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quartzite ► Queen Anne's lace I 1575
quartzite Sandstone that has been converted into a solid quartz rock. Quartzites are usually white; they fracture smoothly and break up into rubble under frost action. Sandstone may be converted to quartzite by precipitation of silica from waters below the Earth’s surface; such rocks are called orthoquartzites, whereas those produced by recrystallization (metamorphism) are metaquartzites. Because they weather slowly, they tend to project as hills or mountain masses. Many prominent ridges in the Appalachian Mountains are composed of quartzite. Pure quartzites are a source of silica for metallurgical purposes and for the manufacture of silica brick. Quartzite is also quarried for paving and roofing materials.
quasar Vkwa-,zar\ in full quasi-stellar radio source Any of a
class of enigmatic cosmic objects of high luminosity and strong radio emission observed at extremely great distances; also, a closely related object that has the same optical appearance but does not emit radio waves, i.e., a so-called quasi-stellar object (QSO). Most quasars exhibit very large redshifts, suggesting that they are moving away from Earth at tremendous speeds (approaching the speed of light); they thus are some of the most distant known objects in the universe. Quasars are no more than a light- year or two across but as much as 1,000 times more luminous than a giant galaxy having a diameter of 100,000 light-years; their extreme brightness allows them to be observed at distances of more than 10 billion light- years. Many investigators attribute such energy generation to matter spi¬ raling at high velocity into a supermassive black hole (millions or billions of times as much mass as the Sun) at the centre of a distant galaxy. See also ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS.
Quasimodo V.kwa-ze-'mo-doV, Salvatore (b. Aug. 20, 1901, Mod- ica, Italy—d. June 14, 1968, Naples) Italian poet, critic, and translator. He spent 10 years as an engineer for the Italian government while writing poetry in his spare time. He gradually became a leader of Hermeticism after the publication of his first poetry collection, Waters and Land (1930). After World War II his social convictions shaped his work, beginning with Day After Day (1947). He published an astonishing range of translations, edited anthologies, and wrote essays, including those in The Poet and the Politician (1960). He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1959.
Quaternary Vkwa-tor-.ner-e, kwo-'tor-no-reV Period Interval of geo¬ logic time, 1.8 million years ago to the present. The Quaternary follows the Tertiary Period and is the more recent of the two periods of the Cenozoic Era. The Quaternary is subdivided into the Pleistocene Epoch and the Holocene Epoch and is characterized by major cyclical changes of climate on a global scale. These led to repeated invasions of vast areas by ice sheets. Its major biologic feature is the evolution and dispersion of humans. The dramatic changes of climate and environment in the Quaternary led to high rates of evolution and extinction, particularly among the mammals. The extinction of many large mammals toward the end of the last ice age may also be related to the rapid territorial expansion of humans.
Quayle, (James) Dan(forth) (b. Feb. 4, 1947, Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.) U.S. politician. After earning a law degree, he served as associate publisher of his family’s Huntington Herald-Press (1974-76). He served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1977-81) and two in the Senate (1981-89). Chosen as the Republican Party candidate for vice president in 1988, he was elected with George H.W. Bush. During his term, Quayle traveled abroad on goodwill missions but was criticized for various verbal gaffes. He and Bush ran for reelection in 1992 but were defeated. He briefly campaigned for the Republican nomination for presi¬ dent in 2000.
Quds, Al- See Jerusalem
Quebec Province (pop., 2001: 7,410,500), eastern Canada. It is bounded on the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, on the east by Labrador, on the southeast by the Gulf of St. Lawrence and New Brunswick, on the south by the U.S. (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York), and on the west by Ontario and by Hudson Bay. Its capital is Quebec city. The original inhabitants were Inuit (see Eskimo) and members of Algonquin, Cree, and other Indian tribes. Settled by the French in the early 17th cen¬ tury, the area was lost to the British in the French and Indian War, but the struggle for authority between the French and British groups led to a rebellion by French Canadians in 1837. The rebellion was quelled and in 1867 Quebec (formerly Canada East) united with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to form the Dominion of Canada. Most of the population of Quebec is of French descent. Various movements calling for Quebec’s independence from the rest of Canada continued throughout the 20th cen¬ tury; the Parti Quebecois won provincial elections in 1976, but its inde¬
pendence referendum was defeated in 1980. A second independence referendum was defeated in 1995 by a close margin. Principal industries include mining, hydroelectric power, and forestry.
Quebec or Quebec City City (pop., 2001: metro, area, 682,757), port and capital of Quebec province, Canada. It lies at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and St. Charles rivers, about 150 mi (240 km) northeast of Montreal, on a rocky promontory above the rivers. Canada’s oldest city, it was settled by the French in 1608 as a trading post. It was the capital of New France from 1663 to 1763, when it was lost to the British. It was the capital of Lower Canada 1791-1841 and Canada East 1841-67. It became the provincial capital in 1867. Most of the population is French speaking and Roman Catholic. It is the site of Iaval University and other colleges and cultural institutions. Manufactures include newsprint, milled grain, cigarettes, and clothing. Shipbuilding and tourism are important industries.
Quebec, Battle of (Sept. 13, 1759) Decisive battle of the French and Indian War. In June 1759, James Wolfe led a British force of 250 ships with 8,500 soldiers to take up positions in the St. Lawrence River around Quebec. French forces under the marquis de Montcalm withstood a two- month siege of the city. In September the British secretly landed 4,000 men near the city and forced a confrontation with French troops on the Plains of Abraham. The defending French were routed in the battle, in which both Wolfe and Montcalm were mortally wounded.
Quebec Act (1774) British statute establishing Quebec’s government and extending its borders. It provided for a governor and appointed coun¬ cil, religious freedom for Roman Catholics, and use of the French civil code. The act attempted to resolve the problem of making the colony a province of British North America and tried to build French-Canadian loyalty to the British. It also extended the borders of Quebec to include the land between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, a region claimed by American colonists. It was considered one of the Intolerable Acts, which led to the American Revolution.
Quebecois, Parti See Parti Quebecois
Quechua Vke-cho-woX South American Indian population of the Andes Mountains from Ecuador to Bolivia. In the early 15th century the Que¬ chua were conquered by the Chanca, who in turn were subdued by the Inca. Much of the traditional Quechua way of life endured under the Inca, but it was drastically altered by the 16th-century Spanish conquest. Tra¬ ditional Quechua now lead isolated lives as marginal farmers in the high Andes. Their religion combines Roman Catholicism with folk beliefs. See also Quechuan languages.
Quechuan Vke-cho-wonV languages Family of closely related South American Indian languages still spoken by some 12 million people in southern Colombia and Ecuador, Bolivia, and northern Argentina. South¬ ern Peruvian Quechua, one language of the family, was a koine and admin¬ istrative language within the Inca empire and was spread by Inca colonization.