Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

quarantine

(Encyclopedia)quarantine kwŏrˈəntēn [key], isolation of persons, animals, places, and effects that carry or are suspected of harboring communicable disease. The term originally referred to the 40 days of offsho...

wheat

(Encyclopedia)wheat, cereal plant of the genus Triticum of the family Poaceae (grass family), a major food and an important commodity on the world grain market. Wheat is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, ...

tobacco

(Encyclopedia)tobacco, name for any plant of the genus Nicotiana of the Solanaceae family (nightshade family) and for the product manufactured from the leaf and used in cigars and cigarettes, snuff, and pipe and ch...

Edison

(Encyclopedia)Edison, township (2020 pop. 107,588), Middlesex co., NE N.J., inc. 1870 as Raritan Township, renamed 1954. Edison's varied manufactures include chemical...

Chelyabinsk

(Encyclopedia)Chelyabinsk chĭlyäˈbĭnsk [key], city (1989 pop. 1,142,000), capital of Chelyabinsk region, W Siberian Russia, in the southern foothills of the Urals and on the Mias River. It also lies on the Tran...

Fourcroy, Antoine François, comte de

(Encyclopedia)Fourcroy, Antoine François, comte de äNtwänˈ fräNswäˈ kôNt də fo͞orkrwäˈ [key], 1755–1809, French chemist. He was a pioneer in animal and plant chemistry and collaborated with Lavoisier ...

Guri Dam

(Encyclopedia)Guri Dam, 24,364 ft (7,426 m) long and 531 ft (162 m) high, on the Caroní River, Bolívar state, SW Venezuela. Built in phases between 1963 and 1986, the dam consists of a central concrete gravity da...

Fushun

(Encyclopedia)Fushun fo͞oˈsho͞onˈ [key], city, NE Liaoning prov., China, in a highly industrialized area. It ...

Gaffney

(Encyclopedia)Gaffney, city (2020 pop. 12,764), seat of Cherokee co., NW S.C., near the N.C. line, in a cotton, grain, and peach region; settled in the early 1800s, i...

Kaduna

(Encyclopedia)Kaduna käˌdo͞onäˈ [key], town (1991 est. pop. 302,000), N Nigeria. A commercial and industrial center of N Nigeria, Kaduna has cotton-textile, beverage, and furniture factories. It is a rail and ...