Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

177 results found

Apache

(Encyclopedia)Apache əpăchˈē [key], Native North Americans of the Southwest composed of six culturally related groups. They speak a language that has various dialects and belongs to the Athabascan branch of the...

Navajo, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Navajo or Navaho both: näˈvəhō [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Athabascan branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see Native American languages). A migration from the No...

Greeley, Andrew Moran

(Encyclopedia)Greeley, Andrew Moran, 1928–2013, American Roman Catholic priest, sociologist, and author, b. Oak Park, Ill.; studied St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Ill. (ordained 1954). He was (1954–6...

Bloembergen, Nicolaas

(Encyclopedia)Bloembergen, Nicolaas nēˈkəläs blo͞omˈbĕrgən, –bûrgən [key], 1920–2017, American physicist, b. Dordrecht, the Netherlands. Educated in the Netherlands, he began work at Harvard in 1946, ...

alabaster

(Encyclopedia)alabaster, fine-grained, massive, translucent variety of gypsum, a hydrous calcium sulfate. It is pure white or streaked with reddish brown. Alabaster, like all other forms of gypsum, forms by the eva...

Hohokam

(Encyclopedia)Hohokam hōˈhōkămˌ, hōhōˈkəm [key], term denoting the culture of the ancient agricultural populations inhabiting the Salt and Gila river valleys of S Arizona (a.d. 300–1200). They are noted ...

Grandin, Temple

(Encyclopedia)Grandin, Temple, 1947–, American animal scientist and industrial designer, b. Boston, grad. Franklin Pierce College (B.A., 1970), Arizona State Univ. (M.S., 1975), Univ. of Illinois (Ph.D., 1989). D...

monkey-puzzle tree

(Encyclopedia)monkey-puzzle tree, evergreen tree (Araucaria araucana) native to Chile and widely cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental. The symmetrical branches have an unusual angularity and are completely covered...

Biosphere 2

(Encyclopedia)Biosphere 2, privately funded ecological research project in which eight people lived sealed in a 3.15-acre (1.28-hectare) structure for two years (Sept. 26, 1991–Sept. 26, 1993). Located in Oracle,...

logania

(Encyclopedia)logania lōgāˈnēə [key], common name for the Loganiaceae, a family of herbs, shrubs, and trees of warmer climates, including many woody climbing species. Some plants of this family are grown in th...