Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Aldan, river, Russia

(Encyclopedia)Aldan, river, c.1,400 mi (2,250 km) long, rising in the Stanovoy Range, Sakha Republic, SE Siberian Russia. It flows north and east, past Tommot and around the Aldan Plateau, before flowing generally ...

Hui Shih

(Encyclopedia)Hui Shih hwē shûr [key], c.380–c.300 b.c., Chinese logician, remembered for his paradoxes. Little is known about his life, except that he was a provincial prime minister, or about the thinking tha...

Gironde, estuary, France

(Encyclopedia)Gironde, estuary, c.45 mi (70 km) long and from 2 to 7 mi (3.2–11.3 km) wide, formed by the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, which join c.14 mi (23 km) N of Bordeaux. Sand banks and a high tidal range h...

Ogden, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Ogden, river, 35 mi (56 km) long, rising in the Wasatch Range in N Utah, and flowing SW to join the Weber River at Ogden. The river has been used for irrigation for nearly a century. The Ogden–Brigh...

Nebitdag

(Encyclopedia)Nebitdag or Nebit-Dag both: nyĭbētˈdäk [key], city (1989 pop. 89,100), W Turkmenistan, at the southern foot of the Greater Balkan range. On the Trans-Caspian RR, it is an industrial center of a re...

malleability

(Encyclopedia)malleability, property of a metal describing the ease with which it can be hammered, forged, pressed, or rolled into thin sheets. Metals vary in this respect; pure gold is the most malleable. Silver, ...

piccolo

(Encyclopedia)piccolo, small transverse flute pitched an octave higher than the standard flute. Its tone is bright and shrill, and it can produce the highest notes in the orchestral range. The piccolo is used in or...

Doab

(Encyclopedia)Doab dōˈăb [key], term applied in India to a tract of land between two converging rivers. The Doab, unqualified by the names of any rivers, designates the tract in Uttar Pradesh state between the G...

Consumers' Union

(Encyclopedia)Consumers' Union, product testing and rating organization founded (1936) to provide consumers with information and counsel regarding major retail goods and services. Through its monthly Consumer Repor...

Gogebic

(Encyclopedia)Gogebic gōgēˈbĭk [key], east-west mountain range, 80 mi (129 km) long and .5 to 1 mi (.8–1.6 km) wide, extending from the W Upper Peninsula, N Mich., into N Wis. It is known for its iron deposit...

Browse by Subject