Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Acrux

(Encyclopedia)Acrux āˈkrəks [key] [from the Bayer designation α Crucis], brightest star in the constellation Crux (Southern Cross); 1992 position R.A. 12h26.2m, Dec. −63°04′. Its apparent magnitude of 0.86...

Davis, Jefferson

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Jefferson, 1808–89, American statesman, President of the Southern Confederacy, b. Fairview, near Elkton, Ky. His birthday was June 3. Davis took little part in the secession movement until ...

Marshall Plan

(Encyclopedia)Marshall Plan or European Recovery Program, project instituted at the Paris Economic Conference (July, 1947) to foster economic recovery in certain European countries after World War II. The Marshall ...

Coral Springs

(Encyclopedia)Coral Springs, city (2020 pop. 134,394), Broward co., SE Fla.; inc. 1963. Largely residential, it is a city that has grown rapidly along with the southe...

Lincoln sheep

(Encyclopedia)Lincoln sheep, very large-bodied, white-faced, hornless breed having coarse wool, developed in England. It has made considerable contributions to the American sheep industry in the parentage of other ...

Kara

(Encyclopedia)Kara kärˈə [key], river, c.140 mi (230 km) long, NE European and NW Siberian Russia. It flows N from the N Urals into the Kara Sea, forming part of the traditional border between European and Asian...

Pyrenees

(Encyclopedia)Pyrenees pĭrˈənēz [key], Span. Pirineos, Fr. Pyrénées, mountain chain of SW Europe, 21,380 sq mi (55,374 sq km), between France and Spain, a formidable barrier between the Iberian Peninsula and ...

Elizabeth Islands

(Encyclopedia)Elizabeth Islands, chain of small islands off Cape Cod that form the southern boundary of Buzzards Bay; SE Mass. Naushon is the largest island. Cuttyhunk Island was settled in 1641 and has a U.S. Coas...

Riihimäki

(Encyclopedia)Riihimäki rēˈhĭmăˌkē [key], town (1996 pop. 25,911), Southern Finland prov., S Finland. It is a railroad junction and industrial center with glass, textile, and chemical industries. ...

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(Encyclopedia)Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), international organization established as the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in 1973, during the cold war, to promo...

Browse by Subject