Columbia Encyclopedia

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celestial horizon

(Encyclopedia)celestial horizon, one axis of the altazimuth coordinate system. It is the great circle on the celestial sphere midway between the observer's zenith and nadir; it divides the celestial sphere into two...

Marsh, Othniel Charles

(Encyclopedia)Marsh, Othniel Charles, 1831–99, American paleontologist, b. Lockport, N.Y., grad. Yale, 1860. He studied abroad, and from 1866 served at Yale as the first professor of paleontology and as curator o...

hawkweed

(Encyclopedia)hawkweed, any species of the genus Hieracium of the family Asteraceae (aster family), widely distributed perennials, chiefly of open fields. The small, dandelionlike flower heads are borne in clusters...

gneiss

(Encyclopedia)gneiss nīs [key], coarse-grained, imperfectly foliated, or layered, metamorphic rock. Gneiss is characterized by alternating light and dark bands differing in mineral composition and having coarser g...

Dutton, Clarence Edward

(Encyclopedia)Dutton, Clarence Edward, 1841–1912, American geologist, b. Wallingford, Conn., grad. Yale, 1860. After service in the army during and after the Civil War, he was a member (1875–91) of the U.S. Geo...

creeper

(Encyclopedia)creeper, common name for members of a family of small, inconspicuous birds related to wrens and nuthatches. They are found in wooded regions of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. A creeper spirals up ...

Columbia Plateau

(Encyclopedia)Columbia Plateau, physiographic region of North America, c.100,000 sq mi (259,000 sq km), NW United States, between the Rocky Mts. and the Cascade Range in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Most of the p...

Steinbrenner, George Michael, 3d

(Encyclopedia)Steinbrenner, George Michael, 3d, 1930–2010, American businessman, principal owner of the New York Yankees (1973–2010), b. Rocky River, Ohio, grad. Williams College (B.A., 1952). A wealthy shippin...

cairn terrier

(Encyclopedia)cairn terrier, breed of small working terrier developed on the Isle of Skye in the 19th cent. It stands about 10 in. (25 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 14 lb (6.4 kg). The weather-resistant...

Bornholm

(Encyclopedia)Bornholm bôrnˈhôlm [key], county, 227 sq mi (588 sq km), extreme E Denmark, in the Baltic ...