Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Bermuda Triangle

(Encyclopedia)Bermuda Triangle, area in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida where a number of ships and aircraft have vanished. Also known as the Devil's Triangle, it is bounded at its points by Melbourne, Fla.; Bermuda...

Loyalty Islands

(Encyclopedia)Loyalty Islands, coral group (1989 pop. 17,900), S Pacific, a part of the French overseas territory of New Caledonia. The group comprises three islands (Lifou, Maré, and Ouvéa) and many islets and h...

Iowa, University of

(Encyclopedia)Iowa, University of, at Iowa City; state supported; coeducational; chartered 1847, opened 1855. It has a noted program in the creative arts, including the Iowa Writers' Workshop, one of the most prest...

pemmican

(Encyclopedia)pemmican pĕmˈĭkən [key], a travel food of the Native North American. Slices of lean venison or buffalo meat were sun dried, pounded to a paste, and packed with melted fat in rawhide bags. Dried cu...

whaling

(Encyclopedia)whaling, the hunting of whales for the oil that can be rendered from their flesh, for meat, and for baleen (whalebone). Historically, whale oil was economically the most important. In 1932–33, par...

water pollution

(Encyclopedia)water pollution, contamination of water resources by harmful wastes; see also sewerage, water supply, pollution, and environmentalism. The United States has enacted extensive federal legislation to ...

M'Bour

(Encyclopedia)M'Bour əmbo͞orˈ [key], town, W Senegal, on the Atlantic Ocean. Ilmenite, rutile, and yirconium are extracted from the titanium ore mined nearby. M'Bour also processes and trades peanuts grown in th...

Fitzroy

(Encyclopedia)Fitzroy, rivers in Australia. 1 River, 174 mi (280 km) long, formed by the junction of the Dawson and the Mackenzie rivers, E Queensland, Australia, and flowing past Rockhampton to Keppel Bay of the C...

Anu

(Encyclopedia)Anu āˈno͞o [key], ancient sky god of Sumerian origin, worshiped in Babylonian religion. The son of Apsu (the underworld ocean) and Tiamat (primeval chaos), Anu was king of the great triad of gods, ...

Demerara

(Encyclopedia)Demerara dĕmərârˈə [key], river, c.200 mi (320 km) long, rising in the Guiana Highlands, E Guyana, and flowing N to the Atlantic Ocean. Georgetown, Guyana's chief port, is at the river's mouth. T...

Browse by Subject