Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

486 results found

Louisville

(Encyclopedia)Louisville lo͞oˈēvĭl [key], city (1990 pop. 269,063), seat of Jefferson co., NW Ky., at the Falls of the Ohio; inc. 1780. It is the largest city in Kentucky, a port of entry, and an important indu...

wild rice

(Encyclopedia)wild rice, tall aquatic plant (Zizania aquatica) of the family Poaceae (grass family), of a genus separate from common rice (Oryza). Wild rice (called also Canada rice, Indian rice, and water oats) is...

Quebec, city, Canada

(Encyclopedia)Quebec, Fr. Québec, city (1991 pop. 167,517), provincial capital, S Que., Canada, at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and St. Charles rivers. The population is largely French speaking, and the town...

Nansen, Fridtjof

(Encyclopedia)Nansen, Fridtjof frĭtˈyôf nänˈsən [key], 1861–1930, Norwegian arctic explorer, scientist, statesman, and humanitarian. The diversity of Nansen's interests is shown in his writings, which inclu...

Harrisburg

(Encyclopedia)Harrisburg. <1> City (2020 pop. 8,219), seat of Saline co., SE Ill; founded c. 1852. In the mid-19th century, it was a center of woolen and ...

grain, in agriculture

(Encyclopedia)grain, in agriculture, term referring to the caryopsis, or dry fruit, of a cereal grass. The term is also applied to the seedlike fruits of buckwheat and of certain other plants and is used collective...

peanut

(Encyclopedia)peanut, name for a low, annual leguminous plant (Arachis hypogaea) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family) and for its edible seeds. Native to South America and cultivated there for millenia, it is s...

Veracruz, state, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Veracruz yäˈbā [key], state (1990 pop. 6,228,239), 27,759 sq mi (71,896 sq km), E central Mexico. The capital is Xalapa. Stretching c.430 mi (690 km) along the Gulf of Mexico and reaching from 30 t...

São Paulo

(Encyclopedia)São Paulo souN pouˈ lo͝o [key], state (1996 pop. 34,055,715), 95,713 sq mi (247,897 sq km), SE Brazil. It is Brazil's most populous and economically important state. The capital is the city of São...

Free State

(Encyclopedia)Free State, formerly Orange Free State, province, 50,126 sq mi (129,825 sq km), E central South Africa. It was renamed Free State shortly after the 1994...

Browse by Subject