

Referendum And Initiative

The referendum may be obligatory or optional. Under the obligatory type, a statute or constitution requires that certain classes of legislative action be referred to a popular vote for approval or rejection. For

Halton

Unitary authority, geographic county of Cheshire, England. The unitary authority comprises Widnes and surrounding suburban areas, on the north shore of the River Mersey in the historic county of Lancashire, and Runcorn and its suburbs, on the south shore of the Mersey in the historic county of Cheshire. The name Halton is ancient, and the barony of Halton created after

Khoisan Languages, Phonology

Most characteristic of the Khoisan languages are the click sounds, which form a subsystem of the consonants. Clicks are produced by simultaneous closure of the tongue with two areas in the mouth, one at the soft palate (the velum), and the other at such prevelar locations as the teeth, alveolar ridge, or palate. After the closures are made, the body of the tongue is moved

France, History Of, Continuity and change

The political history of 18th-century France can be conceptualized in terms of the double heritage and the problems it entailed. The discussion may be linked to two issues: first, the economic transformation of a traditional and essentially agricultural society by both commerce and ideas; and, second, the state's efforts (and eventual inability) to modernize and unify

Trade Union

The

Murad V

A man of high intelligence, Murad received a good education and was widely read in both Turkish and European literature. In 1867 he accompanied Abd�laziz

Pacific Ocean, The trade winds

The trade winds of the Pacific represent the eastern and equatorial parts of the air circulation system; they originate in the subtropical high-pressure zones that are most pronounced, respectively, over the northeast and southeast Pacific between the 30th and 40th parallels N and S. The obliquity of the ecliptic (an angle of approximately 23 1/2� that is the difference between

Scheelite

Calcium tungstate mineral, CaWO4, that is an important ore of tungsten. It acquired commercial value in the 20th century when tungsten became used in alloy steels and electric-light filaments. The mineral is named in honour of the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who obtained tungstic acid from it in 1781. Scheelite commonly occurs as compact or granular masses in contact

Nagaland, The people

The Nagas, classified among the Indo-Asiatic peoples, form more than 20 tribes, as well as numerous subtribes, each having a specific geographic distribution. Though sharing many cultural traits, these tribes have maintained a high degree of isolation and lack cohesion as a single people. The Konyaks are the largest tribe, followed by the Aos, Tangkhuls, Semas, and Angamis.

L�pez, Francisco Solano

L�pez, the eldest son of the dictator Carlos Antonio L�pez, seized power upon his father's death (Sept. 10, 1862) and quickly established his own

Oates, Joyce Carol

Oates studied English at Syracuse University (B.A., 1960) and the University of Wisconsin (M.A., 1961). She contributed short stories to a number of magazines

Alliaceae

Family of flowering plants in the order Liliales, with about 30 genera and more than 670 species, distributed throughout most regions of the world, except for the tropics, Australia, and New Zealand. Members of the family have corms, bulbs, or underground stems; most have long, thin leaves and clusters of varying numbers of flowers. The genus Allium contains the common onion

Moreau, Jeanne

Moreau studied at the Conservatoire Nationale d'Art Dramatique and became at 20 years of age the youngest member of the Com�die-Fran�aise. Le Dernier Amour (1949; The Last Love) marked her film debut, but Ascenseur pour l'�chafaud (1957; �Elevator to the Scaffold�; released as Frantic

Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region Of, Plant and animal life

Because of the great expanses of desert, the plant life of much of Sinkiang is monotonous. There are pine forests in the Tien Shan and tugrak woods in many places on the edge of the Takla Makan Desert. Apart from these trees, the most common are varieties of poplar and willow. In the Tien Shan and other mountains there is a great assortment of wild plants and flowers, many

Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region Of, Plant and animal life

Organization that evolved out of an international protest against atmospheric nuclear testing held on November 1, 1961. On that day between 12,000 and 50,000 women in various nations demonstrated to protest nuclear testing and to voice concern, in particular, about the hazards posed by such testing to children's health. In the United States some 1,500 women marched in Washington, D.C., to make

Br�

After 1945 the castle was often used by the federal government

Kylix

Also spelled �Cylix, � in ancient Greek pottery, wide-bowled drinking cup with horizontal handles, one of the most popular pottery forms from Mycenaean times through the classical Athenian period. There was usually a painted frieze around the outer surface (see photograph), depicting a subject from mythology or everyday life, and on the bottom of the inside a painting often depicting

Kylix

Also spelled �Cylix, � in ancient Greek pottery, wide-bowled drinking cup with horizontal handles, one of the most popular pottery forms from Mycenaean times through the classical Athenian period. There was usually a painted frieze around the outer surface (see photograph), depicting a subject from mythology or everyday life, and on the bottom of the inside a painting often depicting

Zaporizhzhya

Russian �Zaporozhye, �also spelled �Zaporozhe, or Zaporozje, � oblast (province), southeastern Ukraine. It encompasses the northwestern shore of the Sea of Azov and stretches inland across the coastal plain, the Azov Upland, and the Dnieper Plain to the Dnieper River to include a very small part of that river's right-bank area. The entire oblast lies within the steppe zone, although much of the natural grass cover has been plowed

Heves

Lentils, tobacco, and

Fields, Dame Gracie

In music halls from childhood, Fields gained fame playing the role of Sally Perkins in a touring revue called Mr. Tower of London (1918 - 25). She became tremendously popular in Great Britain with an act composed of low-comedy songs, such as �The Biggest Aspidistra in the World,� and sentimental ballads,

Uvarovite

Calcium chromium garnet found as small, brilliant, green crystals. It is the rarest of all the garnets, and its crystals commonly are too small to be cut. Otherwise, it would rival emerald as a popular gemstone because of its beautiful colour. Typical occurrences are in chromite, as in the northern Urals, California, Canada, Finland, and Silesia in Poland. For details of

Jeune Afrique

In full� Jeune Afrique, L'hebdomadaire Internationale De L'afrique� (French: �Young Africa, International Weekly of Africa�), weekly news magazine in the French language that presents news and interpretative and editorial commentary on Africa, especially French-speaking Africa. It is published in Paris and is the preeminent news magazine covering African affairs in French and perhaps in any language. It was founded in 1960. Jeune

Alizarin

Also spelled �Alizarine, � a red dye originally obtained from the root of the common madder plant, Rubia tinctorum, in which it occurs combined with the sugars xylose and glucose. The cultivation of madder and the use of its ground root for dyeing by the complicated Turkey red process were known in ancient India, Persia, and Egypt; the use spread to Asia Minor about the 10th century and was introduced

Aureole

Brightly illuminated area surrounding an atmospheric light source, such as the Sun, when the light is propagated through a medium containing many sizes of particles or droplets that are large compared to the wavelength of the light. Because the wavelength of visible light is about 0.00005 cm (0.5 micrometre), particles of size greater than about 0.0001 cm (1 micrometre) will give rise

Cariboo Mountains

Range in eastern British Columbia, Canada, forming the northern subdivision of the Columbia Mountains. The Cariboo Mountains lie within an area enclosed by the great bend of the Fraser River and its tributary, the North Thompson. The mountains extend for about 190 miles (305 km) and parallel the Rocky Mountain Trench, which separates them from the Canadian Rockies. From Mount

Cadenza

(Italian: �cadence�), unaccompanied bravura passage introduced at or near the close of a movement of a composition and serving as a brilliant climax, particularly in solo concerti of a virtuoso character. Until well into the 19th century such interpolated passages were often improvised by the performer at suitable openings left for that purpose by the composer. They