Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

alligator

(Encyclopedia)alligator, large aquatic reptile of the genus Alligator, in the same order as the crocodile. There are two species—a large type found in the S United States and a small type found in E China. Alliga...

Hamas

(Encyclopedia)Hamas hämäsˈ [key] [Arab., = zeal], Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization that was founded in 1987 during the Intifada; it seeks ...

Hanyang

(Encyclopedia)Hanyang hän-yäng [key], former city, now part (since 1950) of the Wuhan conurbation, E Hubei prov., China, on the right bank of the Han River at its junction with the Chang. It is a heavy industrial...

Kidron

(Encyclopedia)Kidron sēˈdrən [key], in the Bible, brook or field, the present-day Qidron (West Bank), E of Jerusalem between the city and the Mount of Olives. See also Jehoshaphat. ...

Billingsgate

(Encyclopedia)Billingsgate bĭlˈĭngzgĭt, –gāt [key], wharf and fish market, London, England, on the north bank of the Thames River. The market was named after a river gate in the old city wall. The word Billi...

Santarém

(Encyclopedia)Santarém səntərĕmˈ [key], town (1991 pop. 23,690), capital of Santarém dist. and Ribatejo, W central Portugal, above the right bank of the Tagus River. Food processing, tourism, and the export o...

ejido

(Encyclopedia)ejido āhēˈᵺō [key] [Span.,=common land], in Mexico, agricultural land expropriated from large private holdings and redistributed to communal farms. Communal ownership of land had been widely pra...

Morgenthau, Henry, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Morgenthau, Henry, Jr., 1891–1967, American cabinet officer, b. New York City; son of Henry Morgenthau. He became interested in agriculture and bought a farm in Dutchess co., N.Y., where he became a...

Mannheim

(Encyclopedia)Mannheim mänˈhīm [key], city (1994 pop. 318,025), Baden-Württemberg, W central Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine River and at the mouth of the Neckar River. A bridge connects it with Ludwigs...

Krasnoyarsk Territory

(Encyclopedia)Krasnoyarsk Territory, administrative division (1989 pop. 3,595,000), c.928,000 sq mi (2,403,520 sq km), central Siberian Russia, extending from the Sayan Mts. and the Minusinsk basin in the south acr...