Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

mesa, in geology

(Encyclopedia)mesa māˈsə [key] [Span.,=table], name given in the SW United States to a small, isolated tableland or a flat-topped hill. Two or more of the sides are steep and usually perpendicular and some have ...

batholith

(Encyclopedia)batholith, enormous mass of intrusive igneous rock, that is, rock made of once-molten material that has solidified below the earth's surface (see rock). Batholiths usually are granitic (see granite) i...

Joplin, Janis

(Encyclopedia)Joplin, Janis jŏpˈlĭn [key], 1943–70, American blues-rock singer, b. Port Arthur, Tex. After dropping out of college (1963) and singing folk rock in Texas clubs, she moved (1966) to San Francisco...

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

(Encyclopedia)Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site: see National Parks and Monuments (table)national parks and monuments (table). ...

Fatehpur Sikri

(Encyclopedia)Fatehpur Sikri or Fathpur Sikri both: fətəpo͞orˈ sĭkˈrē ...

Göbekli Tepe

(Encyclopedia)Göbekli Tepe, Neolithic site in SE Turkey, c. 9 mi (15 km) NE of Şanlıurfa, that dates to c.11,000 b.c. or earlier. Although previously known, it was first recognized as a Neolithic site in 1994 by...

boulder, in geology

(Encyclopedia)boulder, large rock fragment formed by detachment from its parent consolidated rock by weathering and erosion. In engineering and geology, especially in the United States, the term is applied to loose...

dolomite

(Encyclopedia)dolomite dōˈləmītˌ, dŏlˈə– [key]. 1 Mineral, calcium magnesium carbonate, CaMg (CO3)2. It is commonly crystalline and is white, gray, brown, or reddish in color with a vitreous to pearly lus...

Orpen, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Orpen, Sir William, 1878–1931, British portrait and genre painter, b. Ireland. He is best known for his scenes of Irish daily life, his paintings and sketches of life at the front in World War I, an...

metamorphic rocks

(Encyclopedia)metamorphic rocks: see rock.