Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Keokuk, chief of the Sac and Fox

(Encyclopedia)Keokuk kēˈəkək [key], c.1780–1848, Native American, chief of the Sac and Fox, b. near present-day Rock Island, Ill. When Black Hawk supported the British in the War of 1812, Keokuk refused to jo...

grape hyacinth

(Encyclopedia)grape hyacinth, any plant of the genus Muscari of the family Liliaceae (lily family), low plants with dense spikelike clusters of small, nodding flowers that are usually deep blue. Of more than 50 Old...

Asbury Park

(Encyclopedia)Asbury Park, city, Monmouth co., E N.J. An Atlantic resort noted for its beach, boardwalk, and convention hall, it declined in the late 20th cent. but has undergone a revival in the 21st. ...

Queen Elizabeth Islands

(Encyclopedia)Queen Elizabeth Islands, northern part of the Arctic Archipelago, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, N Canada. Ellesmere Island (the largest), the Parry group (Melville, Bathurst, Devon, Prince Patric...

Ausable Chasm

(Encyclopedia)Ausable Chasm ôsāˈbəl [key], gorge, 2 mi (3.2 km) long, from 20 to 50 ft (6–15 m) wide, from 100 to 200 ft (30–61 m) deep, NE N.Y. The chasm, with its rapids, waterfalls, and curious rock form...

Drakensberg Range

(Encyclopedia)Drakensberg Range dräˈkənzbûrg, Afrik. –bĕrkh [key], South Africa and Lesotho, extending 700 mi (1,127 km) NE–SW in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, and Free State. The Zulu name ...

Nabataea

(Encyclopedia)Nabataea năbˌətēˈə [key], ancient kingdom of Arabia, south of Edom, in present-day Jordan. It flourished from the 4th cent. b.c. to a.d. 106, when it was conquered by Rome. The history of Nabata...

tanzanite

(Encyclopedia)tanzanite tănzănˈīt [key], beautiful gemstone discovered in 1967 in the Umba Valley near the Usambara Mts. in Tanzania, a precious variety of the mineral zoisite, a calcium aluminum silicate. Zois...

Cenis, Mont

(Encyclopedia)Cenis, Mont môN sənēˈ [key], Ital. Moncenisio, Alpine pass, 6,831 ft (2,082 m) high, on the French-Italian border. It is one of the great invasion routes in Italian history. Napoleon I built a new...

Drachenfels

(Encyclopedia)Drachenfels dräˈkhənfĕls [key] [Ger.,=dragon's rock], mountain, 1,053 ft (321 m) high, in the Siebengebirge, W Germany, on the Rhine. It is of volcanic origin. In legend, it is the scene of Siegfr...

Browse by Subject