Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

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Rahr Plains ... Rajapalaiyam

Rahr Plains: geographic region that composes part of the Lower Ganges Plains in northern West Bengal state, eastern India, with an area of about 12,400 square miles (32,000 square km). Except in the northern mountainous area, the alluvial plains are essentially flat. ...
Rahv, Philip: Ukrainian-born American critic who was cofounder (1933) with William Phillips of The Partisan Review, a journal of literature and social thought.
Rai: tribe indigenous to northeastern Nepal, living west of the Arun River in the area drained by the Sun Kosi River, at elevations of 5,500-7,700 feet (1,700-2,300 m), and also in southwestern Bhutan. The most populous tribe of the Kiranti people, ...
Raiatea: largest island of the Leeward Group (Iles Sous le Vent), Society Islands, French Polynesia, in the central South Pacific. It has a circumference of about 30 miles (50 km), an extreme width of 10 miles (16 km), and an area ...
Raichur: city, eastern Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state, southern India. It contains a palace-citadel (1294) and fort (c. 1300) built on a hill 290 feet (88 m) above the surrounding plain. In 1489 Raichur became the first capital of the independent kingdom ...
Raiganj: city, northern West Bengal state, northeastern India, on the Kulik River. An important agricultural-trade and jute-exporting centre, it is connected by road with English Bazar and with Dinajpur (in Bangladesh). Rice milling is an important industry. Raiganj was declared a ...
Raigarh: historic region of western India, immediately south of Bombay, formerly a princely state of the Chhattisgarh states. Though part of the Konkan coastal plain, its terrain undulates with rugged transverse hills reaching from the steep scarp slopes of the Sahyadri ...
Raigarh: city, northwestern Madhya Pradesh state, central India, just west of the Kelo River, a tributary of the Mahanadi. The city was capital of the former Raigarh princely state. A major rail junction, it has industries such as jute milling and ...
Raikes, Robert: British journalist, philanthropist, and pioneer of the Sunday-school movement. His philanthropic work began with a concern with prison reform.
Raikin, Arkady Isaakovich: Soviet comedian and variety-show entertainer, among the most popular and respected Soviet humorists of the 20th century.
rail: any of more than 100 species of slender marsh birds of the family Rallidae (order Gruiformes), somewhat chicken-shaped, with short rounded wings, short tail, large feet, and long toes. The name is sometimes used to include coots and gallinules, which ...
rail-babbler: any member of the songbird subfamily Orthonychinae (order Passeriformes), placed by some authorities with other babblers in the family Timaliidae and by others near the subfamily Timaliinae when the latter are placed in the Muscicapidae. It is also the particular ...
railroad: mode of land transportation in which flange-wheeled vehicles move over two parallel steel rails, or tracks, either by self-propulsion or by the propulsion of a locomotive.
Raimondi, Marcantonio: Italian Renaissance master of engraving whose prints did much to disseminate the style of the High Renaissance throughout Europe.
Raimundo, Don: English Don Raymond archbishop and leading prelate of the 12th-century Spanish Christian church, whose patronage of the Toledan school of translators contributed greatly to medieval learning.
rain: precipitation of liquid water drops with diameters greater than 0.5 mm (0.02 inch). When the drops are smaller, the precipitation is usually called drizzle. See also precipitation.
rain dance: ceremonial dance performed in many cultures, from the ancient Egyptian to 20th-century Balkan, to invoke rain, ensuring an abundant harvest. Because most primitive dances have the same goals-life, health, abundance, power-it is not unusual for phallic and other fertility dances ...
rain shadow: lee side of an orographic (mountainous) barrier, which receives considerably less precipitation than the windward side. See orographic precipitation.
Rainald Of Dassel: German statesman, chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, and archbishop of Cologne, the chief executor of the policies of the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa in Italy.
Rainaldi, Carlo: Baroque architect, one of the leading architects of 17th-century Rome, noted for the scenic grandeur of his designs. He collaborated with his father, Girolamo Rainaldi (q.v.), a distinguished architect who transplanted to Rome the north Italian Mannerist tradition of Pellegrino ...
Rainaldi, Girolamo: Italian architect in the north Italian Mannerist tradition, who became chief architect of Rome (in 1602) and of the papacy (1644).
Rainborow, Thomas: English soldier and republican who fought for Parliament during the English Civil Wars.
rainbow: series of concentric coloured arcs that may be seen when light from a distant source-most commonly the Sun-falls upon a collection of water drops-as in rain, spray, or fog. The rainbow is observed in the direction opposite to the Sun.
Rainbow Bridge National Monument: rainbow-shaped natural bridge of pink sandstone spanning a canyon 290 feet (88 metres) above a creek that winds toward man-made Lake Powell in southern Utah, U.S., near the Utah-Arizona boundary. The monument is located in the Navajo Reservation, where it ...
rainbow trout: (species Oncorhynchus mykiss), game fish of the family Salmonidae noted for its spectacular leaps and hard fighting when hooked. It has been introduced from western North America to many other countries. A brightly coloured fish of lakes and swift streams, ...
