Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

bugle

(Encyclopedia)bugle, brass wind musical instrument consisting of a conical tube coiled once upon itself, capable of producing five or six harmonics. It is usually in G or B flat. Its principal use is for military a...

Porkkala

(Encyclopedia)Porkkala pôrkˈkälä [key], small, strategic peninsula, Southern Finland prov., in the Gulf of Finland, near Helsinki. Under the Soviet-Finnish armistice of 1944, Finland leased this area to the USS...

coyote

(Encyclopedia)coyote kīˈōt, kīōˈtē [key] or prairie wolf, small, swift wolf, Canis latrans, native to W North America. Historically found in deserts, prairies, open woodlands, and brush country, it is increa...

Manila Bay

(Encyclopedia)Manila Bay, nearly landlocked inlet of the South China Sea, SW Luzon, the Philippines. About 35 mi (56 km) wide at its broadest point and 30 mi (48 km) long, it is the best natural harbor in E Asia an...

Karle, Jerome

(Encyclopedia)Karle, Jerome kärl [key], 1918–2013, American physicist, b. New York City, Ph.D. Univ. of Michigan, 1943. He worked on the Manhattan Project before beginning a career (1946–2009) at the U.S. Nava...

brass

(Encyclopedia)brass, alloy having copper (55%–90%) and zinc (10%–45%) as its essential components. The properties of brass vary with the proportion of copper and zinc and with the addition of small amounts of o...

Portsmouth, city, England

(Encyclopedia)Portsmouth, city and unitary authority (2011 pop. 205,056), S England, on Spithead Channel. The city includes Portsea (naval station), Southsea (residential district and resort), and the old town of P...

El Centro

(Encyclopedia)El Centro ĕl sĕnˈtrō [key], city (2020 pop. 44,322), seat of Imperial co., SE Calif., near the ...

Cushing, William Barker

(Encyclopedia)Cushing, William Barker, 1842–74, Union naval hero in the Civil War, b. Delafield, Wis., educated at Annapolis. Cushing became noted for a series of daredevil exploits, particularly for his sinking ...

Nicholson, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Nicholson, Samuel, 1743–1811, American naval officer, b. Maryland. The brother of James Nicholson, he served in the Continental navy during the American Revolution, making many successful captures. ...

Browse by Subject