Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Haviland, John

(Encyclopedia)Haviland, John hăvˈĭlənd [key], 1792–1852, American architect, b. Philadelphia. Haviland was noted as a pioneer in prison architecture. His design for the Pennsylvania Eastern State Penitentiary...

Holy Innocents

(Encyclopedia)Holy Innocents, in the New Testament, children of Bethlehem “from two years old and under,” killed by the order of Herod the Great in the attempt to destroy the infant Jesus. The Innocents have be...

Manzala, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Manzala, Lake mĕn– [key], saltwater lagoon, c.660 sq mi (1,710 sq km), NE Egypt, near Port Said, partly separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a narrow peninsula. The Suez Canal cuts through the e...

Marajó

(Encyclopedia)Marajó mərəzhôˈ [key], island, c.150 mi (240 km) long and c.100 mi (160 km) wide, N Brazil, at the mouth of the Amazon River. It divides the river into the Amazon proper and the Pará. Cattle are...

megalopolis

(Encyclopedia)megalopolis mĕgəlŏpˈlĭs [key] [Gr.,=great city], a group of densely populated metropolitan areas that combine to form an urban complex. It was first used in its modern sense by Jean Gottman (1957...

Whitney, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Whitney, Mount, peak, 14,494 ft (4,418 m) high, E Calif., in the Sierra Nevada at the eastern border of Sequoia National Park; the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states (Denali [Mt. McKinley], Alas...

Wienerwald

(Encyclopedia)Wienerwald vēˈnərvält [key] [Ger.,=Vienna forest], forested range, NE Austria, just W of Vienna. An outlier of the Eastern Alps, it rises to 2,930 ft (893 m) in the Schöpfl. The best-known summit...

Swilly, Lough

(Encyclopedia)Swilly, Lough lŏkh swĭlˈē [key], inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, c.25 mi (40 km) long, Co. Donegal, NW Republic of Ireland. It is narrow and irregular in shape, with numerous islands. There is a ligh...

Tampa Bay

(Encyclopedia)Tampa Bay, inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, 25 mi (40 km) long and 7 to 12 mi (11.3–19 km) wide, W Fla., separated from the Gulf by numerous small islands; it receives the Hillsborough River. St. Peters...

Calpe

(Encyclopedia)Calpe kălˈpē [key], ancient name, possibly Phoenician in origin, of Gibraltar. It is one of the Pillars of Hercules, at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar. ...