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opal

(Encyclopedia) opalopalōˈpəl [key], a mineral consisting of poorly crystalline to amorphous silica, SiO2·nH2O; the water content is quite variable but usually ranges from 3% to 10%. Common opal is…

murre

(Encyclopedia) murremurremör [key], common name for a group of diving birds of the same family as the auk and the puffin (family Alcidae) and including the guillemots. There are three species of…

pika

(Encyclopedia) pikapikapīˈkə [key], short-haired mammal related to rabbits and hares, also called mouse hare and rock rabbit. Pikas live above the timber line in the mountains of N Asia and W North…

Penderecki, Krzysztof

(Encyclopedia) Penderecki, KrzysztofPenderecki, Krzysztofkshĭshˈtôf pändĕrĕtsˈkē [key], 1933–2020, Polish composer. His music is characterized by unusual sonorities, and he devised his own system of…

Coleman, Ornette

(Encyclopedia) Coleman, Ornette, 1930–2015, African-American saxophonist and composer, b. Fort Worth, Tex. Largely self-taught, he began playing the alto saxophone in rhythm-and-blues bands. He later…

Cumbria

(Encyclopedia) Cumbria, county, 2,635 sq mi (6,826 sq km), extreme NW England. The county stretches from the Morecambe Bay to Soloway Firth along the…

Charters, Samuel Barclay

(Encyclopedia) Charters, Samuel Barclay, 1929–2015, American musical historian and author, b. Pittsburgh. In the 1950s he studied jazz and blues in New Orleans and traveled through the South, where…

geochemistry

(Encyclopedia) geochemistry, study of the chemical changes on the earth. More specifically, it is the study of the absolute and relative abundances of chemical elements in the minerals, soils, ores,…

geologic timescale

(Encyclopedia) CE5 geologic timescale, a chronological scale of earth's history used to measure the relative or absolute age of any part of geologic time. Of the numerous timescales, the most…

Canyonlands National Park

(Encyclopedia) Canyonlands National Park, 337,598 acres (136,679 hectares), SE Utah; est. 1964. Located in a desert region, the park contains a maze of deep canyons and many unusual features carved…