Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Mendip Hills

(Encyclopedia)Mendip Hills, range of hills, c.25 mi (40 km) long, across N Somerset, SW England, extending SE from the vicinity of Hutton to the Frome valley. Primarily limestone, the hills have numerous caves (Woo...

Minnesota, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Minnesota, river, 332 mi (534 km) long, rising in Big Stone Lake at the W boundary of Minnesota and flowing SE to Mankato, then NE to the Mississippi S of Minneapolis. Earlier called the St. Peter or ...

Llewellyn, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Llewellyn, Richard lo͞oĕlˈĭn [key], 1907–83, Welsh novelist. He is best known as the author of How Green Was My Valley (1939), a story of life in the S Wales mining areas, and None but the Lonel...

Kapuas

(Encyclopedia)Kapuas käˈpo͞oäs [key], river, c.710 mi (1,140 km) long, rising in the mountains of central Borneo and flowing SW through W Kalimantan, Indonesia, to the South China Sea near Pontianak. Its valley...

Tulare

(Encyclopedia)Tulare təlârˈ, to͞olârˈē [key], city (1990 pop. 33,249), Tulare co., S central Calif., in the San Joaquin valley; inc. 1888. It is a processing and shipping center for a farm (grapes, fruit, nu...

Tulare Lake

(Encyclopedia)Tulare Lake, intermittent lake, in the Central Valley, central Calif. The Kings, Kaweah, and Kern rivers at one time flowed into the lake, but their waters have been diverted for irrigation. The land ...

West Covina

(Encyclopedia)West Covina, city (1990 pop. 96,086), Los Angeles co., S Calif., in the San Gabriel valley; settled 1905, inc. 1923. Primarily residential, the city has light manufacturing, including power transforme...

Squier, Ephraim George

(Encyclopedia)Squier, Ephraim George, 1821–88, American archaeologist and journalist, b. Bethlehem, Albany co., N.Y. He is noted for his study of the prehistoric Mound Builders of the Mississippi and Ohio valleys...

terrace

(Encyclopedia)terrace, a level field built on top of a hillslope into the floor of a deep valley to improve cultivation of crops. Terracing uses the runoff from the hill to increase soil retentiveness and arability...

Thousand Oaks

(Encyclopedia)Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. There is petroleum pr...