Skarzysko-kamienna

Town, Kielce województwo (province), southeastern Poland, on the Kamienna River. An important metallurgical centre since the end of World War II (1945) and rail junction on the Warsaw–Kraków line, it is part of the Staropolskie Zaglebie Przemyslowe, or the Old Poland Industrial Basin, which encompasses the area surrounding Skarzysko-Kamienna and the Góry Swietokrzyskie (Holy

Chad, Flag Of

When French West Africa was under colonial rule, little was done to develop a sense of nationality; emphasis was on the culture and political and economic systems of France. The independence movement in Africa in the mid-20th century therefore found Chad, like most other territories, with few precedents for establishing its own symbols. When the Republic of Chad was

Ashton, Sir Frederick (william Mallandaine)

Ashton joined

Argentina, Soils

Soil types in Argentina range from the light-coloured saline formations of the high puna in the Northwest to the dark, humus-rich type found in the Pampas. Golden-brown loess soils of the Gran Chaco are sometimes lighter where salinity is excessive but turn darker toward the east in the Mesopotamian border zone. These give way to soils ranging from rust to deep red

Melbourne

City, capital of the state of Victoria, Australia. It is located at the head of Port Phillip Bay, on the southeastern coast. Although the central city is the home of fewer than 100,000 people, it is the core of an extensive metropolitan area—the world's most southerly with a population of more than 1,000,000. In Australia it is second only to Sydney in population, and there is a good-natured

Aschersleben

City, Saxony-Anhalt Land (state), Germany. It is situated on the northern edge of the Unter Harz (Lower Harz) Mountains, southwest of Magdeburg. Probably founded in the 11th century, it was chartered in 1266 and was the ancestral seat of the Ascanians, an influential German family who derived their name (Latinized) from the town. It passed to the bishops of Halberstadt in 1315 and Brandenburg

Torcy, Jean-baptiste Colbert, Marquis De

The son of Charles Colbert, minister of foreign affairs, Torcy was a brilliant student, earning a law degree (1683) at so young an age that he needed special dispensation to receive it. His father initiated him into the art of diplomacy, and the

Abyssal Zone

Portion of the ocean deeper than about 2,000 m (6,600 feet) and shallower than about 6,000 m (20,000 feet). The zone is defined mainly by its extremely uniform environmental conditions, as reflected in the distinct life forms inhabiting it. The upper boundary between the abyssal zone and the overlying bathyal zone is conveniently defined as the depth at which the water temperature is 4° C (39° F); this

Subway

Also called  Underground, Tube, or Métro,   underground railway system used to transport large numbers of passengers within urban and suburban areas. Subways are usually built under city streets for ease of construction, but they may take shortcuts and sometimes must pass under rivers. Outlying sections of the system usually emerge aboveground, becoming conventional railways or elevated transit lines.

Arabia, History Of, Arabian and Islamic expansion

In the 6th century Quraysh—the noble and holy house of the confederation of the Hejaz controlling the sacred enclave (haram) of Mecca—contrived a chain of agreements with the northern and southern tribes that opened the highways of Arabia to commerce. Under Quraysh aegis, caravans moved freely from the southern Yemen coast to Mecca and thence northward to Byzantium