Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

swan

(Encyclopedia)swan, common name for a large aquatic bird of both hemispheres, related to ducks and geese. It has a long, gracefully curved neck and an extremely long, convoluted trachea which makes possible its far...

Albuquerque

(Encyclopedia)Albuquerque ălˈbəkûrˌkē [key], city (2020 pop. 564,559), seat of Bernalillo co., W central N.Mex., on the upper Rio Grande; inc. 1890. The largest city in the state,...

Slim Helú, Carlos

(Encyclopedia)Slim Helú, Carlos cärˈlōs slēm hēlo͞oˈ [key], 1940–, Mexican business executive. The son of a Lebanese Maronite immigrant who became a successful merchant and real-estate investor, Slim was ...

Iztacalco

(Encyclopedia)Iztacalco or Ixtacalco both: ēstäkälˈkō [key], city, Federal District, S central Mex...

Eagle Pass

(Encyclopedia)Eagle Pass, city (2020 pop. 28,130), seat of Maverick co., W Tex., a port of entry on the Rio Grande opposite Piedras Negras, Mexico; inc. 1918. Linked ...

Azcapotzalco

(Encyclopedia)Azcapotzalco äskäpōtsälˈkō [key], city, S Mexico, in the Federal District. An important rail center, with railroad yards, it is the terminus of mail and cargo traffi...

Cabrillo, Juan Rodríguez

(Encyclopedia)Cabrillo, Juan Rodríguez hwän rôᵺrēˈgāth käbrēˈlyō [key], Port. João Rodrigues Cabrilho, d. 1543, Spanish conquistador and discoverer of California, b. Portugal. In 1520 he landed in Mexi...

Polk, James Knox

(Encyclopedia)Polk, James Knox pōk [key], 1795–1849, 11th President of the United States (1845–49), b. Mecklenburg co., N.C. To the surprise of many, the new President proved to be his own man; he even ignor...

Athabascan

(Encyclopedia)Athabascan both: –păsˈ– [key], group of related Native American languages forming a branch of the Nadene linguistic family or stock. In the preconquest period, Athabascan was a large and extensi...

Zimmermann note

(Encyclopedia)Zimmermann note, secret telegram sent on Jan. 16, 1917, by German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann to Count Johann von Bernstorff, the German ambassador to the United States. In it Zimmermann said ...