Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Helmand

(Encyclopedia)Helmand or Helmund both: hĕlˈmənd [key], river, c.700 mi (1,130 km) long, rising in the Hindu Kush Mts., NE Afghanistan and flowing generally SW to the Sistan basin, SW Afghanistan, where it helps ...

Flathead, river, Canada and the United States

(Encyclopedia)Flathead flătˈhĕd [key], river, c.240 mi (390 km) long, rising as the North Fork, in SE British Columbia, Canada, and flowing generally SE through NW Montana, to Coram, where it is joined by the Mi...

Rupert's Land

(Encyclopedia)Rupert's Land, Canadian territory held (1670–1869) by the Hudson's Bay Company, named for Prince Rupert, first governor of the company. Under the charter granted (1670) to the company by Charles II,...

Negro, Río, river, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Negro, Río rēˈō nāˈgrō [key], river, c.1,400 mi (2,250 km) long, rising as the Guainía River in E Colombia where it flows NE before turning south to form part of the Colombia-Venezuela border....

Beauce

(Encyclopedia)Beauce bōs [key], region, in Orléanais, N France, in the Paris Basin, between the Seine and Loir rivers. It now comprises Eure-et-Loir dept. and parts of Loiret and Loir-et-Cher. It is the “granar...

Stakhanovism

(Encyclopedia)Stakhanovism stäkäˈnəvĭzm, stə– [key], movement begun (1935) in the Soviet Union aimed at increasing industrial production by the use of efficient working techniques. It was named for Aleksey ...

Tai, lake, China

(Encyclopedia)Tai tī [key], lake, c.1,300 sq mi (3,370 sq km), on the border between Jiangsu prov. and Zhejiang prov., E China; second largest freshwater lake in China. Dotted with islands, it is one of China's mo...

Texas, University of

(Encyclopedia)Texas, University of, main campus at Austin; coeducational; state supported; chartered 1881, opened 1883. Medical facilities include health science centers with medical schools at Houston and San Anto...

cavefish

(Encyclopedia)cavefish, common name for blind, cave-dwelling fishes of the family Amblyopsidae. The Amblyopsidae are mostly whitish fish, up to 5 in. (13 cm) long. With the exception of a single species, all member...

brick

(Encyclopedia)brick, ceramic structural material that, in modern times, is made by pressing clay into blocks and firing them to the requisite hardness in a kiln. Bricks in their most primitive form were not fired b...