Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Medicine Bow Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Medicine Bow Mountains, outlying eastern range of the Rocky Mts., SE Wyo. and N Colo. It extends from Medicine Bow town, Wyo., NW of Laramie, southward c.100 mi (160 km) to Cameron Pass, Colo. Peaks i...

Ossa

(Encyclopedia)Ossa ôˈsä [key], peak, c.6,490 ft (1,980 m) high, NE Thessaly, N Greece. According to legend the Aloadae piled Mt. Pelion on Ossa when they stormed Olympus. ...

Southern Alps

(Encyclopedia)Southern Alps, mountain range, on South Island, New Zealand, paralleling the west coast. It rises to 12,349 ft (3,764 m) at Mt. Aorangi (Mt. Cook), New Zealand's highest peak. Extensively glaciated, t...

Sierra Nevada, mountain range, United States

(Encyclopedia)Sierra Nevada sēĕrˈə nəväˈdə [key], mountain range, c.400 mi (640 km) long and from c.40 to 80 mi (60–130 km) wide, mostly in E Calif. It rises to 14,495 ft (4,418 m) in Mt. Whitney, the hig...

Diamond Head

(Encyclopedia)Diamond Head, peak, 761 ft (232 m) high, along the rim of an extinct volcano, SE Oahu island, Hawaii. A prominent point in the Honolulu skyline, Diamond Head was designated a national natural landmark...

Ethiopian Highlands

(Encyclopedia)Ethiopian Highlands, rugged plateau region of E Africa, covering about two thirds of Ethiopia. It is divided into two massifs by the Great Rift Valley; the Amhara, or Ethiopian Plateau, is the larger ...

Iberian Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Iberian Mountains ībĭrˈēən [key], mountain system, extending c.250 mi (400 km) along the northeastern edge of the Meseta (central plateau), NE Spain. Moncayo (7,590 ft/2,313 m high) is the highes...

Oeta

(Encyclopedia)Oeta ēˈtə [key], Gr. Oiti, mountain range, central Greece, stretching c.15 mi (25 km) W from Thermopylae on the Gulf of Lamía. Mt. Oeta (c.7,060 ft/2,150 m) is the highest peak. In legend Hercules...

Ötztal Alps

(Encyclopedia)Ötztal Alps ötsˈtäl [key], mountain group, in the Tyrol, W Austria, S of the Inn River and extending into northern Italy. It rises to 12,380 ft (3,773 m) in the Wildspitze, the highest peak in the...

Sahand

(Encyclopedia)Sahand sähändˈ [key], peak, 12,140 ft (3,700 m) high, NW Iran, S of Tabriz. It is snow-covered most of the year and is traditionally associated with the prophet Zoroaster. ...