Zodiac

The zodiac is a belt of space around Earth. It occupies the path that the sun appears to take around Earth in the course of a year (although it is actually Earth that is moving around the sun).

Twelve well-known groups of stars, called constellations, lie in the zodiac. 

Ural Mountains

The Ural Mountains of Russia form the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia. The Urals are about 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) long. They extend from the Kara Sea in the north to the Ural River in the south. The highest peak is Mount Narodnaya at 6,217 feet (1,895 meters).

India

More people live in India than in any other country in the world except China. India’s culture is one of the oldest and richest in the world. The capital is New Delhi.

Geography

Much of India’s territory is a peninsula that extends into the Indian Ocean. To the west of the peninsula is the Arabian Sea, and to the east is the Bay of Bengal. India shares borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

The high Himalayas rise in the north. South of the mountains is a plain of soil left behind by the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra rivers. The Indus River gave the country its name. The Ganges is sacred to followers of Hinduism. In the north west is the Thar Desert. Most of the south is fairly flat. Along the coasts are low mountains called the Western and Eastern Ghats.

Bach, Johann Sebastian

German musician Johann Sebastian Bach is considered one of the world’s greatest composers of music. He was also a gifted player of the organ and the harpsichord (another keyboard instrument).

Bach created hundreds of musical compositions, including works for choir, orchestra, and individual instruments, especially the organ.

Abacus

Long before the invention of the electronic calculator or the computer, people counted and did calculations with a device called an abacus. On this instrument, calculations are made with beads, or counters, instead of numerals. The beads are arranged on wires stretched across a frame. Each wire represents the ones, tens, hundreds, and so on.

Brazil

The largest country in South America, Brazil takes up about half of the continent. Brazil’s Amazon River basin, including the Amazon rain forest, is one of Earth’s richest areas of plant and animal life. The capital is Brasília.

Geography

Brazil shares borders with every South American nation except Ecuador and Chile. The Atlantic Ocean lies to the east. Brazil’s two main geographical regions are the Amazon River basin in the

Abidjan

Abidjan is the largest city of Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa. It was the country’s capital until 1983. Then Yamoussoukro was made the capital. Even after that The coastal city of Abidjan is an important business centre of Côte d’Ivoire. date, however, Abidjan remained the site of most government functions.

Abidjan is located in the southern part of the country. It has a port even though it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a sandbar. The Vridi Canal connects the port to the sea.

Because of the port, Abidjan is a centre of West African trade. Cocoa, coffee, timber, bananas, pineapples, and fish are shipped from the port. The city also manufactures beer, soap, matches, and auto mobiles.

See Also:Netherlands

Abidjan became the capital of the French colony of Ivory Coast in 1934. Ivory Coast became the independent country of Côte d’Ivoire in 1960. Abidjan remained the capital.