Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur Thomas kwĭlˈər-ko͞ochˌ [key], pseud. Q, 1863–1944, English author. Among the novels of his native Cornwall are Dead Man's Rock (1887) and Hetty Wesley (1903), which ar...

mining

(Encyclopedia)mining, extraction of solid mineral resources from the earth. These resources include ores, which contain commercially valuable amounts of metals, such as iron and aluminum; precious stones, such as d...

alpine plants

(Encyclopedia)alpine plants, high-altitude representatives of various flowering plants (chiefly perennials) that because of their dwarf habit, profuse blooming, and the preference of many for shady places are culti...

coney

(Encyclopedia)coney or cony both: kōˈnē [key], name used for the rabbit (Oryctolagus) and for its fur; more often, for the pika, a small rodent found at high altitudes in both hemispheres; and for the rock hyrax...

chromite

(Encyclopedia)chromite krōˈmīt [key], dark brown to black mineral. It is an iron-chromium oxide, FeCr2O4, with traces of magnesium and aluminum. Its crystals are octahedral, but rare; it usually occurs as irregu...

Hendrix, Jimi

(Encyclopedia)Hendrix, Jimi (James Marshall Hendrix), 1942–70, African-American rock guitarist, b. Seattle, Wash. Hendrix, in his short musical career, was known for an innovative and extremely influential guitar...

hogback

(Encyclopedia)hogback, sharp-crested ridge with steep slopes on both sides, formed by the erosion of steeply tilted rock layers. Hogbacks are commonly formed along the eroded flanks of large, tightly folded anticli...

Great Sandy Desert

(Encyclopedia)Great Sandy Desert, Australia's second-largest desert, c.110,000 sq mi (284,900 sq km), Western Australia and Northern Territory. Lying between the Tanami Desert (NE) and the Gibson Desert (S), it is ...

amphibole

(Encyclopedia)amphibole ămˈfəbōlˌ [key], any of a group of widely distributed rock-forming minerals, magnesium-iron silicates, often with traces of calcium, aluminum, sodium, titanium, and other elements. The ...

Natural Bridges National Monument

(Encyclopedia)Natural Bridges National Monument, 7,636 acres (3,093 hectares), SE Utah; est. 1908. Located in an area of colored cliffs and box canyons, the monument contains three huge natural sandstone bridges: O...