Raine, Kathleen: English poet, scholar, and critic noted for her mystical and visionary poetry.
Rainer, Yvonne: American avant-garde choreographer and filmmaker whose work in both disciplines often featured the medium's most fundamental elements rather than meeting conventional expectations.
Rainey, Joseph Hayne: former American slave, the first black to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives (1870-79).
Rainey, Ma: American singer, the "mother of the blues," recognized as the first great black professional blues vocalist.
rainforest: luxuriant forest, generally composed of tall, broad-leaved trees and usually found in wet tropical uplands and lowlands around the Equator.
Rainier III, prince de Monaco: 31st hereditary ruler of the principality of Monaco (1949-2005). He was the son of Prince Pierre, count de Polignac, and Princess Charlotte de Monaco, daughter of Louis II, prince de Monaco. Rainier became a Grimaldi (i.e., received his mother's family ...
Rainier, Mount: highest mountain (14,410 feet [4,392 metres]) in the state of Washington, U.S., and in the Cascade Range. It lies about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of the city of Tacoma, within Mount Rainier National Park. The mountain, geologically young, was ...
Rainis: Latvian poet and dramatist whose works were outstanding as literature and for their assertion of national freedom and social consciousness.
rainmaking: any process of increasing the amount of precipitation discharged from a cloud. Primitive methods, such as rain dances or the throwing of pebbles into water, failed to produce rain, but modern techniques of seeding supercooled clouds with frozen carbon dioxide ...
Rains, Claude: British motion picture and stage character actor noted for his smooth, distinguished voice, polished, ironic style, and intelligent portrayal of a variety of roles, ranging from villains to sympathetic gentlemen.
Rainwater, James: American physicist who won a share of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1975 for his part in determining the asymmetrical shapes of certain atomic nuclei.
Rainy Lake: narrow lake astride the Canadian-U.S. border, between Minnesota, U.S., and the Rainy River district of southwestern Ontario, Can. It has an area of 360 square miles (932 square km), is about 50 miles (80 km) long, 35 miles (56 km) ...
Raipur: city, capital of Chhattisgarh state, central India. The community was founded in the 14th century by Rai Brahma Deo of the Ratanpur dynasty. It served as headquarters of the former Chhattisgarh princely states division and was constituted a municipality in ...
Rais, Gilles de: Breton baron, marshal of France, and man of wealth whose distinguished career ended in a celebrated trial for satanism, abduction, and child murder. His name was later connected with the story of Bluebeard.
raised work: form of embroidery practiced in England in the 17th century, characterized by biblical and mythological scenes of padded plants, animals, birds, and the like in high relief. Panels, which were used as pictures or decorative coverings for mirror frames, caskets, ...
Raisen: city, central Madhya Pradesh state, central India. The city lies at the foot of a spur of the Vindhya Range, on which stands an ancient sandstone fort with several palaces and a mosque. A strategic community in the history of ...
raisin: dried fruit of certain varieties of grape. Raisin grapes were grown as early as 2000 BC in Persia and Egypt, and dried grapes are mentioned in the Bible (Numbers 6:3) during the time of Moses. David (Israel's future king) was ...
raisin tree: (species Hovenia dulcis), shrub or tree, of the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae), native to East Asia and sometimes cultivated in other regions. It is so-named because the fruit resembles a raisin in size and colour.
Raitt, Bonnie: American singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose wide musical range encompassed blues, folk, rhythm and blues, pop, and country rock. Touring and recording with some of the leading session musicians and songwriters of her day, she became a successful recording artist ...
Raj-Nandgaon: city, Madhya Pradesh state, central India, just north of the Seonath River. It was the capital of the former Raj Nandgaon princely state, which merged with Durg district in 1948. It lies in a region of fertile plains, drained by ...
Raja'i, Mohammad Ali: Iranian politician who was prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1980 to 1981.
Rajagopalachari, Chakravarti: the only Indian governor-general of independent India. He became the founder and leader of the Swatantra (Independent) Party in 1959.
Rajahmundry: city, Andhra Pradesh state, southern India, at the head of the Godavari River delta. In 1449 Rajahmundry was captured by Kapilesvara, the Orissa ruler. In 1757 it was ceded to the British. A railway bridge over the Godavari, with 56 ...
rajakariya: traditional system of land tenure in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) until the early 19th century in which land was granted in exchange for services rendered. The services expected were of two kinds: (1) public works, such as road and bridge ...
Rajang River: river in East Malaysia (northwest Borneo), rising in the Iran Mountains and flowing southwest to Kapit, where it turns westward to complete its 350-mile (563-kilometre) course to the South China Sea. Its large, swampy delta includes Beruit Island, with a ...
Rajapalaiyam: city, Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India, at the eastern foot of the Western Ghats. It is named after its Raju inhabitants, Telugu speakers who migrated during the Vijayanagar (1336-1565) conquest.