Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Benue

(Encyclopedia)Benue bānwāˈ [key], river, W Africa, chief tributary of the Niger. It flows c.880 mi (1,416 km) W from Cameroon into the Niger River at Lokoja, Nigeria. The Benue, which carries much commercial tra...

Winona

(Encyclopedia)Winona wĭnōˈnə, wī– [key], city (1990 pop. 25,399), seat of Winona co., SE Minn., on the Mississippi River; inc. 1857. There is food processing, and construction equipment, fabricated metal pro...

Brindisi

(Encyclopedia)Brindisi brēnˈdēzē [key], Latin Brundisium, city, capital of Brindisi prov., in Apulia, S...

Azcapotzalco

(Encyclopedia)Azcapotzalco äskäpōtsälˈkō [key], city, S Mexico, in the Federal District. An important rail center, with railroad yards, it is the terminus of mail and cargo traffi...

Jones, David Charles

(Encyclopedia)Jones, David Charles, 1921–2013, American military officer, b. Aberdeen, S. Dak., studied Univ. of N Dakota and Minot State College. He joined the Army Air Corps at the outbreak of World War II, and...

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...

Joint Base Andrews

(Encyclopedia)Joint Base Andrews, officially Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington, formerly Andrews Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 4,279 acres (1,732 hectares), central Md., est. 1943. It i...

thunderstorm

(Encyclopedia)thunderstorm, violent, local atmospheric disturbance accompanied by lightning, thunder, and heavy rain, often by strong gusts of wind, and sometimes by hail. The typical thunderstorm caused by convect...

Carrier, Willis Haviland

(Encyclopedia)Carrier, Willis Haviland, 1876–1950, American engineer who played a key role in inventing air conditioning, b. Angola, N.Y., grad. Cornell (M.E. 1901). Working for the Buffalo Forge Co. (1901–14),...

dew

(Encyclopedia)dew, thin film of water that has condensed on the surface of objects near the ground. Dew forms when radiational cooling of these objects during the nighttime hours also cools the shallow layer of ove...

Browse by Subject