Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

shad

(Encyclopedia)shad, fish of the genus Alosa, family Clupeidae (herring family), found in North America, Europe, and the Mediterranean. The American shad, A. sapidissima, is one of the largest (6 lb/2.7 kg average) ...

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...

Alice

(Encyclopedia)Alice, city (2020 pop. 17,891), seat of Jim Wells co., S Tex.; inc. 1910. Long a cow town at a railroad junction, Alice remains a cattle-shipping center. Oil and natural gas are also impor...

Colma

(Encyclopedia)Colma, city (2020 pop. 1,483), San Mateo co., W Calif., a suburb S of San Francisco, on Colma Creek, inc. 1924 as Lawndale, renamed 1941. Shopping ...

Xichang

(Encyclopedia)Xichang shēˈchängˈ [key], city (1994 est. pop. 504,800), SW Sichuan prov., China. A trading and transport center, the city has an economy based on agricultural products and processing; there also ...

Bastiat, Frédéric

(Encyclopedia)Bastiat, Frédéric frādārēkˈ bästyäˈ [key], 1801–50, French economist. In his Harmonies of Political Economy (1850, tr. 1860) he developed the classical theories of economic individualism an...

Massawa

(Encyclopedia)Massawa məsäˈwə [key], city (1984 pop. 15,441), Eritrea, a port on the Red Sea. Before Eritrean independence (1993) it was the main port for N Ethiopia and is linked by rail with Asmara. Agreement...

Rust Belt

(Encyclopedia)Rust Belt or Rustbelt, economic region in the NE quadrant of the United States, focused on the Midwestern (see Midwest) states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, as well as Pennsylvania. The te...

Corvallis

(Encyclopedia)Corvallis kôrvălˈĭs [key], city (2020 pop. 59,730), seat of Benton co., NW Oreg., on the ...

Goiás

(Encyclopedia)Goiás goi-äsˈ [key], state, 211,941 sq mi (548,927 sq km), central Brazil. Goiânia is the capital. The ...

Browse by Subject