Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Santa Maria, city, Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Santa Maria sänˈtə mərēˈə [key], city (1991 pop. 217,592), Rio Grande do Sul state, S Brazil. It is a major railroad terminus and the site of an important military base. Foodstuffs and rail mac...

Rio Grande, city, Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Rio Grande rēˈo͝o gränˈdĭ [key], city (1991 pop. 172,422), Rio Grande do Sul state, S Brazil, on the Rio Grande River at the outlet of the Lagoa dos Patos (a tidal lagoon) to the Atlantic Ocean....

Itaipú Dam

(Encyclopedia)Itaipú Dam ētīˈpo͞o [key], hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River, on the Brazil-Paraguay border. Jointly constructed (1975–91) by Brazil and Paraguay, it is the second-largest hydroelectric da...

Chavín de Huántar

(Encyclopedia)Chavín de Huántar chävēnˈ dā wänˈtär [key], archaeological site in the northeastern highlands of Peru, near the headwaters of the Marañon River. It flourished between c.900 b.c. and 200 b.c....

Arequipa

(Encyclopedia)Arequipa ärākēˈpä [key], city (2020 pop. 923,000), alt. c.7,550 ft (2,300 m), capital of Arequipa dept., S Peru, on the Chili River. One of Peru's largest cities, it ...

Pizarro, Gonzalo

(Encyclopedia)Pizarro, Gonzalo pēthärˈrō [key], c.1506–1548, Spanish conquistador, brother of Francisco Pizarro. A lieutenant of his brother in the conquest of Peru, Gonzalo aided in the defense of Cuzco (15...

Nazca

(Encyclopedia)Nazca or Nasca both: näsˈkä [key], ancient culture of the Nazca, Pisco, and Ica river valleys on the desert coast of S Peru. Flourishing during the first millennium a.d., the Nazca culture seems to...

Madre de Dios

(Encyclopedia)Madre de Dios mädˈrā ᵺā dyōs [key], river, c.700 mi (1,130 km) long, rising in the Andes of SE Peru and flowing NE through NW Bolivia to the Beni River. It is a major artery of NW Bolivia, but ...

bore

(Encyclopedia)bore, inrush of water that advances upstream with a wavelike front, caused by the progress of incoming tide from a wide-mouthed bay into its narrower portion. The tidal movement tends to be retarded b...

emerald

(Encyclopedia)emerald, the green variety of beryl, of which aquamarine is the blue variety. Chemically, it is a beryllium-aluminum silicate whose color is due to small quantities of chromium compounds. The emerald ...