Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Awash

(Encyclopedia)Awash äˈwäsh [key], river, E Ethiopia, rising near Addis Ababa and flowing c.500 mi (800 km) to a swampy lake near the Djibouti border. The Awash Valley is important agriculturally and has hydroele...

Mount Robson Provincial Park

(Encyclopedia)Mount Robson Provincial Park rŏbˈsən [key], 803 sq mi (2,080 sq km), E British Columbia, Canada, in the Rocky Mts. W of Jasper, Alta.; est. 1913. It is a dominion forest reserve, containing high pe...

Newmarket

(Encyclopedia)Newmarket, town (1991 pop. 15,861), Suffolk, E England. It has been a horse-racing center since early in the 17th cent. There are four principal races: the One Thousand Guineas, the Two Thousand Guine...

San Bruno

(Encyclopedia)San Bruno săn bro͞oˈnō [key], city (1990 pop. 38,961), San Mateo co., W Calif., a suburb on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1914. There is light manufacturing and petroleum refining. The Golden Gate Natio...

selective service

(Encyclopedia)selective service, in U.S. history, term for conscription. Conscription was established (1863) in the U.S. Civil War, but proved unpopular (see draft riots). The law authorized release from service to...

Guérin, Jules

(Encyclopedia)Guérin, Jules gĕrˈĭn [key], 1866–1946, American mural painter and illustrator, b. St. Louis. His illustrations appeared in leading magazines. He executed decorations for the Lincoln Memorial, Wa...

Jasper National Park

(Encyclopedia)Jasper National Park, 4,200 sq mi (10,878 sq km), W Alta., Canada, in the Canadian Rocky Mts.; est. 1907. It is the second largest of the Canadian scenic national parks and contains many high peaks, g...

Kermadec Islands

(Encyclopedia)Kermadec Islands kərmădˈĕk [key], almost uninhabited, active volcanic group (c.13 sq mi/34 sq km), South Pacific, 450 mi (720 km) NE of New Zealand, of which they are a dependency. Raoul, or Sunda...

Bouvet Island

(Encyclopedia)Bouvet Island bo͞ovāˈ [key], uninhabited volcanic island, c.58 sq mi (150 sq km), S Atlantic Ocean, about 1,600 mi (2,576 km) SW of the Cape of Good Hope. A Norwegian possession since 1928, Bouvet ...

Fort Riley

(Encyclopedia)Fort Riley, U.S. military post, 5,760 acres (2,331 hectares), NE Kans., on the Kansas River; est. 1852 to protect travelers on the Santa Fe Trail from attack by Native Americans. Located near the geog...