Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

307 results found

celestial equator

(Encyclopedia)celestial equator: see equatorial coordinate system. ...

Owen Stanley Range

(Encyclopedia)Owen Stanley Range, mountain chain, c.300 mi (480 km) long, SE Papua New Guinea, on New Guinea island. It rises to Mt. Victoria (13,363 ft/4,073 m). The region, drained by several small rivers, is lar...

Cabral, Amilcar

(Encyclopedia)Cabral, Amilcar amēlˈkär kəbräl [key], 1924–73, revolutionary leader of Guinea-Bissau. Returning ...

Economic Community of West African States

(Encyclopedia)Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), organization established in 1975 to increase economic cooperation and development in West Africa. Members include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, C...

Gambia, river, Africa

(Encyclopedia)Gambia, river, c.700 mi (1,130 km) long, rising on the Fouta Djallon, N Guinea, W Africa, and flowing generally northwest through SE Senegal then west, bisecting The Gambia, to the Atlantic Ocean at B...

Condé, Alpha

(Encyclopedia)Condé, Alpha älˈfä kōnˈdā [key], 1938–, Guinean political leader, president of Guinea (2010–). He lived in France from the age of 15, attended the Sorbonne, and was a professor at the Univ....

Bissau

(Encyclopedia)Bissau bĭsouˈ [key], town (1991 est. pop. 197,610), capital of Guinea-Bissau, a port in the Geba estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean. It is the country's largest city, major port, and administrative and...

Madang

(Encyclopedia)Madang mäˈdäng [key], town (1990 pop. 27,181), Papua New Guinea, on NE New Guinea island. A seaport on Astrolabe Bay, Madang exports copra and gold. It was an important Japanese air base during Wor...

Atlantic Ocean

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Atlantic Ocean [Lat.,=of Atlas], second largest ocean (c.31,800,000 sq mi/82,362,000 sq km; c.36,000,000 sq mi/93,240,000 sq km with marginal seas). The North Atlantic Ocean has some of the w...

Samarai

(Encyclopedia)Samarai sămˈărī [key], small island (59 acres/23.9 hectares), at the southeastern tip of Papua New Guinea, New Guinea island. It is a commercial and shipping center and a port of entry. An importa...