Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

antipodes, in geography

(Encyclopedia)antipodes [Gr.,=having feet opposite], people or places diametrically opposite on the globe. Thus antipodes must be separated by half the circumference of the earth (180°), and one must be as far nor...

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...

piccolo

(Encyclopedia)piccolo, small transverse flute pitched an octave higher than the standard flute. Its tone is bright and shrill, and it can produce the highest notes in the orchestral range. The piccolo is used in or...

Rutland, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Rutland, city (1990 pop. 18,230), seat of Rutland co., W Vt., at the junction of Otter and East creeks; settled c.1770, inc. as a city 1892. It is a trade and tourist center with many small industries...

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...

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...

Brač

(Encyclopedia)Brač bräch [key], Ital. Brazza, island, 152 sq mi (394 sq km), off the Dalmatian coast in the Adriatic Sea, Croatia. It is a popular summer resort and tourist spot. Supetar (Ital. San Pietro), a sma...

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...

Agusan

(Encyclopedia)Agusan ägo͞oˈsän [key], river, c.240 mi (390 km) long, rising in the mountains of SE Mindanao, the Philippines, and flowing N past Butuan to Butuan Bay. It is navigable for small craft c.160 mi (2...

cooking

(Encyclopedia)cooking, the process of using heat to prepare foods for consumption. Many common cooking methods involve the use of oil. Frying is cooking in hot oil; sautéing is cooking in a small amount of oil; st...