Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Miami, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Miami mīămˈē, –ə [key] or Great Miami, river, c.160 mi (260 km) long, formed in W Ohio near Indian Lake and flowing generally SW past Dayton to the Ohio River at the Ind. line. The Miami River ...

Pontchartrain, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Pontchartrain, Lake pŏnˈchərtrān [key], shallow lake, c.630 sq mi (1,630 sq km), 41 mi (66 km) long and 25 mi (40 km) wide, SE La., N of New Orleans. It is linked with Lake Maurepas at its western...

Patapsco

(Encyclopedia)Patapsco pətăpˈskō [key], river, c.65 mi (100 km) long, formed in central Md. by the confluence of the North Branch (c.45 mi/70 km long) and the South Branch and flowing SE into Chesapeake Bay at ...

bush baby

(Encyclopedia)bush baby or bushbaby, name for several small, active nocturnal primates of the Galagidae family, found in forested parts of Africa. Bush babies are also called galagos. The smallest are about 1 ft (3...

Shelter Island

(Encyclopedia)Shelter Island (1990 pop. 1,193), 7 mi (11.2 km) long and 6 mi (9.7 km) wide, between the two peninsulas of E Long Island, SE N.Y. Settled in the 17th cent. by English colonists, the island has been a...

Thirlmere

(Encyclopedia)Thirlmere, lake, c.3 mi (5 km) long, in the Lake District, Cumbria, NW England, near Keswick. In 1894, through the construction of a high dam (which raised the water level c.50 ft/15 m) and an aqueduc...

plastic

(Encyclopedia)plastic, any organic material with the ability to flow into a desired shape when heat and pressure are applied to it and to retain the shape when they are withdrawn. The first important plastic, cel...

Harlem River

(Encyclopedia)Harlem River, navigable tidal channel, 8 mi (12.9 km) long with Spuyten Duyvil Creek, in New York City, SE N.Y., separating Manhattan from the Bronx. Connecting the Hudson and East rivers, it is a shi...

Johore Strait

(Encyclopedia)Johore Strait, arm of the Singapore Strait, c.40 mi (60 km) long and from 1 to 3 mi (1.6–4.8 km) wide, between Singapore Island and the Malay Peninsula. The eastern part of the strait has a deep cha...

Nottaway

(Encyclopedia)Nottaway nŏtˈəwā [key], river, c.140 mi (230 km) long, issuing from Mattagami Lake, W Que., Canada, and flowing NW into S James Bay. It is noted for sturgeon. The Waswanipi River (c.195 mi/310 km ...