Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

bighorn, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)bighorn or Rocky Mountain sheep, wild sheep, Ovis canadensis, of W North America, formerly plentiful in mountains from SW Canada to N Mexico. Indiscriminate hunting, disease, and scarcity of food enor...

hamster

(Encyclopedia)hamster, Old World rodent, related to the voles, lemmings, and New World mice. There are many hamster species, classified in several genera. All are solitary, burrowing, nocturnal animals, with chunky...

oryx

(Encyclopedia)oryx ôrˈĭks [key], name for several small, horselike antelopes, genus Oryx, found in deserts and arid scrublands of Africa and Arabia. They feed on grasses and scrub and can go without water for lo...

Greiz

(Encyclopedia)Greiz grīts [key], city, Thuringia, central E Germany, on the White Elster River. Manufactur...

Albion, ancient and literary name of Britain

(Encyclopedia)Albion ălˈbēən [key], ancient and literary name of Britain. It is usually restricted to England and is perhaps derived from the Latin albus meaning “white,” referring to the chalk cliffs of S ...

Cotswold sheep

(Encyclopedia)Cotswold sheep, large, white-faced, hornless breed with a broad, flat back, moderately deep body, heavy fleece, and long, coarse wool hanging in ringlets. It was originated in the Cotswold Hills in En...

Cicero, town, United States

(Encyclopedia)Cicero, town (2020 pop. 85,268), Cook co., NE Ill., an industrial and residential suburb adjoining Chicago; inc. 1867. A largely white enclave, it was o...

Severodvinsk

(Encyclopedia)Severodvinsk syĕˈvĕrŏdvinsk [key], city (1989 pop. 249,000), NW European Russia, on the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. The main industries are shipbuilding, lumbering, and transshipment. It is a base...

Saco, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Saco, river, c.105 mi (170 km) long, rising in the White Mts., N central N.H. and flowing SE through Maine to the Atlantic Ocean below Biddeford. The falls at Biddeford, site of a hydroelectric dam (o...

Brentwood, city and district, England

(Encyclopedia)Brentwood, city and district, Essex, SE England. Brentwood is mainly residential but produces some agricultural equipment, film, and prefabricated concr...

Browse by Subject