graywacke Vgra-,wak\ or dirty sandstone Sedimentary rock com¬ posed of sand-sized grains in a fine-grained clay matrix. The sand-sized grains frequently include rock fragments of wide-ranging mineralogies (e.g., pyroxenes, amphiboles, feldspars, and quartz). The clay matrix may constitute up to 50% of the volume. Of the clay minerals, chlorite and biotite are most abundant. The matrix tends to bind the grains strongly and form a relatively hard rock.
Graz \'grats\ City (pop., 2001: 226,424), capital of Steiermark (Styria) state, southeastern Austria. The country’s second largest city, it lies on the Mur River at the foot of the Styrian Alps. It grew from a fortress settle¬ ment and received town rights c. ad 1240. It became the centre of Steier¬ mark during the Middle Ages and was the residence of the Leopoldine Habsburgs after 1379. Its fortifications, built in the 15th and 16th centu¬ ries, successfully withstood numerous sieges by Hungarians and Turks; the fortifications were converted into parks in the 19th century. Astrono¬ mer Johannes Kepler taught at its university, founded in 1585. A rail and industrial centre, Graz has an active trade in agricultural products; tour¬ ism is also important.
Graziani \,grat-se-'a-ne\, Roldolfo, marquess di Neghelli (b.
Aug. 11, 1882, Filettino, Italy—d. Jan. 11, 1955, Rome) Italian field mar¬ shal and adherent of Benito Mussolini. He was commander in chief of Ital¬ ian forces in Libya (1930-34), governor of Italian Somaliland (1935-36), and viceroy of Ethiopia (1936-37). At the outbreak of World War II, he advanced against Egypt from Libya, was defeated by the British under Archibald Percival Wavell, and resigned his post in 1941. After the Italian armistice of 1943, he became defense minister of the German-backed Italian republic. Sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment in 1950, he was released the same year. He later became a leader of the Italian neofascist movement.
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P) Historic U.S. corporation that originated as a tea importer and distributor before diversifying into the grocery business. The company had its start in 1859, when the Great American Tea Co. was founded in New York as a direct-mail operation to trade in tea from the cargoes of clipper ships. The first retail stores were incorporated in 1869 under the name Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. By 1925 it was the largest U.S. grocery chain, and in 1936 A&P opened its first supermarket. By 1969 it was the largest supermarket chain in the U.S., but it declined thereafter, and in 1979 a controlling portion of its stock was bought by German supermarket giant Tengelmann.
Great Attractor Proposed concentration of mass, equivalent to tens of thousands of galaxies, that influences the movement of many galaxies,
Thomas Gray, detail of an oil painting by John Giles Eccardt; in the National Portrait Gallery, London
COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
794 i great auk ► Great Game
including the Milky Way Galaxy (see galaxy). In 1986 a group of astrono¬ mers noted that the Milky Way and neighbouring galaxies exhibit sys¬ tematic deflections from the motion predicted by Edwin P. Hubble’s theory of the expanding universe. One possible explanation is a large collection of galaxies exerting a gravitational pull on the clusters of galaxies around it; its centre would lie in the direction of the constellations Hydra or Cen- taurus in the southern sky, about 200 million light-years from Earth.
great auk Flightless seabird (Pinguinus impennis) extinct since 1844. Great auks bred in colonies on rocky islands off North Atlantic coasts; fos¬ sil remains have been found as far south as Florida, Spain, and Italy. Their bodies were about 30 in. (75 cm) long; the wings, used for swimming underwater, were less than 6 in. (15 cm) long. They stood erect on land and had a black back and head, a white front, and a large white spot between the eye and the black bill. Great auks were hunted to extinction for food and bait. About 80 specimens are preserved in museums. See also auk.
Great Australian Bight Bay of the Indian Ocean, southern Austra¬ lian coast. Its generally accepted boundaries are from Cape Pasley, West¬ ern Australia, to Cape Carnot, South Australia—a distance of 720 mi (1,160 km). The head of the bight abuts on the arid Nullarbor Plain and is bounded by cliffs 200-400 ft (60-120 m) high. Near Eucla on the bight’s shores is the Nuytsland Reserve. Lying in the track of the winter western winds, the bight has a reputation for storms and rough seas.
Great Awakening Religious revival in British North America from 1720 into the 1740s. It was part of a movement, known as Pietism or Qui¬ etism on the European continent and evangelicalism in England, that swept Western Europe in the late 17th and early 18th century under the leadership of preachers such as John Wesley. In North America the Great Awakening was a Protestant evangelical reaction against formalism and rationalism in religion, and it had a strong Calvinist element. Revivalist preachers emphasized the need for sinners to fear punishment and to hope for the unearned gift of grace from God. George Whitefield (1714-1770) was one of the most popular, preaching to huge crowds throughout the colonies in 1739—40. Jonathan Edwards also helped inspire the Great Awakening and was its most important theologian. Among its results were missions to the Indians and the founding of colleges (including Prince¬ ton Univ.). Another revival known as the Second Great Awakening occurred in New England and Kentucky in the 1790s.
Great Barrier Reef Extensive complex of coral reefs, shoals, and islets in the Pacific Ocean, off the northeastern coast of Australia. The largest deposit of coral in the world, it extends for more than 1,250 mi (2,000 km) along the coast of Queensland and has an area of some 135,000 sq mi (350,000 sq km). The reef has been formed over millions of years from the skeletons of a mass of living marine organisms. In addition to at least 300 species of hard coral, marine life includes anemones, worms, gastropods, lobsters, crayfish, prawns, crabs, and a variety of fishes. Encrusting red algae form the purplish red algal rim that is one of the reef’s characteristic features. A major tourist attraction, nearly all of it is within Great Barrier Reef National Park; the reef was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981.
Great Basin National Park National preserve, eastern Nevada, U.S. Made a national park in 1986, the area was previously part of the Hum¬ boldt National Forest. It has an area of 121 sq mi (313 sq km) and con¬ sists of the southern part of the Snake Mountains, a chain that rises abruptly from the desert floor to reach a height of 13,063 ft (3,982 m) at Wheeler Peak. A park attraction is the Lehman Caves, a group of lime¬ stone caverns.
Great Bear Lake Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. Lying astride the Arctic Circle, it was visited before 1800 by North West Company trad¬ ers and later named for the bears that inhabited its shores. Containing many small islands, Great Bear Lake is roughly 200 mi (320 km) long and 25-110 mi (40-175 km) wide and has a maximum depth of 1,356 ft (413 m). It is the largest lake entirely within Canada and the fourth larg¬ est in North America. The lake’s waters abound with fish, including the speckled trout.
Great Britain or Britain Island, western Europe. It is the largest island in Europe, comprising England, Scotland, and Wales and covering 88,787 sq mi (229,957 sq km). With Northern Ireland, it constitutes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Less formally, the names Great Britain and Britain are used to refer to the entire United Kingdom.
Great Dane Breed of working dog developed at least 400 years ago in Germany, where it was used for boar hunting. Tallest of the working breeds, it stands 28-32 in. (71-81 cm) tall and weighs 120-150 lbs (54-68 kg). It has a massive, square-jawed head and elegant body lines. Its short coat is black, golden brown, brindle, blue-gray, or white with black patches. It is typically swift and alert and is noted for courage, friendli¬ ness, and dependability. There is no known reason to associate Denmark with the breed.