John Lydgate: It was followed by The Siege of Thebes, in which the main story is drawn from a lost French romance, embellished by features from Boccaccio.

Round Table: This empty place, called the Siege Perilous, could not be occupied without peril except by the destined Grail hero. During the 13th century, when the Grail theme was fully integrated with Arthurian legend in the group of prose romances known as the Vulgate cycle and post-Vulgate romances, it was established…

coin: Ireland: …Wars produced a number of siege pieces, notably the money of the Irish peers Inchiquin and Ormonde. For his Irish campaign James II issued his “gun-money” series of brass (made partly from melted-down old cannon), to be redeemed in silver when he should regain the throne.

collective behavior: Active crowds: …preceded by a stage of siege. In riots of limited scale in which no massive police or military forces are used, the peak day is followed by a few more days of successively smaller numbers of widely scattered encounters. Often the last incidents are in areas not previously hit by…

tower: …peoples also used offensive, or siege, towers, as raised platforms for attacking troops to overrun high city walls. Military towers often gave their name to an entire fortress; the Tower of London, for example, includes the entire complex of buildings contiguous with the White Tower of William I the Conqueror.

fortification: The American Civil War: Two notable sieges, that of Vicksburg, Miss., in the west, and Petersburg, Va., in the east, were characterized by the construction of extensive and continuous trench lines that foreshadowed those of World War I. In the Cold Harbor, Va., campaign, when General Ulysses S. Grant sent his…

Ismail Kadare: …Albanian history are Kështjella (1970; The Castle or The Siege), a recounting of the armed resistance of the Albanian people against the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century, and Dimri i madh (1977; “The Great Winter”), which depicts the events that produced the break between Albania and the Soviet Union…

Annette Bening: Career: …Denzel Washington in the thriller The Siege (1998). For her portrayal of the success-obsessed wife of the protagonist in American Beauty (1999), Bening was again nominated for an Oscar.

Arthur Siegel was a photographer noted for his experimental photography, particularly in colour, and for his contributions to photographic education. Siegel already had 10 years of experience in photography when he received a bachelor of science degree in sociology from Wayne State University in

Bugsy Siegel was an American gangster who played an instrumental role in the initial development of Las Vegas gambling. Siegel began his career extorting money from Jewish pushcart peddlers on New York’s Lower East Side. He then teamed up with Meyer Lansky about 1918 and took to car theft and,

Bugsy Siegel was an American gangster who played an instrumental role in the initial development of Las Vegas gambling. Siegel began his career extorting money from Jewish pushcart peddlers on New York’s Lower East Side. He then teamed up with Meyer Lansky about 1918 and took to car theft and,

Don Siegel was an American motion-picture director who specialized in action-packed films with tightly constructed narratives. He frequently worked with actor Clint Eastwood, and their collaborations include the classics Coogan’s Bluff (1968) and Dirty Harry (1971). Siegel studied at Jesus College,

Don Siegel was an American motion-picture director who specialized in action-packed films with tightly constructed narratives. He frequently worked with actor Clint Eastwood, and their collaborations include the classics Coogan’s Bluff (1968) and Dirty Harry (1971). Siegel studied at Jesus College,

comic strip: The United States: …Comics, was the creation of Jerry Siegel (scenario or text) and Joe Shuster (art); it was soon syndicated and transposed to other media. The Superman formula of the hero who transcends all physical and social laws to punish the wicked was widely imitated. The animated cartoon animals of Walt Disney…

Ruth Westheimer was a German American sex therapist who became one of the most trusted authorities on sex and relationships in the United States through her radio call-in program, television talk shows, and numerous books and media appearances. Her frank yet nonjudgmental manner combined with her

Seymour Siegel was an American theologian who helped shape contemporary Conservative Jewish theology and who, with his learned writings, was especially instrumental in paving the way for the ordination of female rabbis. As head of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly

Siegen, city, North Rhine–Westphalia Land (state), northwestern Germany. It lies on the Sieg River, south of Arnsberg. The first mention of Siegen was in the late 11th century, and the town was incorporated in 1224. Its two castles were formerly seats of two branches of the house of Nassau-Siegen.

