Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Gastein

(Encyclopedia)Gastein gäˈstīn [key], valley, Salzburg prov., central Austria, in the N Hohe Tauern range. A popular and beautiful resort area, it has hot radioactive springs. Badgastein, one of the most fashiona...

Joyner-Kersee, Jackie

(Encyclopedia)Joyner-Kersee, Jackie joiˈnər-kûrˈzē [key], 1962–, American track and field athlete, b. East St. Louis, Ill. One of the world's best all-around women athletes, she won the silver medal in the h...

Veliki Ustyug

(Encyclopedia)Veliki Ustyug vyĭlyēˈkē o͝ostyo͞okˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 36,200), N central European Russia, a port on the Northern Dvina River. First mentioned as Ustyug in the 12th cent., the city later be...

Skellefteå

(Encyclopedia)Skellefteå shĕlĕfˈtəōˌ [key], city (1990 pop. 31,050), Västerbotten co., NE Sweden, on the Skellefteälven River inland from its mouth on the Gulf of Bothnia. The center of a rich mining regio...

Sado

(Encyclopedia)Sado säˈdō [key], island, 330 sq mi (855 sq km), in the Sea of Japan, off the west coast of N Honshu, Japan. Mt. Kimpoku (3,872 ft/1,180 m) is the highest point. The fertile central lowlands are an...

Carson Sink

(Encyclopedia)Carson Sink, swampy area, c.100 sq mi (260 sq km), W Nev.; a remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan. Fallon National Wildlife Refuge is located there. The Carson River (c.125 mi/200 km long), fed by melted ...

Pryor, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Pryor, Richard, 1940–2005, American comedian, b. Peoria, Ill. His iconoclastic, wildly inventive, and racially explosive comic style was expressed in language that was often crude and frequently bri...

ore

(Encyclopedia)ore, metal-bearing mineral mass that can be profitably mined. Nearly all rock deposits contain some metallic minerals, but in many cases the concentration of metal is too low to justify mining the ore...

Knight, Frank Hyneman

(Encyclopedia)Knight, Frank Hyneman, 1885–1972, American economist, b. McLean County, Ill., Ph.D. Cornell, 1916. He taught economics at the Univ. of Chicago (1927–62). Knight's most influential work was his fir...

Dodge, Mary Mapes

(Encyclopedia)Dodge, Mary Mapes, 1831–1905, American writer of children's stories, b. New York City. During her lifetime she was the acknowledged leader in the field of juvenile fiction. Her story Hans Brinker; o...

Browse by Subject