Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

curlew

(Encyclopedia)curlew kûrˈlo͞o [key], common name for large shore birds of both hemispheres, generally brown and buff in color and with decurved bills. There are eight species, belonging to the genus Numenius. Th...

Davidson, George

(Encyclopedia)Davidson, George, 1825–1911, American geographer and astronomer, b. England. From 1845 to 1895 he was on the staff of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. He charted (1850–60) the U.S. Pacific coas...

Alaskan malamute

(Encyclopedia)Alaskan malamute mălˈəmyo͞otˌ [key], breed of strong, compact working dog believed to be one of the oldest arctic sled dogs. It stands about 23 in. (58.2 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from ...

National Petroleum Reserve

(Encyclopedia)National Petroleum Reserve, area, c.23 million acres (9.32 million hectares), Alaska North Slope, situated W of Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The reserve, which is the largest r...

Noatak National Preserve

(Encyclopedia)Noatak National Preserve, 6,569,904 acres (2,660,811 hectares), N Alaska. The preserve is the largest mountain-ringed river basin in the United States that is still virtually unaffected by human activ...

La Pérouse, Jean François de Galaup, comte de

(Encyclopedia)La Pérouse, Jean François de Galaup, comte de zhäN fräNswäˈ də gälōˈ kôNt də lä pāro͞ozˈ [key], 1741–c.1788, French navigator. A naval captain, in 1785 he took command of two frigate...

Kent, Rockwell

(Encyclopedia)Kent, Rockwell, 1882–1971, American painter, muralist, wood engraver, lithographer, book and magazine illustrator, and writer, b. Tarrytown, N.Y. Kent studied with William Merritt Chase and Robert H...

Khabarovsk

(Encyclopedia)Khabarovsk khəbäˈrəfsk, khəbərôfskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 601,000), capital of Khabarovsk Territory and the administrative center of the Far Eastern federal district, Russian Far East, on the...

Wrangell–Saint Elias National Park and Preserve

(Encyclopedia)Wrangell–Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, at the convergence of the Chugach, Wrangell, and St. Elias mts., SW Alaska. The park (8,323,618 acres/3,369,856 hectares) contains Mt. Saint Elias (1...

Ballinger, Richard Achilles

(Encyclopedia)Ballinger, Richard Achilles bălˈĭnjər [key], 1858–1922, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1909–11), b. Boonesboro (now in Boone), Iowa. He was mayor of Seattle (1904–6) and commissioner of the...

Browse by Subject