Random Image

You are here: Random Image > Words beginning with z > Random Image for zaire

Possible definitions for zaire

Zagreb
City (pop., 1991: 868,000), capital of Croatia. It was first mentioned in 1093, when a Roman Catholic bishopric was established there. In medieval times, the area also contained a civil and an ecclesiastical settlement. Rivals until the 19th cent., they were joined when a spate of new building occurred and expanded onto the Sava River floodplain. At the time of the Croatian national revival in the 19th cent., it was the center of both a pan-Yugoslav movement and a Croatian independence movement. During the civil war following Croatia's secession from Yugoslavia in 1991, it sustained heavy damage. It is Croatia's principal industrial center.


air
Mixture of gases constituting the earth's atmosphere. Some gases occur in steady concentrations. The most important are molecular nitrogen (N2), 78% by volume, and molecular oxygen (O2), 21%. Small amounts of argon (Ar; 1.9%), neon (Ne), helium (He), methane (CH4), krypton (Kr), hydrogen (H2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and xenon (Xe) are also present in almost constant proportions. Other gases occur in variable concentrations: water vapor (H2O), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Air also contains trace amounts of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. The variable constituents are important for maintaining life. Water vapor is the source for all forms of precipitation and is an important absorber and emitter of infrared radiation. Carbon dioxide is necessary for photosynthesis and is also an important absorber and emitter of infrared radiation. Ozone in the stratosphere (see ozone layer) is an effective absorber of ultraviolet radiation from the sun, but at ground-level is a corrosive pollutant and a major constituent of smog.


Azores
Archipelago (pop., 1992 est.: 237,000), N Atlantic Ocean, constituting an autonomous region of Portugal. Its islands are Flores, Corvo, Terceira, S\u00e3 o Jorge, Pico, Faial, Graciosa, S\u00e3 o Miguel, and Santa Maria; the capital is Ponta Delgada (on S\u00e3 o Miguel). It covers an area of 868 sq mi (2,247 sq km). Subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the islands lie some 1,000 mi (1,600 km) west of mainland Europe. The uninhabited Azores were reputedly discovered c.1427 by Portuguese pilot Diogo de Sevilha. Settlement began c.1432; by the end of the 15th cent., all the islands were inhabited and trade with Portugal was well established. They were subject to Spain in 1580-1640, and a famous sea battle between the British and Spanish occurred off Flores in 1591. The Portuguese installed a governor and captain general for the whole group in 1766; the islands were given limited autonomy in 1895. Important air and naval bases were set up there during World War II; in 1951 the U.S. established a NATO base on Lajes.


Bairiki
Islet (pop., 1990: 2,000) and administrative center, Kiribati. It is located on Tarawa atoll, N Gilbert Islands. It has port ...

Top words beginning with Z: zacharias, zygomycete, zionists, zrz, zittern, zygoses, zesty, zemimdari, zenocentric, zymoid, zeroin, zebra, zuidholland, zithers, ziegels, zincography, zairians, zhu, zymometer, zinovievsk

More words beginning with Z.

Browse the alphabet: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z