Zakarpatska or Zakarpatskaya Region: see Transcarpathian Region, Ukraine.

Transcaspian Region: see Turkmenistan.

Transcarpathian Region, Ukr. Zakarpatska Oblast, Rus. Zakarpatskaya Oblast, administrative region (1989 pop. 1,252,000), 4,981 sq mi (12,901 sq km), SW Ukraine, on the southwestern slopes of the Carpathian Mts. Uzhhorod (the capital), Mukacheve, and Khust are the chief cities. The region is bordered by Romania to the south, Hungary to the southwest, Slovakia to the west, and Poland to the northwest. It is thickly forested and largely agricultural. The plain in the southwest, which is drained by the Tisza River and its tributaries, supports crops of wheat, corn, tobacco, sugar beets, and potatoes. There are vineyards, fruit orchards, and walnut groves in the foothills. The region's mineral resources include brown coal, rock salt, fire clays, marble, and limestone. Forests occupy nearly half the area of the oblast, and lumbering, along with the production of such items as wood chemicals, furniture, and cartons, is a leading industry. The majority of the population is Ukrainian, with Hungarian, Russian, Slovak, and Rusyn minorities.

Inhabited by Slavic tribes from the 8th cent., the region was part of Kievan Rus in the 10th and 11th cent. but was conquered by the Magyars, who ruled it until 1918. It has been variously known as Ruthenia or the Carpathian Ukraine, or by its Czech name of Podkarpatská Rus [Subcarpathian Ruthenia] or its Ukrainian name of Zakarpatska Ukraina [Transcarpathian Ukraine]. Its inhabitants were historically called Ruthenians; many were Rusyns, closely related to Ukrainians but culturally differentiated (see Ruthenia). Until the early 20th cent. the region was an area of severe economic underdevelopment. Hungarian absentee landlords owned virtually all the land, and the peasantry was mired in abysmal poverty.

After World War I the Khust Ukrainian congress voted for union with Ukraine, but after prospects for an independent Ukraine declined, the Central Ruthenian People's council called for the region's union with newly independent Czechoslovakia, which incorporated Transcarpathia in May, 1919. Although a guarantee of provincial autonomy embodied in the Treaty of St. Germain (Sept., 1919) did not materialize, the region began to undergo economic modernization. The peasants were freed from their servile status, but agrarian reform failed to break up all the large estates.

In the wake of the Munich Pact (1938), the reorganized state of Czecho-Slovakia was pressured by Germany to grant autonomy to Transcarpathia. After Czecho-Slovakia was dismembered in Mar., 1939, the region proclaimed its independence; but it was shortly occupied by and annexed to Hungary. Transcarpathia was taken over by Soviet troops and local guerrillas in 1944. In 1945, Czechoslovakia was persuaded to cede the area to the USSR. The region was formed in 1946 and has remained part of Ukraine since; under Soviet ruled Rusyns were forcibly regarded as Ukrainian and their identity suppressed.

Trans-Dniester Region or Transnistria, region (2004 preliminary pop. 555,000), E Moldova, between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border. A narrow territory some 120 mi (195 km) long but barely 20 mi (32 km) across at its widest, the Trans-Dniester Region has a mainly Russian and Ukrainian population (59.2%, slightly more of whom are Russian) that objects to Moldovan-Romanian rapprochement.

Armed clashes between Moldovan forces and Trans-Dniester secessionists (mostly Russians and Ukrainians) led to Russian army intervention on the side of the secessionists in the early 1990s, and the proclamation of a Trans-Dniester Republic, with Tiraspol as its capital. The republic has not been internationally recognized. A peace accord with the Moldovan government giving the region greater autonomy was signed in 1997.

Beyond the control of any strong national government, the region has become an international transit center for smuggled goods; metal and electronic goods, textiles, and wine are produced. A Russian-sponsored peace plan for the region was rejected by Moldova in Nov., 2003, after Moldovan demonstrations against it; the deal would have permitted Russian troops to remain until 2020. Under pressure from the European Union (EU), which was concerned about the region's involvement in smuggling, Ukraine began requiring in 2006 that goods from Trans-Dniester be cleared by Moldovan customs. Trans-Dniester denounced the new rules as an economic blockade, and refused to allow cargo to cross its border with the Ukraine, a move the Ukraine termed a self-blockade.

A regional referendum in Sept., 2006, approved independence and eventual union with Russia. The vote, however, was rejected by Moldova, the EU, and most other nations, with the major exception of Russia, but there was little sentiment in Russia for union with the region. The leaders of Trans-Dniester and Moldova held talks in 2008 and agreed to work toward peace negotiations.