Ludwig von Siegen was a German painter, engraver, and the inventor of the mezzotint printing method. Siegen spent most of his early life in the services of the landgravine Amelia Elizabeth and the landgrave William of Hesse-Kassel. He lived in Amsterdam from 1641 to about 1644, when he was

Der Ring des Nibelungen: …Gold”), Die Walküre (“The Valkyrie”), Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung (“The Twilight of the Gods”), first performed in sequence at the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, Bavaria, Germany, on August 13, 14, 16, and 17, 1876. Collectively they are often referred to as the Ring cycle.

Siegfried, figure from the heroic literature of the ancient Germanic people. He appears in both German and Old Norse literature, although the versions of his stories told by these two branches of the Germanic tradition do not always agree. He plays a part in the story of Brunhild, in which he meets

Luxembourg: …castle in 963 ce by Siegfried, count of Ardennes, marked the beginning of Luxembourg as an independent entity. The castle’s old name, Lucilinburhuc (“Little Fortress”), is the origin of the name Luxembourg.

Harry Mulisch: Siegfried (2001) is an alternate history novel in which it is revealed to the main character that Adolf Hitler had a son with Eva Braun. In addition to his many novels, Mulisch wrote plays, essays, short stories, and several books of poetry. De zaak 40/61…

magic: …the Las Vegas extravaganza of Siegfried and Roy. What may have been the most lasting contribution to the magic art in the 20th century was the advancement of close-up or sleight-of-hand magic in intimate performance. The greatest exponent of this branch of conjuring was the Canadian-born Dai Vernon (1894–1992), who…

Jean Giraudoux: In Siegfried et le Limousin (1922), Giraudoux depicts in silhouette, as it were, the hostility between two enemies, France and Germany, as a background to his story of a man who suffers from amnesia. Bella (1926) is a love story behind which can be glimpsed the…

Siegfried Idyll, symphonic poem for chamber orchestra by Richard Wagner that reflects a gentle, tender side of the composer. It premiered on Christmas Day 1870. After the wife of the pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow had three children—Isolde (1865), Eva (1867), and Siegfried (1869)—with Wagner,

Siegfried Line, system of pillboxes and strongpoints built along the German western frontier in the 1930s and greatly expanded in 1944. In 1944, during World War II, German troops retreating from France found it an effective barrier for a respite against the pursuing Americans. This respite helped

political science: Developments outside the United States: In Paris, André Siegfried, teaching at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques and the Collège de France, introduced the use of maps to demonstrate the influence of geography on politics. At first few Britons turned to behavioralism and quantification, instead continuing in their inclination toward political philosophy.…

Hindenburg Line, defensive barrier improvised by the German army on the Western Front in World War I. Faced with substantial numerical inferiority and a dwindling firepower advantage, the new German commanders, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and Gen. Erich Ludendorff, shortened their lines and

Indo-European languages: Sanskrit studies and their impact: …German scholars Emil Sieg and Wilhelm Siegling in 1908. The Norwegian Assyriologist Jørgen Alexander Knudtzon recognized Hittite as Indo-European on the basis of two letters found in Egypt (translated in Die zwei Arzawa-briefe [1902; “The Two Arzawa Letters”]), but his views were not generally accepted until 1915, when Bedřich Hrozný…

Constantin Siegwart-Müller was a Swiss politician who headed the Ultramontane Party at Lucerne and became the leader of the dissident Sonderbund. A lawyer from the canton of Uri, Siegwart-Müller settled in 1832 at Lucerne, where he soon rose to the position of state secretary (1834). In 1839 he

Polish literature: Kochanowski and his followers: He introduced in his Sielanki (1614; “Idylls”) a poetic genre that was to retain its vitality until the end of the 19th century. These pastoral poems exemplify the processes of imitation, adaptation, and assimilation by which Renaissance writers brought foreign models into the native tradition.

Polish literature: Poetry: …by Szymon Zimorowic, and the Sielanki nowe ruskie (1663; “New Ruthenian Idylls”), written by his brother Józef Bartłomiej Zimorowic, introduced topical dramatic elements into the traditional pastoral lyric; images of war and death were superimposed upon the pastoral background, with macabre effect and typical Baroque incongruity.

