Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Agassiz, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Agassiz, Alexander ăgˈəsē [key], 1835–1910, American naturalist and industrialist, b. Neuchâtel, Switzerland; son of Louis Agassiz, stepson of Elizabeth Cary Agassiz. He came to the United Stat...

Bolívar, Simón

(Encyclopedia)Bolívar, Simón sēmōnˈ bōlēˈvär [key], 1783–1830, South American revolutionary who led independence wars in the present nations of Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. ...

Saint Lawrence Seaway

(Encyclopedia)Saint Lawrence Seaway, international waterway, 2,342 mi (3,769 km) long, consisting of a system of canals, dams, and locks in the St. Lawrence River and connecting channels between the Great Lakes; op...

Sinai

(Encyclopedia)Sinai sīˈnī [key], triangular peninsula, c.23,000 sq mi (59,570 sq km), NE Egypt. It is c.230 mi (370 km) long and 150 mi (240 km) wide and extends north into a broad isthmus linking Africa and Asi...

Rhine

(Encyclopedia)Rhine rīn [key], Du. Rijn, Fr. Rhin, Ger. Rhein, Lat. Rhenus, principal river of Europe, c.820 mi (1,320 km) long. It rises in the Swiss Alps and flows generally north, passing through or bordering o...

Jiangsu

(Encyclopedia)Jiangsu kyängˈso͞oˈ, jyängˈ– [key], province (2010 pop. 78,659,903), c.41,000 sq mi (106,190 sq km), E China, on the Yellow Sea. Nanjing is the capital. Jiangsu was originally part of the W...

alder

(Encyclopedia)alder ôlˈdər [key], name for deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Alnus of the family Betulaceae (birch family), widely distributed, especially in mountainous and moist areas of the north temper...

columbine, in botany

(Encyclopedia)columbine kŏlˈəmbīn [key], any plant of the genus Aquilegia, temperate-zone perennials of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), popular both as wildflowers and as garden flowers. Columbines...

endoderm

(Encyclopedia)endoderm ĕnˈdədûrmˌ [key], in biology, inner layer of tissue formed in the gastrula stage of the developing embryo. At the end of the blastula stage, cells of the embryo are arranged in the form ...

Indiana Dunes National Park

(Encyclopedia)Indiana Dunes National Park, 15,177 acres (6,142 hectares), NW Indiana, on the southern tip of Lake Michigan, est. 1966 as Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, designated a national park 2019. The park's...

Browse by Subject