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Falun

(Encyclopedia)Falun fäˈlŭnˌ [key], city, capital of Kopparberg co., S central Sweden; chartered 1624 an...

Yamaguchi

(Encyclopedia)Yamaguchi yämäˈgo͞ochē [key], city (1990 pop. 129,461), capital of Yamaguchi prefecture, SW Honshu, Japan. A great castle city from the 14th to 16th cent. and the site of many Buddhist temples an...

tortoiseshell

(Encyclopedia)tortoiseshell, horny, translucent, mottled plates covering the carapace of the tropical hawksbill turtle. The plates, too thin for most purposes in their original form, are usually built up in layers ...

travertine

(Encyclopedia)travertine trăvˈərtĭn, –tēn [key], form of massive calcium carbonate, CaCO3, resulting from deposition by springs or rivers. It is often beautifully colored and banded as a result of the presen...

vermilion

(Encyclopedia)vermilion, vivid red pigment of durable quality. It is a chemical compound of mercury and sulfur and is known as red sulfide of mercury; it was formerly obtained by grinding pure cinnabar but is now c...

Vilyui

(Encyclopedia)Vilyui vĭlyo͞oˈē [key], river, c.1,520 mi (2,450 km) long, rising in the central Siberian uplands, E Siberian Russia, in the Sakha Republic, and flowing east through an agricultural area into the ...

mica

(Encyclopedia)mica mīˈkə [key], general term for a large group of minerals, hydrous silicates of aluminum and potassium, often containing magnesium, ferrous iron, ferric iron, sodium, and lithium and more rarely...

Michoacán

(Encyclopedia)Michoacán mēchōäkänˈ [key], state (1990 pop. 3,548,199), 23,202 sq mi (60,093 sq km), S Mexico. Morelia is the capital. Dominated by the mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental and the volcanic...

plumbing

(Encyclopedia)plumbing, piping systems inside buildings for water supply and sewage. The Romans had a highly developed plumbing system; water was brought to Rome by aqueducts and distributed to homes in lead pipes�...

Hewitt, Abram Stevens

(Encyclopedia)Hewitt, Abram Stevens hyo͞oˈĭt [key], 1822–1903, American industrialist and political leader, b. Haverstraw, N.Y. He became a lawyer, and friendship with a son and marriage to a daughter of Peter...