Columbia Encyclopedia

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cowrie

(Encyclopedia)cowrie or cowry both: kouˈrē [key], common name applied to marine gastropods belonging to the family Cypraeidae, a well-developed family of marine snails found in the tropics. Cowries are abundant i...

walrus

(Encyclopedia)walrus, marine mammal, Odobenus rosmarus, found in Arctic seas. Largest of the fin-footed mammals, or pinnipeds (see seal), the walrus is also distinguished by its long tusks and by cheek pads bearing...

Columbia, river, Canada and the United States

(Encyclopedia)Columbia, river, c.1,210 mi (1,950 km) long, rising in Columbia Lake, SE British Columbia, Canada. It flows first NW in the Rocky Mt. Trench, then hooks sharply about the Selkirk Mts. to flow S throug...

clam

(Encyclopedia)clam, common name for certain bivalve mollusks, especially for marine species that live buried in mud or sand and have valves (the two pieces of the shell) of equal size. The oval valves, which cover ...

Nicaragua Canal

(Encyclopedia)Nicaragua Canal, proposed waterway between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. One often considered route would be 172.8 mi (278 km) long and would generally follow the San Juan River, then go throug...

Vancouver Island

(Encyclopedia)Vancouver Island (1991 pop. 579,921), 12,408 sq mi (32,137 sq km), SW British Columbia, Canada, in the Pacific Ocean; largest island off W North America. It is c.285 mi (460 km) long and c.30 to 80 mi...

Fongafale

(Encyclopedia)Fongafale fôngˌgäfäˈlā [key], islet (2001 est. pop. 5,000), site of the government center and largest settlement in the island nation of Tuvalu. Part of the atoll of Funafuti (which is officiall...

Mesozoic era

(Encyclopedia)Mesozoic era mĕzˌəzōˈĭk [key] [Gr.,=middle life], major division of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table) from 65 to 225 million years ago. Great crustal disturb...

Mauna Kea

(Encyclopedia)Mauna Kea mouˈnə kāˈə [key], dormant volcano, 13,796 ft (4,205 m) high, in the south central part of the island of Hawaii. It is the loftiest peak in the Hawaiian Islands and the highest island m...

Aleutian Range

(Encyclopedia)Aleutian Range, volcanic mountain chain, c.1,600 mi (2,600 km) long, SW Alaska, extending W from Anchorage along the Alaska Peninsula, and continuing, partly submerged as the Aleutian Islands, to Attu...