Somerton

Somerton, a town of Somerset, on the Cary, 5 miles ENE. of Langport. Pop. of parish, 1962.

Somerville

Somerville, a city of Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, 2 miles from the central station. It contains tube-works, bleach-fields, slaughterhouses, etc. Pop. (1880) 24,933; (1900) 61,643.

Somme

Somme, a river of northern France, rises not far from St Quentin in the dep. of Aisne, and flows 150 miles SW. and NW. to the English Channel near St Valery. It is navigable for vessels of 300 tons up to Abbeville (q.v.), and its upper course is canalised. - The dep. of Somme, formerly part of Picardy, touches the English Channel on the north-west. Area, 2378 sq. m. There are the five arrondissements of Abbeville, Amiens (the capital), Doullens, Montdidier, and Peronne. Pop. (1872) 557,015; (1901) 537,848.

Somnath

Somnath (Somnaut), a town of Gujarat, India, on the SW. coast of the peninsula of Kathiawar, containing many ruins and memorials of Krishna. From the Hindu temple of the idol Somnath, now in ruins, Mahmud of Ghazni (1025) is said to have carried off the wonderful temple gates, which, or some other gates, Lord Ellenborough triumphantly brought back from Afghanistan in 1842, and deposited in a lumber-room at Agra. Pop. 6644.

Son

Son, an affluent of the middle Ganges on the right, flowing 450 miles from Central India.

Sonderburg

Sonderburg. See Alsen.

Sondershausen

Sondershausen (Zon'ders-how'zeri), the chief town of the German principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (q.v.), on the Wipper, 34 miles N. of Erfurt. It has a large castle. Pop. 7200.

Sondrio

Sondrio, an Italian town, on the Adda, 25 miles E. of Lake Como. Pop. 3989.

Songhay

Songhay, or Sonrhai, a former kingdom of Africa, on both sides of the Niger below its great bend. The capital was Garo.

Song-ka

Song-ka, the chief river of Tong-king (q.v.).

Sonmiani

Sonmiani (Sonmiah'nee), a port of Beluchistan, 82 miles NW. of Kurrachee. Pop. 400.

Sonnblick

Sonnblick, a summit (10,277 feet) of the Salzburg Mountains, with a meteorological observatory and a shelter built in 1886.

Sonoma

Sonoma, a chief seat of the Californian wine-culture, 50 miles N. of San Francisco.

Sonora

Sono'ra, a state of NW. Mexico, on the Gulf of California. Area, 77,526 sq. m.; population, 230,000. Capital, Hennosillo; port, Guaynias.

Sonsonate

Sonsonate (Sonsonah'tay), a town of Salvador, on the Rio Grande, 15 miles by rail N. of Aca-jutla. It was founded in 1524. Pop. 17,000.

Soochoo

Soochoo, or Suchad, formerly one of the largest cities in China, on the Imperial Canal, 50 miles WNW. of Shanghai. It stands on numerous islands separated by canals, and has long been a noted centre of the silk manufacture and of the printing of cheap Chinese classics. Captured by the Taipings, but recovered by Gordon (1863), it is now a treaty port. Pop. 500,000.

Sooloo Islands

Sooloo Islands. See Sulu Islands.

Sora

Sora, a city of Italy, on the Garigliano, 55 miles E. by S. of Rome. Pop. 5411.