Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

(2008 estimate)

1,305,000

Area

1,980 sq mi

(5,128 sq km)

Capital

Port of Spain

Form of

government

Republic

Major cities

Chaguanas, San

Fernando, Port of

Spain, Arima,

Point Fortin

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Trinidad and Tobago 97

 

Tripoli

Population

(2005

estimate), city,

911,643; urban

area,

2,098,000

Tripoli is the capital of Libya, a country

in northern Africa. The city lies on a

piece of rocky land overlooking the

Mediterranean Sea. It is Libya’s largest

city and main seaport.

Shipping oil and other goods through

the port brings money to Tripoli. The

city is also Libya’s main center of business

and industry.

In ancient times the city was called Oea.

People called the Phoenicians founded it

in the 600s BC. It was one of the three

main cities in the Phoenician region

called Tripolitania, which means “Three

Cities.” The city became part of the

Roman Empire and later the Byzantine

Empire.

Muslim Arabs conquered Tripoli and the

rest of Libya in about AD 645. The Turkish

Ottoman Empire ruled Libya from

1551 until 1911. Then Italy and, later,

Great Britain controlled Libya. In 1951

Libya became an independent country

with Tripoli as its capital.

..More to explore

Libya

Tropical Rain

Forest

..see Rain Forest.

Tropics

The region of Earth’s surface that is

closest to the equator is called the tropics.

Two imaginary lines that circle the

globe mark the boundaries of the tropics.

The line called the Tropic of Cancer

marks the northern edge. Its latitude

(distance from the equator) is 23° 27' N.

The line called the Tropic of Capricorn

marks the southern edge. Its latitude is

23° 27' S.

The tropics are the only part of Earth

where the sun sometimes shines straight

down. Because the sunlight is so strong,

the tropics are generally warmer than

other parts of Earth. Tropical temperatures

are warm or hot throughout the

year. The temperatures do not change

A child plays near the People’s Palace in

Tripoli, Libya. The building was the king’s

palace when Libya was a kingdom.

98 Tripoli BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

greatly, but winds and rain bring different

types of weather. Most tropical

places experience wet and dry seasons.

Areas closest to the equator are the wettest.

A great deal of rain falls year-round.

Dense rain forests cover the land. The

largest tropical rain forests on Earth lie

in Brazil and in parts of Africa.

The climate is drier in tropical regions

that lie farther north and south of the

equator. In these regions there are one or

two dry seasons each year. The forests

may be deciduous, meaning that the

trees shed their leaves during the dry

periods. Savannas, or grasslands with

scattered trees, are also common.

The driest parts of the tropics lie near the

northern and southern edges.Here the

dry season is long. Few trees grow. Shrubs

and low grasses cover the land.Two of

Earth’s big deserts, the Sahara and the

Kalahari, lie on the edges of the tropics.

Many plants and other products that

people value come from the tropics. Some

of these are bananas, coffee, cocoa, tea,

rubber, spices, nuts, and tropical wood.

#More to explore

Desert • Equator • Rain Forest

Trout

Trout are a kind of fish that many

people like to catch and eat. Trout are

closely related to salmon. Most species,

or types, of trout are freshwater fish.

Many live in clear, cool streams and

lakes. Some types live in the ocean but

return to freshwater to breed.

There are two main groups of trout species:

black-spotted trout and speckled

trout. The species of black-spotted trout

include rainbow, cutthroat, and golden

trout. Black-spotted trout range in color

from silver, brown, or dark gray to shiny

green, blue, red, or gold. They all have

small black spots on the back.

The species of speckled trout include

brook, Dolly Varden, lake, and bull

trout. Some speckled species are also

called chars. Speckled trout have lighter

spots on a darker body. Many speckled

species have pinkish or red spots, especially

on the underside.

The brown trout is separate from the

black-spotted trout and speckled trout.

It has a brown body with black spots.

The rainbow trout is popular with people

who fish for sport.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Trout 99

 

Trout vary in size, depending on the

species. Many species of trout are about

1 foot (30 centimeters) long.

Trout eat insects, small fish, and eggs of

other fish. Many species spawn, or

reproduce, in the spring or the fall. The

females bury their eggs in gravel nests

that they dig in the bottom of streams.

The eggs hatch after two or three

months.

#More to explore

Fish • Salmon

Truman,

Harry S.

After President Franklin D. Roosevelt

died in 1945, Vice President Harry S.

Truman became the 33rd president of

the United States. Truman led the country

through the end ofWorldWar II.

After the war he worked to stop the

spread of Communism.

Early Life and Career

Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri,

on May 8, 1884. He was the oldest of

the three children of John Anderson

Truman, a farmer, and Martha Young.

Harry graduated from high school in

Independence, Missouri.

A member of the Missouri National

Guard, Truman volunteered to serve in

WorldWar I in 1917. He fought in