Siem Reap, city, northwestern Cambodia. It is Cambodia’s second largest city and the capital of Siem Reap province. It lies along the Siem Reap River, an artificial river created by the ancient kings of the Khmer (Cambodian) empire, and just north of Tonle Sap, the great lake at the heart of

Willie Colón: Their album Siembra (1978) became the top-selling title in the catalog of its record label, Fania, and it remained one of the most popular salsa recordings into the early 21st century. Colón and Blades parted ways in the early 1980s but reunited several times during the next…

siemens (S), unit of electrical conductance. In the case of direct current (DC), the conductance in siemens is the reciprocal of the resistance in ohms (S = amperes per volts); in the case of alternating current (AC), it is the reciprocal of the impedance in ohms. A former term for the reciprocal

Siemens AG, German energy technology and manufacturing company formed in 1966 through the merger of Siemens & Halske AG (founded 1847), Siemens-Schuckertwerke (founded 1903), and Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG (founded 1932). Operating in more than 200 countries and regions, it engages in a wide range

Siemens AG, German energy technology and manufacturing company formed in 1966 through the merger of Siemens & Halske AG (founded 1847), Siemens-Schuckertwerke (founded 1903), and Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG (founded 1932). Operating in more than 200 countries and regions, it engages in a wide range

crucible process: After 1870 the Siemens regenerative gas furnace replaced the coke-fire furnace; it produced even higher temperatures. The Siemens furnace had a number of combustion holes, each holding several crucibles, and heated as many as 100 crucibles at a time. All high-quality tool steel and high-speed steel was long…

Sir William Siemens was a German-born English engineer and inventor, important in the development of the steel and telegraph industries. After private tutoring, Siemens was sent to a commercial school at Lübeck in order to enter his uncle’s bank. But his elder brother, Werner Siemens, deciding that

Werner von Siemens was a German electrical engineer who played an important role in the development of the telegraph industry. After attending grammar school at Lübeck, Siemens joined the Prussian artillery at age 17 for the training in engineering that his father could not afford. While in prison

industrial glass: Glass melting: As pioneered by the brothers Friedrich and William Siemens, working with the Chance brothers in England about 1860, regenerator-equipped pot furnaces consumed only about one-tenth of the fuel of the old furnaces. It was in 1867 that Friedrich Siemens, working in his late brother Hans’ factory in Dresden, Ger., successfully…

Sir William Siemens was a German-born English engineer and inventor, important in the development of the steel and telegraph industries. After private tutoring, Siemens was sent to a commercial school at Lübeck in order to enter his uncle’s bank. But his elder brother, Werner Siemens, deciding that

Sir William Siemens was a German-born English engineer and inventor, important in the development of the steel and telegraph industries. After private tutoring, Siemens was sent to a commercial school at Lübeck in order to enter his uncle’s bank. But his elder brother, Werner Siemens, deciding that

Werner von Siemens was a German electrical engineer who played an important role in the development of the telegraph industry. After attending grammar school at Lübeck, Siemens joined the Prussian artillery at age 17 for the training in engineering that his father could not afford. While in prison

crucible process: After 1870 the Siemens regenerative gas furnace replaced the coke-fire furnace; it produced even higher temperatures. The Siemens furnace had a number of combustion holes, each holding several crucibles, and heated as many as 100 crucibles at a time. All high-quality tool steel and high-speed steel was long…

open-hearth process, steelmaking technique that for most of the 20th century accounted for the major part of all steel made in the world. William Siemens, a German living in England in the 1860s, seeking a means of increasing the temperature in a metallurgical furnace, resurrected an old proposal

Siemianowice Śląskie, city, Śląskie województwo (province), south-central Poland. It is a northern suburb of Katowice and is situated in the Upper Silesia coalfield and industrial district. Incorporated in 1932, it developed as a centre of coal mining, ironworking, and steelworking. Though heavy

Siem Reap, city, northwestern Cambodia. It is Cambodia’s second largest city and the capital of Siem Reap province. It lies along the Siem Reap River, an artificial river created by the ancient kings of the Khmer (Cambodian) empire, and just north of Tonle Sap, the great lake at the heart of

Siena, city, central Italy, in the Toscana (Tuscany) regione. It lies about 30 miles (48 km) south of Florence. The city was important in history as a commercial and banking city until surpassed by Florence in the 13th–14th century. The site of Siena was originally an Etruscan settlement that later

Italy: Daily life and social customs: Corsa del Palio in Siena, Florence’s “football match” in 16th-century costume, and the regattas of Venice, while others commemorate historical events, such as the Lily Festival at Nola (near Naples), recalling the return of St. Paulinus of Nola in 394 after a long imprisonment in Africa, and the festival…

