Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Vuelta Abajo

(Encyclopedia)Vuelta Abajo vwĕlˌtäbäˈhō [key], district, c.90 mi (140 km) long and c.10 mi (16 km) wide, Pinar del Rio prov., W Cuba, along the southern piedmont of the Órganos Mts. Famous for the fine quali...

Ulloa, Francisco de

(Encyclopedia)Ulloa, Francisco de ᵺā o͞olyōˈä [key], d. c.1540, Spanish explorer in Mexico. Against the orders of Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, Hernán Cortés sent Ulloa to explore the Gulf of California. In...

Sohag

(Encyclopedia)Sohag sôˈhäj [key], town (1986 pop. 132,649), capital of Sohag governorate, central Egypt, on the Nile River. It is located in a densely populated agricultural region. Local industries include ginn...

solfège

(Encyclopedia)solfège sōlfĕdˈjō [key] [Ital.], in music, systems of vocal exercises employing the solmization syllables of Guido d'Arezzo (ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la). Solfège has the dual purpose of vocalizatio...

Blanchard, Jean Pierre

(Encyclopedia)Blanchard, Jean Pierre fräNswäˈ [key], 1753–1809, French balloonist. In 1785 he made with Dr. John Jeffries of Boston, Mass., the first crossing by air of the English Channel. His ascents at Phil...

Qaidam

(Encyclopedia)Qaidam tsīˈdäm, chī-däm [key], arid basin, c.350 mi (560 km) long and c.100 mi (160 km) wide, between two branches of the Kunlun range, central Qinghai prov., W China. A salt marsh occupies most ...

Qattara Depression

(Encyclopedia)Qattara Depression mo͝ongkhäfädˈ äl-kät-täräˈ [key], desert basin, c.7,000 sq mi (18,130 sq km), NW Egypt, NE Africa, in the Libyan Desert. It was long believed to be the lowest point (436 ft...

Adrogué

(Encyclopedia)Adrogué älmēränˈtā [key], city, Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It was settled in 1873 by families fleeing a yellow fever epidemic in the city of Buenos Aires. It w...

Yibin

(Encyclopedia)Yibin ē-bĭn [key], city (1994 est. pop. 261,300), S Sichuan prov., China. It is a commercial and communications center at the junction of the Min and the Chang rivers, the last port for upriver traf...

Benha

(Encyclopedia)Benha bänˈ– [key], city (1986 pop. 115,701), capital of Qalyubiyah governate, N Egypt, in the Nile River delta. A rail junction and trade center, Benha has cotton-ginning, rug-weaving, and food-pr...