562 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



Pyramids of Ghizeh, or Jeezeh. There are others 

 in other parts of Egypt and in Nubia: ami 

 similar structures are to be found in Mexico, 

 and in other parts of the world. 



Pyrenees (pir'e-nez), a broad chain of lofty 

 mountains running from the Bay of Biscay, 276 

 miles eastward, to the Mediterranean, form the 

 boundary between France and Spain. They are 

 highest in the center. Mount Matadetta reaching 

 11,168 feet. The snowline is about 8,000 or 

 9,000 feet, and there are glaciers on the French 

 side. Valleys run up either side, ending in pre- 

 cipitous "pot-holes," with great regularity. The 

 passes are very dangerous from wind and snow 

 storms. The streams to the north feed the 

 Adour and Garonne; those to the south, the 

 Ebro and Douro. Vegetation in the west is 

 European, in the east sub-tropical. Minerals 

 are few, though both iron and coal are worked. 

 The basis of the system is granite with limestone, 

 strata superimposed. 



Quebec, a province of the Dominion of 

 Canada, formerly called Canada East; bounded 

 on the north by Labrador and Hudson Bay; 

 on the east by Labrador and the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence; on the south by New Brunswick, 

 Chaleurs Bay, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, 

 and New York; on the southwest and west by 

 the province of Ontario; gross area, 347,350 

 square miles; population, 1,648,898; capital, 

 Quebec. The surface of the province is varied, 

 being diversified by mountains, rivers, lakes, and 

 extensive forests. The chief river is the St. 

 Lawrence, which flows through the entire length 

 of the province. The climate is variable, though 

 salubrious, the temperature ranging from 20 

 below zero in winter to 90 in summer. 



The mineral wealth is undeveloped, but is said 

 to be invaluable. Copper is mined in Brome 

 and Megantic counties; gold in Beauce; iron 

 ore in St. Maurice; and nickel in Pontiac. The 

 other mineral productions include asbestos, 

 apatite, plumbago, mica, slatestone, etc. The 

 soil is generally fertile and is chiefly cultivated 

 near the rivers. About half of the population 

 of Quebec is engaged in agriculture. The chief 

 products include maize, buckwheat, tobacco, 



as, turnips, barley, wheat, oats, potatoes, and 



y. Montreal and Quebec are the largest cities. 



I tain is the return to the earth, in con- 

 densed drops, of the aqueous vapors which are 

 continually rising into the atmosphere by 

 evaporation; the condensation being occasioned 

 by a change in the general temperature, by a 

 collision produced by contrary currents, or by a 

 cloud passing into a cold stratum of air. The 

 power of the air to hold water in solution in- 

 creases in a much higher ratio than the tem- 

 perature. Hence, when two masses o air, satu- 

 rated with moisture and of different tempera- 

 tures, are mixed, the resulting compound is not 

 capable of holding the whole water in solution, 

 and a part is, in consequence, precipitated as 

 rain. As the whole atmosphere, wnen satu- 

 rated, is calculated not to hold in solution more 

 water than would form a sheet five inches in 

 depth, while the mean annual deposit of rain 

 and dew is probably from thirty-five to forty 

 inches, it is obvious that the supply of atmos- 

 pheric moisture must be renewea many times 



pea 

 na 



in the course of a year. The quantity of rain 

 precipitated from the atmosphere depends upon 

 a variety of circumstances on the previous 

 hygrometric state of the unmixed portions of 

 air. their difference of heat, the elevation of their 

 mean temperature, and the extent of the com- 

 bination which takes place. When the deposi- 

 tion is slow, and the electricity set free by change 

 of state is not suddenly removed, the very minute 

 aqueous globules remain suspended and form 

 clouds; but if the deposition be rapid and copi- 

 ous, and the electricity is more or less suddenly 

 carried off, those particles conglomerate, and 

 produce, according to the temperature of the 



; medium through which they descend, rain, mist, 

 snow, or hail. 



Rainbow, the well-known colored arch so- 



1 frequently seen when the sun is shining during 



! a shower of rain. Sometimes only one bow is 

 seen, sometimes there are two ; the second being 



I broader and fainter, and situated above or out- 

 side the first. In both bows alike the colors are 



' the same as those in the spectrum, and they are 

 arranged in the same order. In the lower or 

 primary bow the red is uppermost; in the sec- 

 ondary bow their relative positions are reversed, 

 the violet being uppermost and the red lowest. 

 The formation of the rainbow is due to the re- 

 fraction and reflection of the sun's light by the 

 rain drops. The rays which make the primary 

 bow have undergone two refractions and one 

 reflection, whilst those that make up the second- 

 ary bow have undergone two refractions and 



j two reflections. Rainbows are only seen when 

 the observer has his back to the sun, and looks 

 in the direction in which the rain is falling. 

 Rangoon, the capital of Lower Burmah, 



! and the chief seaport of Burmah, is situated at 



I the junction of the Pegu, Hlaing or Rangoon 

 and Pu-zun-doung rivers, about twenty-one 

 miles from the sea. Since its occupancy by the 

 British, in 1852, Rangoon has undergone such 

 changes that it is practically a new town, and its 

 population has increased fivefold. The prin- 

 cipal streets are broad, and contain many large 

 and not a few handsome buildings. There are 

 the law-courts, post-offices, Bank of Bengal, 

 custom-house, Anglican and Roman Catholic 

 churches, St. John's College, high school, etc. 

 A large and increasing commerce is carried on 

 with British, Indian, and Chinese ports; and an 

 extensive trade is conducted with inland towns 

 as far as Mandalay. The chief exports are rice, 

 timber, cotton, hides, gums, and resins, mineral 

 oil, ivory, precious stones; the imports being 

 mainly manufactured goods. A number of rice- 

 mills have been erected; there is a government 

 dockyard, and steam tram-cars have been intro- 

 duced. Population, 234,881. 



Rastadt, a fortified town in the grand 

 duchy of Baden, about fifteen miles to the south- 

 west of Carlsruhe. It is chiefly celebrated for 

 two congresses, the one in 1714, which put an 

 end to the War of the Spanish Succession, and 

 the other in 1797-99, to negotiate a peace be- 

 tween France and the German Empire. After 

 the close of the latter, the French plenipotentia- 

 ries were treacherously murdered at a short dis- 

 tance from the town. A monument marks the 

 spot where they fell. Population, 16,822. 