University of Siena, coeducational autonomous state institution of higher learning at Siena, in central Italy. Like many other Italian universities, Siena was founded (1240) as a result of a 13th-century migration of students from the University of Bologna, which it emulated as a studium generale,

University of Siena, coeducational autonomous state institution of higher learning at Siena, in central Italy. Like many other Italian universities, Siena was founded (1240) as a result of a 13th-century migration of students from the University of Bologna, which it emulated as a studium generale,

Paul van Ostaijen: His second, the humanitarian Het sienjaal (1918; “The Signal”), showed the influence of World War I and German Expressionism and inspired other Expressionist writers in Flanders. A political activist, van Ostaijen went into exile in Berlin from 1918 to 1921. The political and artistic climate there and the hardships…

Elektra: …series teamed Miller with artist Bill Sienkiewicz to present an eight-issue prequel to Elektra’s Daredevil appearances. Sienkiewicz’s experimental art style and Miller’s scathing political commentary made Elektra: Assassin a controversial milestone for Marvel.

Henryk Sienkiewicz was a Polish novelist, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905. Sienkiewicz’s family owned a small estate but lost everything and moved to Warsaw, where Sienkiewicz studied literature, history, and philology at Warsaw University. He left the university in 1871 without

Henryk Sienkiewicz was a Polish novelist, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905. Sienkiewicz’s family owned a small estate but lost everything and moved to Warsaw, where Sienkiewicz studied literature, history, and philology at Warsaw University. He left the university in 1871 without

Mongolia: Ethnography and early tribal history: …important tribal groups are the Sienpi (Xianbi), who may however have been Tungus-speakers rather than Mongol, recorded in Han dynasty annals, and the Juan-juan (Rouran, or Geougen) of the 4th to 6th centuries. The latter have been identified by some scholars with the Avars, who migrated into Europe along the…

Sieradz, city, Łódzkie województwo (province), central Poland. Sieradz is one of the oldest cities in Poland. About 1025 a fortified township was founded on the present site. Although reinforced in the 14th century, the fortress town was destroyed by Swedish invaders. Surviving examples of historic

Douglas Sirk was a German-born American film director whose extremely popular melodramas offered cynical visions of American values. Though Sirk also directed comedies, westerns, and war films, he was most noted for his complicated family melodramas that showed frightful emotional warfare lurking

Douglas Sirk was a German-born American film director whose extremely popular melodramas offered cynical visions of American values. Though Sirk also directed comedies, westerns, and war films, he was most noted for his complicated family melodramas that showed frightful emotional warfare lurking

Douglas Sirk was a German-born American film director whose extremely popular melodramas offered cynical visions of American values. Though Sirk also directed comedies, westerns, and war films, he was most noted for his complicated family melodramas that showed frightful emotional warfare lurking

Pola de Siero, town, north-central Asturias provincia (province) and comunidad autónoma (autonomous community), northwestern Spain. It lies on the Nora River, just northeast of Oveido city. Chartered in 1270 by Alfonso X of Castile, it is now a meatpacking centre, with brewing and tanning

Sierra Leone: Resources and power: The Sierra Leone Ore and Metal Company (Sieromco) began open-cast bauxite mining at Mokanji Hills in 1964; the ore was shipped to Europe for reduction and refining into aluminum. Due to the dangers of operating in the midst of the civil war and to damage sustained…

Asia: Semidesert and desert: …while gray desert soils (sierozems) develop in the arid subtropics. A great deal of saline soil is present there, and agriculture is possible only with the use of irrigation, which gives rise to specific cultivated types of sierozems.

number game: Pathological curves: The Sierpinski curve, the first few stages of which are shown in Figure 9, contains every point interior to a square, and it describes a closed path. As the process of forming the curve is continued indefinitely, the length of the curve approaches infinity, while the…

number game: Pathological curves: The Sierpinski curve, the first few stages of which are shown in Figure 9, contains every point interior to a square, and it describes a closed path. As the process of forming the curve is continued indefinitely, the length of the curve approaches infinity, while the…

Pascal’s triangle: …a fractal known as the Sierpiński gasket, after 20th-century Polish mathematician Wacław Sierpiński, will be formed.

