Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

450 results found

fog

(Encyclopedia)fog, aggregation of water droplets or ice crystals immediately above the surface of the earth (i.e., a cloud near the ground). A light or thin fog is usually called a mist. Fog may occur when the mois...

James Bay Project

(Encyclopedia)James Bay Project, a colossal hydroelectric development of the rivers emptying into the E James Bay, central Quebec, Canada. La Grande Phase I, finished in 1985, created the world's largest undergroun...

Davis, Viola

(Encyclopedia) Davis, Viola, 1965-, African-American actress and producer, b. St. Matthews, S.C., Rhode Island College (B.A., 1988), Juilliard (1993, acting; honorary...

Potomac

(Encyclopedia)Potomac pətōˈmək [key], river, 285 mi (459 km) long, formed SE of Cumberland, Md., by the confluence of its North and South branches and flowing generally SE to Chesapeake Bay. It forms part of th...

tetany

(Encyclopedia)tetany tĕtˈənē [key], condition of mineral imbalance in the body that results in severe muscle spasms. Tetany occurs when the concentration of calcium ions (Ca++) in extracellular fluids such as p...

water wheel, device

(Encyclopedia)water wheel, device for utilizing the power of flowing or falling water. The Norse wheel is the oldest type known. Despite its name it probably originated in the Middle East, where the swift stream re...

Ottawa, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Ottawa ōdäˈwə [key], Native Americans whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Traditionally of the Eastern Wood...

wild rice

(Encyclopedia)wild rice, tall aquatic plant (Zizania aquatica) of the family Poaceae (grass family), of a genus separate from common rice (Oryza). Wild rice (called also Canada rice, Indian rice, and water oats) is...

hardness

(Encyclopedia)hardness, property of matter commonly described as the resistance of a substance to being scratched by another substance. The degree of hardness is relative, different substances being compared with o...

courtly love

(Encyclopedia)courtly love, philosophy of love and code of lovemaking that flourished in France and England during the Middle Ages. Although its origins are obscure, it probably derived from the works of Ovid, vari...