Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Great Plains

(Encyclopedia)Great Plains, extensive grassland region on the continental slope of central North America. They extend from the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba south through W central Unite...

Mongolia, region, Asia

(Encyclopedia)Mongolia mŏn-gōˈlēə, mŏng– [key], Asian region (c.906,000 sq mi/2,346,540 sq km), bordered roughly by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, on the west; the Manchurian provinces of China on...

Newfoundland and Labrador, province, Canada

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Newfoundland and Labrador nyo͞oˈfənlənd, nyo͞ofənlăndˈ; lăbˈrədôrˌ [key], province (2001 pop. 512,930), 156,185 sq mi (404,519 sq km), E Canada. The province consists of the island...

Grant, Ulysses Simpson

(Encyclopedia)Grant, Ulysses Simpson, 1822–85, commander in chief of the Union army in the Civil War and 18th President (1869–77) of the United States, b. Point Pleasant, Ohio. He was originally named Hiram Uly...

Palmer, Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Palmer, Frederick, 1873–1958, American writer and war correspondent, b. Pleasantville, Pa. He began war reporting in the Greco-Turkish War (1896–97), reaching the height of his fame as a correspon...

herpes simplex

(Encyclopedia)herpes simplex hûrˈpēz [key], an acute viral infection of the skin characterized by one or more painful, itching blisters filled with clear fluid. It is caused by either of two herpes simplex virus...

frost

(Encyclopedia)frost or hoarfrost, ice formed by the condensation of atmospheric water vapor on a surface when the temperature of the surface is below 32℉ (0℃). In the formation of frost, a gas (water vapor) is ...

Jones, Quincy

(Encyclopedia)Jones, Quincy (Quincy Delight Jones, Jr.), 1933–, African-American musician, composer, bandleader, and music executive, b. Chicago. Jones played trumpet and sang gospel growing up, and studied brief...

Paleocene epoch

(Encyclopedia)Paleocene epoch pāˈlēəsēnˌ [key], first epoch of the Tertiary period in the Cenozoic era of geologic time (see geologic timescale) between 60 to 66 million years ago. In W North America, the upl...

pentameter

(Encyclopedia)pentameter pĕntămˈətər [key] [Gr.,=measure of five], in prosody, a line to be scanned in five feet (see versification). The third line of Thomas Nashe's “Spring” is in pentameter: “Cold dot...

Browse by Subject