Mauna Loa

Mauna Loa. See Hawaii.

Mauritania

Mauritania, or Mauretania, was anciently the most north-western part of Africa, corresponding to Morocco and western Algeria.

Maxstoke

Maxstoke, an Edwardian castle of Warwickshire, 3 miles SE. of Coleshill.

Maxwelltown

Maxwelltown. See Dumfries.

May

May, Isle of, a Fife islet in the Firth of Forth, 5 1/4 miles SSE. of Crail. It is 146 acres in area, rises 150 feet, was the seat of a priory, and has a lighthouse, whose flashing electric light is visible 22 nautical miles. Pop. 17.

Maybole

Maybole, a town of Ayrshire, 3| miles inland, and 9 by rail (1856) S. by W. of Ayr. In feudal times the capital of Carrick, and a burgh of barony since 1516, it is an old-world place, which once boasted twenty-eight baronial mansions, several of which still remain ; besides which, it has a new town-hall (1887) and a fine Roman Catholic church (1879). Shoemaking is the staple industry. The abbey of Crossraguel (q.v.) is in the vicinity. Pop. 5900. Mayence. See Mainz.

Mayenne

Mayenne (Ma-yenn'; Lat. Meduana), a French dep. formed out of the provinces of Maine and Anjou, now containing the arrondissements of Laval, Chateau-Gontier, and Mayenne, has an area of 1996 sq. m. and a pop. of (1872) 350,637 ; (1901) 313,303. - The river Mayenne, flowing 127 miles S., joins the Sarthe at Angers to form the Maine, a tributary of the Loire. - The town of Mayenne, on the river Mayenne, 78 miles by rail S. by W. of Caen, has a picturesque ruined castle (taken by the English in 1424), and manufactures calico and linen. Pop. 8360.

Mayfield

Mayfield, a Staffordshire village, on the Dove, 2 miles SW. of Ashborne. Here Moore wrote Lalla Rookh.

Mayotte

Mayotte, one of the Comoro Isles (q.v.).

Maysville

Maysville, capital of Mason county, Kentucky, on the Ohio River, 69 miles by rail NE. of Lexington. Pop. 7358.

Mazamet

Mazamet (Mazamay'), a French town, 43 miles ESB. of Toulouse. Pop. 13,588.

Mazanderan

Mazanderan', a province of northern Persia, fringing the Caspian Sea for 200 miles, consists of a belt of low marshy coast-land, 10 to 20 miles wide, backed by the well-wooded northern slopes of the Elburz. Area, 10,400 sq. m.; pop. 300,000. The chief town is Sari, though Balfrush is the seat of the trade with Russia.

Mazarron

Mazarron, or Almazarron, a seaport of Spain, 27 miles WSW. of Cartagena. Pop. 24,398.

Mazatlan

Mazatlan', a Mexican seaport, at the entrance of the river Mazatlan into the Gulf of California, 230 miles SE. of Sinaloa. It has a cathedral, cotton factory, foundries, etc. Pop. 13,395.

Mazzara

Mazza'ra, a walled cathedral coast-town of Sicily, 32 miles by rail S. of Trapani. Pop. 13,074.

Mazzarino

Mazzarino (Mazzaree'no), a town of Sicily, 15 miles SE. of Caltanisetta. Pop. 22,964.

Meadville

Meadville, capital of Crawford county, Pennsylvania, on French Creek, 113 miles by rail N. of Pittsburgh. It manufactures woollens, paper, glass, machinery, oil, etc, and is the seat of Alleghany College (Methodist, founded 1815), and of a Unitarian theological school. Pop. 10,300.