Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Jefferson, Territory of

(Encyclopedia)Jefferson, Territory of, in U.S. history, region that roughly encompassed the present-day state of Colorado, although extending 2° farther south and 1° farther north, organized by its inhabitants (1...

Messenia

(Encyclopedia)Messenia mĕsēˈnēə [key], ancient region of SW Greece, in the Peloponnesus and corresponding to the modern nome of Messinías. Excavation has revealed an important center of Mycenaean culture at P...

Van

(Encyclopedia)Van vän [key], city (1990 pop. 153,525), capital of Van prov., E Turkey, near the eastern shore of Lake Van, at an altitude of 5,659 ft (1,725 m). It is the trade center for a fruit- and grain-growin...

Semple, Ellen Churchill

(Encyclopedia)Semple, Ellen Churchill, 1863–1932, American geographer, b. Louisville, Ky., grad. Vassar, 1882, and studied at the Univ. of Leipzig. A follower of the German geographer Friedrich Ratzel, she helped...

Savoy

(Encyclopedia)Savoy səvoiˈ [key], Fr. Savoie, Alpine region of E France. The boundaries of old Savoy have changed with time, but presently the region comprises the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie. It is bo...

South America

(Encyclopedia)CE5 South America, fourth largest continent (2015 est. pop. 416,436,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. It is divided political...

Coahuila

(Encyclopedia)Coahuila kōäwēˈlä [key], state, 58,067 sq mi (150,394 sq km), N Mexico, on the northward ...

Languedoc

(Encyclopedia)Languedoc läNgdôkˈ [key], region and former province, S France, bounded by the foot of the Pyrenees, the upper Garonne River, the Auvergne Mts., the Rhône, and the Mediterranean. It comprises the ...

Buenos Aires

(Encyclopedia)Buenos Aires bwāˈnəs īˈrēz, ârˈēz, Span. bwāˈnōs īˈrās ...

Mendoza, Pedro de

(Encyclopedia)Mendoza, Pedro de dā māndōˈthä [key], b. 1501 or 1502, d. 1537, Spanish conquistador, first adelantado [civil and military governor] of Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina). After a military...

Browse by Subject