Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kertész, André

(Encyclopedia)Kertész, André kĕrtĕshˈ [key], 1894–1985, American photographer, b. Budapest. His black-and-white modernist photographs often capture small, lyrical, and emotionally resonant moments while also...

grizzly bear

(Encyclopedia)grizzly bear or grizzly, large, powerful North American brown bear, characterized by gray-streaked, or grizzled, fur. Grizzlies are 6 to 8 ft (180–250 cm) long, stand 31⁄2 to 4 ft (105–120 cm) a...

harbor seal

(Encyclopedia)harbor seal, most commonly seen seal of the Northern Hemisphere, Phoca vitulina. Harbor seals are found along coasts and in sheltered bays and harbors of North America, Europe, and NE Asia. They range...

Brownian movement

(Encyclopedia)Brownian movement or motion, zigzag, irregular motion exhibited by minute particles of matter when suspended in a fluid. The effect has been observed in all types of colloidal suspensions (see colloid...

cacomistle

(Encyclopedia)cacomistle kăkˈəmĭsˌəl [key], small New World mammal, genus Bassaricus, related to the raccoon. There are two species, one found in Mexico and the SW United States, the other in Central America....

Caroline Affair

(Encyclopedia)Caroline Affair. In 1837 a group of men led by William Lyon Mackenzie rebelled in Upper Canada (now Ontario), demanding a more democratic government. There was much sympathy for their cause in the Uni...

sintering

(Encyclopedia)sintering, process of forming objects from a metal powder by heating the powder at a temperature below its melting point. In the production of small metal objects it is often not practical to cast the...

duckweed

(Encyclopedia)duckweed, any plant of the genus Lemna and sometimes of related genera. Duckweeds are tiny floating or submerged aquatic plants with reduced or obsolete roots. They flower only rarely, and their flowe...

Ontake, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Ontake, Mount or Mount Kiso Ontake, volcano, 10,062 ft (3,067 m), on the Gifu-Nagano prefecture border, central Honshu, central Japan, 36 mi (58 km) SW of Matsumoto. The second highest volcano in Japa...

Roanoke, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Roanoke, river, c.410 mi (660 km) long, rising in SW Va. and flowing generally southeast across the Blue Ridge Mts. and into Albemarle Sound, NE N.C. The lower river is navigable for small craft. A co...

Browse by Subject