Pascal’s triangle: …a fractal known as the Sierpiński gasket, after 20th-century Polish mathematician Wacław Sierpiński, will be formed.

Wacław Sierpiński was a leading figure in point-set topology and one of the founding fathers of the Polish school of mathematics, which flourished between World Wars I and II. Sierpiński graduated from Warsaw University in 1904, and in 1908 he became the first person anywhere to lecture on set

Ecuador: Relief: …the Costa (coastal region), the Sierra (highland region), and the Oriente (eastern region).

Sierra, county, southwestern New Mexico, U.S. Sierra county is in the Mexican Highland section of the Basin and Range Province. Its irregular western border is the Black Range, including Hillsboro and Reeds peaks, both rising to more than 10,000 feet (3,000 metres). The Rio Grande, including large

alder: Major species: …on their lower surfaces; the white, or Sierra, alder (A. rhombifolia), an early-flowering tree with orange-red twigs and buds; the gray, or speckled, alder (A. incana), a small shrubby tree, often with conspicuous whitish, wartlike, porous markings, or lenticels; and the aromatic-leaved American green alder (A. viridis). A number of…

Sacramento Mountains: The Sierra Blanca Peak (12,003 ft) is the highest in the group, and Guadalupe Peak (8,749 ft) is the highest in Texas. Features include the Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains national parks, the Lincoln National Forest, and the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation. The mountain region, generally…

Sierra Club, American organization that promotes environmental conservation. Its headquarters are in Oakland, California. The Sierra Club was founded in 1892 by a group of Californians who wished to sponsor wilderness outings in “the mountain regions of the Pacific Coast.” The naturalist John Muir

Segovia: The northern watershed of the Sierra de Guadarrama spreads from east to west across the remainder of the province and is quarried for granite, marble, and limestone. Construction, food processing, forestry, and services are the main sources of income. Summer upland resorts are found at El Espinar and San Rafael,…

Mountains of Perijá, mountain chain, the northward extension of the Andean Cordillera Oriental, forming part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela. The range extends for 190 miles (306 km) from the vicinity of Ocaña, Colombia, northward to the Guajira Peninsula. Its crest line rises to

electronic adventure game: Graphic-based adventures: …husband, Ken Williams, who formed Sierra Entertainment (1979). In particular, beginning with King’s Quest (1984) for MS-DOS, Sierra released a steady stream of successful graphical adventure games throughout the 1980s and early ’90s. While the graphics consisted of nothing more than colourful static images that players could “point-and-click” on to…

chinquapin: …or Sierra evergreen, chinquapin (Chrysolepis sempervirens) is a small spreading mountain shrub of western North America and was also formerly of the genus Castanopsis.

Sierra Leone, country of western Africa. The country owes its name to the 15th-century Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, the first European to sight and map Freetown harbour. The original Portuguese name, Serra Lyoa (“Lion Mountains”), referred to the range of hills that surrounds the harbour.

Sierra Leone: Resources and power: The privately owned Sierra Leone Development Company mined iron ore at Marampa from 1933 to 1975. In 1981 the government reopened the mine at Marampa under the management of an Austrian company but soon encountered financial difficulties and suspended operations in 1985. The Sierra Leone Ore and Metal…

Sierra Leone: Resources and power: The Sierra Leone Ore and Metal Company (Sieromco) began open-cast bauxite mining at Mokanji Hills in 1964; the ore was shipped to Europe for reduction and refining into aluminum. Due to the dangers of operating in the midst of the civil war and to damage sustained…

Sierra Leone: Relief: The Sierra Leone Peninsula, which is the site of Freetown, is a region of thickly wooded mountains that run parallel to the sea for about 25 miles (40 km). The Peninsula Mountains rise from the coastal swamps and reach some 2,900 feet (880 metres) at Picket…

Sir Albert Margai: …Milton Margai, he formed the Sierra Leone People’s Party in 1951. He was then elected by the Protectorate Assembly to a seat in the Legislative Council. Margai held ministerial portfolios in education, local government, and social welfare. In 1957 he broke away from his brother, and the following year he…

