Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Puyehue–Cordón Caulle

(Encyclopedia)Puyehue–Cordón Caulle, volcanic complex, SE Chile, in the Andes Mts. within Puyehue National Park. The volcanic chain comprises (NW to SE) the Cordillera Nevada caldera (5,902 ft/1,799 m high), the...

Negro, Río, river, Uruguay and Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Negro, Río rēˈō nāˈgrō [key], principal river of Uruguay, c.500 mi (800 km) long, rising in S Brazil and flowing SW across central Uruguay to the Uruguay River. It traverses a sheep-raising reg...

Volta Redonda

(Encyclopedia)Volta Redonda vôlˈtä rĕdôNˈdä [key], city (1996 pop. 228,939), Rio de Janeiro state, E Brazil, on the Paraíba River. Its proximity to sources of hydroelectricity and basic raw materials and to...

hickory, in botany

(Encyclopedia)hickory, any plant of the genus Carya of the family Juglandaceae (walnut family); deciduous nut-bearing trees native to E North America and south to Central America except for a few species found in S...

goatsucker

(Encyclopedia)goatsucker, common name for nocturnal or crepuscular birds of the order Caprimulgiformes, which includes the frogmouth, the oilbird, potoos, and nightjars. Goatsuckers are medium in size and are found...

Permian period

(Encyclopedia)Permian period pûrˈmēən [key] [from Perm, Russia], sixth and last period of the Paleozoic era (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table) from 250 to 290 million years ago. Many ma...

Lodge, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Lodge, Thomas, 1558?–1625, English writer, grad. Oxford, 1577. After abandoning the study of law for literature, he published (c.1580) his defense of poetry and other arts, usually called Honest Exc...

harbor seal

(Encyclopedia)harbor seal, most commonly seen seal of the Northern Hemisphere, Phoca vitulina. Harbor seals are found along coasts and in sheltered bays and harbors of North America, Europe, and NE Asia. They range...

Chagas' disease

(Encyclopedia)Chagas' disease, disease of South and Central America caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. It usually affects children and young adults and is transmitted by the feces of infected insects, typica...

Pownall, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Pownall, Thomas pouˈnəl [key], 1722–1805, English colonial governor in North America. In 1753 he went to New York as secretary to Sir Danvers Osborn, newly appointed governor. Following Osborn's s...