Prairie Pothole Region, large geographic area of central North America consisting of grass-covered wetlands. Stretching northwest from N Iowa through SW Minnesota, E South Dakota, E and N North Dakota, SW Manitoba, and S Saskatchewan to SE and E central Alberta (and including bordering areas of N Montana), the region is covered with thousands of shallow, sometimes seasonal ponds known as potholes or sloughs, which were created when continental glaciers retreated more than 10,000 years ago. The area is the summer home and breeding grounds of some 45 million mallard, pintail, gadwall, and teal ducks as well as many other shore-, song-, and gamebirds, and is popular with hunters and birdwatchers. Located in an important agricultural region, the ponds were routinely drained by farmers to plant wheat and other crops prior to 1985, and the bird and wildlife population had fallen precipitously. The 1985 U.S. federal farm bill, however, provided for conservation subsidies and, in a "swampbusters" provision, withdrew agricultural subsidies from farmers who drained wetlands. As a result, grass replaced wheat in many parts of the region, providing habitat for birds and other animals and leading to an increase in their populations. The program also aided the efforts of family farmers to keep their land by providing funds that counteracted economic losses resulting from low grain prices.

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, autonomous region (1994 est. pop. 5,030,000), c.25,600 sq mi (66,321 sq km), N China. The capital is Yinchuan. Ningxia is part of the Inner Mongolian plateau, and desert and grazing land make up most of the area. Extensive land reclamation and irrigation projects, however, have increased cultivation, pushing the nomadic herders north or forcing them to change their lifestyles. The northern section, through which the Huang He (Yellow River) flows, is the best agricultural land. Wheat, sorghum, rice, beans, fruit, and vegetables are grown. Wools, furs, hides, and rugs are exported, and there is some coal mining. Desert lakes yield salt and soda. The chief cities—Yinquan, Wuzhong, and Shicui shan—are all on the Huang He. Other towns are merely stations on the camel caravan routes, which are still important avenues of trade. One railroad, linking Lanzhou with Baotou, crosses the region. A highway has been built across the Huang He at Yingchuan. The Chinese population is by far the largest; other ethnic groups include the Hui, Mongols, Tibetans, and Manchus. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was detached and reconstituted as an autonomous region for the Hui people in 1958. In 1969, Ningxia received a part of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, but this area was returned in 1979. Ningxia Univ. is in Yingchuan. The name sometimes appears as Ninghsia Hui.

Ninghsia Hui Autonomous Region: see Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

Kwangsi Chuang Autonomous Region: see Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.

Jewish Autonomous Region or Birobidzhan, autonomous region (1995 pop. 211,900), c.13,800 sq mi (35,700 sq km), Khabarovsk Territory, Russian Far East, in the basins of the Biro and Bidzhan rivers, tributaries of the Amur. The capital is Birobidzhan. The region is bounded on the south by China (Heilongjinag prov.) and on the north by the Bureya and Hinggan (Khingan) mts., which yield gold, tin, iron ore, and graphite. Mining, agriculture (chiefly on the Amur plain), lumbering, and light manufacturing are the major economic activities.

Formed in 1928 to give Soviet Jews a home territory and to increase settlement along the vulnerable borders of the Soviet Far East, the area was raised to the status of an autonomous region in 1934. The Jewish population peaked in 1948 at about 30,000 (one fourth of the total population). Despite some remaining Yiddish influences—including a Yiddish newspaper—Jewish cultural activity in the region has declined enormously since Stalin's anticosmopolitanism campaigns and since the liberalization of Jewish emigration in the 1970s. Jews now make up less than 2% of the region's population.

Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, Mandarin Nei Monggol zizhiqu, autonomous region (1994 est. pop. 22,170,000), c.455,000 sq mi (1,178,755 sq km), NE China. It is bounded on the north by the Republic of Mongolia and on the northeast by Russia. The capital is Hohhot (Huhehot).

Land and People

Inner Mongolia is largely steppe country that becomes increasingly arid toward the Gobi Desert in the west. The climate is continental with cold dry winters and hot summers. Stockraising, mainly of sheep, goats, horses, and camels, is a major occupation; wool, hides, and skins are important exports. Rainfall is scanty, but irrigation makes agriculture possible, and much grazing land has been converted to raising spring wheat. The main farming areas are in the bend of the Huang He (Yellow River) and in the Hohhot plains.

The Mongols of China are concentrated in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, but there has been much Chinese immigration and the Mongols now comprise less than 20% of the population. The Chinese live mostly in the farming areas. Many of the traditionally nomadic Mongols have settled in permanent homes as their pastoral economy was collectivized. Inner Mongolian Univ. is in Hohhot.

Economy

Principal crops are wheat, sorghum, millet, oats, corn, linseed, soybeans, sugar beets, and rice. There are valuable mineral deposits (coal, lignite, iron ore, lead, zinc, and gold), as yet only partially exploited. The region's industries, centered at Baotou, include iron and steel mills and plants producing fertilizer, cement, textiles, and machinery. A railway built in 1958, linking Russia (through Mongolia) with Lanzhou in Gansu prov., passes through Hohhot and Baotou. The Beijing-Ulaanbaatar road traverses the region. Considerable additional road and rail improvements have been made with the vigorous industrialization of Baotou.