Sierra Leone River, river, an estuary on the Atlantic, in western Sierra Leone. Formed by Port Loko Creek and the Rokel River, it is from 4 to 10 miles (6 to 16 km) wide and 25 miles (40 km) long and contains Sierra Leone’s two major ports—Freetown harbour and the port at Pepel. The river is also

horizontally striped green-white-blue national flag. Its width-to-length ratio is 2 to 3.Sierra Leone, which was founded in the late 18th century as a home for freed slaves (hence Freetown, the capital), used a variety of flags under the British colonial regime. Only the badge in the British Blue

history of Sierra Leone, a survey of notable events and people in the history of Sierra Leone. The country is located along the Atlantic coast of western Africa and can be divided into four distinct physical regions: the coastal swamp, the Sierra Leone Peninsula, the interior plains, and the

Sierra Leone: Education: The University of Sierra Leone consists of Fourah Bay College (founded in 1827), Njala University College (1964), and the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (1987). Sierra Leone’s literacy rate is lower than the average in western Africa and is among the lowest in the…

Sierra Madre, mountain system of Mexico. It consists of the Sierra Madre Occidental (to the west), the Sierra Madre Oriental (to the east), and the Sierra Madre del Sur (to the south). These ranges enclose the great central Mexican Plateau, which itself is a part of the system—although the northern

Philippines: Relief: The Sierra Madre, extending along the Pacific coast from northern to central Luzon, is the longest mountain range in the country. That range and the Cordillera Central merge in north-central Luzon to form the Caraballo Mountains. To the north of the latter, and between the two…

Sierra Madre de Chiapas, mountain range in Chiapas state, southern Mexico. The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is a crystalline range of block mountains extending to the southeast along the Pacific coast from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec into western Guatemala (where it is called the Sierra Madre). Rising

Guerrero: …relief is defined by the Sierra Madre del Sur; the narrow river valleys between its spurs are mostly fertile and heavily forested but difficult to access. The principal river in the state is the Balsas, which is fed by numerous tributaries. The coast and lower river courses experience tropical downpours…

Mexico: Physiographic regions: The largely volcanic Sierra Madre Occidental, which forms the western border of the Mexican Plateau, has an average elevation of 8,000–9,000 feet (2,400–2,700 metres) and extends roughly 700 miles (1,100 km) from north to south. It has been highly incised by westward-flowing streams that have formed a series…

Mexico: Physiographic regions: The Sierra Madre Oriental, a range of folded mountains formed of shales and limestones, is situated on the eastern side of the Mexican Plateau. Often considered an extension of the Rocky Mountains (which are cut by the Rio Grande but continue in New Mexico and western…

Sierra National Forest, region of forests and streams in central California, U.S., extending along the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite and Kings Canyon national parks (north and southeast, respectively) and bordered by Inyo (northeast), Sequoia (south), and Stanislaus (northwest) national forests.

Andes Mountains: Physiography of the Central Andes: …the peaks of El Cóndor, Sierra Nevada, Llullaillaco, Galán, and Antofalla all exceed 19,000 feet. The two main ranges and several volcanic secondary chains enclose depressions called salars because of the deposits of salts they contain; in northwestern Argentina, the Sierra de Calalaste encompasses the large Antofalla Salt Flat. Volcanoes…

Sierra Nevada, major mountain range of western North America, running along the eastern edge of the U.S. state of California. Its great mass lies between the large Central Valley depression to the west and the Basin and Range Province to the east. Extending more than 250 miles (400 kilometres)

Sierra Nevada, mountain range in southeastern Spain, near the Mediterranean coast, the highest division of the Baetic Cordillera. The range itself is a domed mountain elongated for about 26 miles (42 km) from east to west. It is clearly defined by the faulted troughs of the vega (lowland) of

Colombia: Relief: …Oriental culminates in the towering Mount Cocuy (Sierra Nevada del Cocuy), which rises to 18,022 feet (5,493 metres). Beyond this point, near Pamplona, the cordillera splits into two much narrower ranges, one extending into Venezuela, the other, the Perijá Mountains, forming the northern boundary range between Colombia and Venezuela. The…

Sierra Nevada National Park, national park occupying 1,067 square miles (2,764 square km) in the Cordillera de Mérida of the Andes Mountains in Mérida and Barinas estados (states), northwestern Venezuela. It was established in 1952. The highest point in Venezuela, Bolívar Peak (also known as La

Sierra Nevada, major mountain range of western North America, running along the eastern edge of the U.S. state of California. Its great mass lies between the large Central Valley depression to the west and the Basin and Range Province to the east. Extending more than 250 miles (400 kilometres)