Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Vivarais

(Encyclopedia)Vivarais vēvärāˈ [key], region, roughly coextensive with Ardèche dept., SE France. Its mountainous terrain rises to 5,753 ft (1,754 m) in the Mézenc. Cattle raising is the chief occupation. Silk...

Carrickfergus

(Encyclopedia)Carrickfergus kărˌĭkfûrˈgəs [key], town and district, E Northern Ireland, on the shore of Belfast ...

Cathay

(Encyclopedia)Cathay kăthāˈ [key], name for North China used by medieval Europeans, derived from the Khitan (or Khitai), a Manchurian people who conquered S Manchuria and N China and founded the Liao dynasty (93...

Bradbury, William Batchelder

(Encyclopedia)Bradbury, William Batchelder băchˈəldər [key], 1816–68, American hymn composer and music editor, b. York, Maine; pupil of Lowell Mason. He organized the Juvenile Music Festivals in New York, and...

Braga

(Encyclopedia)Braga, city (1991 est. pop. 86,316), capital of Braga dist., NW Portugal, in Minho. It is an agricultural trade center that produces electronics, textiles, and firearms. The ancient Bracara Augusta, i...

Campeche, city, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Campeche, city, capital of Campeche state, SE Mexico, on the Yucatán peninsula. It is fortified and surrounded by 18th-century walls. Although it remai...

vestal

(Encyclopedia)vestal vĕsˈtəl [key], in Roman religion, priestess of Vesta. The vestals were first two, then four, then six in number. While still little girls, they were chosen from prominent Roman families to s...

Vibo Valentia

(Encyclopedia)Vibo Valentia vēˈbō välānˈtyä [key], town (1991 pop. 34,836), Calabria, S Italy, near the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is an agricultural and commercial center. A flourishing Roman town, Vibo was destroy...

West Chester

(Encyclopedia)West Chester, borough (1990 pop. 18,041), seat of Chester co., SE Pa., W of Philadelphia; inc. 1799. Primarily residential, West Chester was long the trade and processing center for an agricultural re...

mountain men

(Encyclopedia)mountain men, fur trappers and traders in the Rocky Mts. during the 1820s and 30s. Their activities opened that region of the United States to general knowledge. Since the days of French domination th...

Browse by Subject