Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Lumbee

(Encyclopedia)Lumbee, descendants of Native Americans whose language belonged to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The ancestors of the Lumbee occupi...

Varangians

(Encyclopedia)Varangians vərănˈjēənz [key], name given by Slavs and Byzantine Greeks to Scandinavians who began to raid the eastern shores of the Baltic and penetrate Eastern Europe by the 9th cent. Their lead...

Rumelia

(Encyclopedia)Rumelia or Roumelia both: ro͞omēˈlēə [key], region of S Bulgaria, between the Balkan and Rhodope mts. Historically, Rumelia denoted the Balkan possessions (particularly Thrace and Macedonia, and ...

Pithom

(Encyclopedia)Pithom pīˈthŏm [key], in the Bible, the ancient treasure city of Egypt, in the eastern part of the Nile delta, built by the Israelites for the pharaoh. Ruins include walls of storage chambers. ...

Varkaus

(Encyclopedia)Varkaus värˈkous [key], town (1996 pop. 24,096), Eastern Finland prov., S central Finland, on Lake Saimaa. In an abundant forest region, it is a major timber, pulp, and paper-manufacturing center. L...

Thjórsá

(Encyclopedia)Thjórsá thyōrsˈouˌ [key], Icelandic Þjórsá, longest river of Iceland, c.150 mi (240 km) long. It rises on the eastern slopes of the Hofsjökull and flows SW to the Atlantic Ocean. ...

bight

(Encyclopedia)bight, broad bend or curve in a coastline, forming a large open bay. The New York bight, for example, is the curve in the coast described by the southern shore of Long Island and the eastern shore of ...

Breiðafjörður

(Encyclopedia)Breiðafjörður brāˈᵺäfyörˌᵺür [key], large inlet of the Denmark Strait, c.75 mi (120 km) long and 45 mi (70 km) wide, W Iceland, between the Vestfjarða and Snaefellsnes peninsulas. Hvamms...

Riga, Gulf of

(Encyclopedia)Riga, Gulf of, eastern arm of the Baltic Sea, bordering on Estonia and on Latvia. At its mouth it is nearly closed off by the Estonian island of Saaremaa. The gulf, which is frozen from December to Ap...

Kievan Rus

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Kievan Rus (c.1000) Kievan Rus kēˈĕfən [key], medieval state of the Eastern Slavs. It was the earliest predecessor of modern Ukraine and Russia. Flourishing from the 10th to the 13th cent....