History

Originally the southern part of Mongolia, Inner Mongolia was settled chiefly by the Tumet and Chahar tribes. From 1530 to 1583, Inner Mongolia was held by Anda (Altan Khan), chief of the Tumets, who harried N China and once besieged Beijing. After his death, Likdan Khan of the Chahars became (c.1605) ruler, but in 1635 he was defeated by the Manchus, who soon annexed Inner Mongolia. Under Manchu rule S Mongolia became known as Inner Mongolia; N Mongolia, conquered by the Manchus at the end of the 17th cent., became known as Outer Mongolia.

Until 1911, Inner Mongolia was only under nominal Chinese rule; however, Chinese settlers in the region soon forced the Mongol tribes into the steppe and arid parts of the region. After the Revolution of 1911, Inner Mongolia became an integral part of the Chinese Republic. In 1928 it was divided among the Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Suiyuan, and Chahar. After the outbreak (1937) of the Sino-Japanese War, the Mongols of Suiyuan and Chahar established the Japanese-controlled state of Mengkiang or Mengjiang, with its capital at Guihua.

The Chinese Communists, after their conquest of Inner Mongolia in 1945, supported the traditional aspirations of the Mongols for autonomy, and in May, 1947, the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region—with limited powers of self-government within the Communist state—was formally proclaimed. It was the first autonomous region established by the Communist government.

From 1949 to 1956 the area of the region was expanded through the incorporation of the former province of Suiyuan and parts of the provinces of Liaobei, Rehe, Chahar, and Gansu. Extensive boundary changes in 1969, however, considerably reduced the size of the province. The W Ala Shan desert region was given to Gansu and Ningxia Autonomous Region, and the northeast corner, which bordered on Russia, was divided between the Manchurian provinces. Hebei prov. also received a section of Inner Mongolia. These border changes were reversed in 1979, and the region was restored to its former size. Hohhot has been the capital since 1952; from 1947 to 1950 the capital was at Ulanhot (Ulan Hoto), and from 1950 to 1952 it was at Zhangjiakou (Kalgan; now in Hebei prov.).

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, province (1994 est. pop. 44,550,000), c.85,000 sq mi (220,150 sq km), S China, bordering on Vietnam. The capital is Nanning. Guangxi is drained by the navigable Xi River and its many tributaries. It is in the double-crop agricultural belt, but because of the hilly and mountainous terrain only about 10% to 15% of the land is cultivated. Rice is an important crop, and Guangxi is a major sugarcane-producing area. Wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts, tropical and subtropical fruit, sesame, rapeseed, jute, and tobacco are also grown, chiefly in the Xi River plain. Forestry is centered around Liuzhou; timber and tung oil are valuable commodities. Fishing is an important industry; the nearby Gulf of Tonkin has fishing grounds rich in croaker, herring, squid, perch, and mackerel. Guangxi is a major producer of manganese ore, coal, iron, tin, and fluorspar. Crude oil has been discovered in the Gulf of Tonkin. Guangxi has a mix of light and heavy industries, such as oil refineries, fertilizer and cement plants, iron, steel, and textile mills, and factories that produce paper, leather, pharmaceuticals, and handicrafts. In the late 1970s and early 80s many light industrial businesses where given managerial autonomy, which resulted in increased productivity. Tourism is a growing industry. The region has an extensive network of waterways, in addition to several roads and railroads; a railway runs to Vietnam. The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which has a large non-Chinese minority, was created in 1958 from Guangxi prov. The Zhuang are the second largest ethnic group in China after the Han, and are by far the largest minority in the region. Other tribes include the Yao and Miao. Many Chinese Muslims also live in Guangxi. The name sometimes appears as Kwangsi Chuang.

Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region: see Badakhshan, Tajikistan.

Cherkess Autonomous Region: see Karachay-Cherkess Republic.

All the species of animals found in a particular region, period, or special environment. Five faunal realms, based on terrestrial animal species, are generally recognized: Holarctic, including Nearactic (North America) and Paleartic (Eurasia and northern Africa); Paleotropical (tropical Africa and Southeast Asia); Neotropical (Central and South America); Australian; and Antarctic.

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In science, the set of conditions under which a liquid and its vapour become identical. The conditions are the critical temperature, the critical pressure, and the critical density. If a closed vessel is filled with a pure substance, partly liquid and partly vapour, and the average density equals the critical density, the critical conditions can be achieved. As the temperature is raised, the vapour pressure increases, and the gas phase becomes denser while the liquid expands and becomes less dense. At the critical point, the densities of liquid and vapour become equal, eliminating the boundary between the two.

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