Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Grévy, Jules

(Encyclopedia)Grévy, Jules zhül grāvēˈ [key], 1807–91, French statesman, president of France (1879–87). As a republican deputy after the February Revolution (1848), he sought to eliminate the danger of a s...

Sun Valley

(Encyclopedia)Sun Valley, mountain resort city (1990 pop. 938), alt. c.6,000 ft (1,830 m), Blaine co., S central Idaho; inc. 1967. It is a popular year-round resort with both winter and summer sports. It was founde...

Saimaa

(Encyclopedia)Saimaa sīˈmä [key], lake system c.1,850 sq mi (4,790 sq km), occupying the heavily glaciated plateau of S central Finland. It comprises more than 120 connecting lakes; the large southern basin of t...

Bellinzona

(Encyclopedia)Bellinzona bĕl-lēntsōˈnä [key], town, capital of Ticino canton, S Switzerland, on the Ticino River, ...

Biafra, Republic of

(Encyclopedia)Biafra, Republic of, secessionist state of W Africa, in existence from May 30, 1967, to Jan. 15, 1970. At the outset Biafra comprised, roughly, the East-Central, South-Eastern, and Rivers states of th...

Vladivostok

(Encyclopedia)Vladivostok vlăˌdĭvŏˈstŏk, –vəstŏkˈ, Rus. vläˌdyēvəstôkˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 634,000), capital of Maritime Territory (Primorsky Kray), Russian Far East, on a peninsula that extends...

vacuum cleaner

(Encyclopedia)vacuum cleaner, mechanical device using a draft of air to remove dust, loose dirt, or other particulate matter from dry surfaces. It is especially useful on highly textured surfaces, such as carpets a...

Holm, Jeanne Marjorie

(Encyclopedia)Holm, Jeanne Marjorie, 1921–2010, U.S. military officer, the first female general in the U.S. air force, b. Portland, Oreg. Enlisting in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942, she soon joined (19...

Yukon, territory, Canada

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Yukon, territory (2001 pop. 28,674), 207,076 sq mi (536,327 sq km), NW Canada. The territory's history began with the explorations in the 1840s of Robert Campbell and John Bell, fur traders f...

front

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Fronts: A. Advance of a cold front B. Advance of a warm front front, in meteorology, zone of transition between adjacent air masses. If a cold air mass is advancing to replace a warmer one, th...

Browse by Subject