Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

hygiene

(Encyclopedia)hygiene, science of preserving and promoting the health of both the individual and the community. It has many aspects: personal hygiene (proper living habits, cleanliness of body and clothing, healthf...

Delaware River Basin Compact

(Encyclopedia)Delaware River Basin Compact dĕlˈəwâr, –wər [key], providing for the utilization and development of the water resources of the Delaware River basin. In 1961 the federal government and the state...

divining rod

(Encyclopedia)divining rod or dowser, stick used in searching for underground water or minerals. This form of divination is still in common use in many parts of the world. The instrument is typically a forked twig....

dry farming

(Encyclopedia)dry farming, farming system adopted in areas having an annual rainfall of approximately 15 to 20 in. (38.1–50.8 cm)—with much of the rainfall in the spring and early summer—where irrigation is i...

Silver Springs

(Encyclopedia)Silver Springs, mineral spring, N central Fla., source of the Silver River. The limestone spring, one of the world's largest and most famous, has a basin 80 ft (24 m) deep and 300 ft (91 m) wide. The ...

marsh antelope

(Encyclopedia)marsh antelope, name for members of a group of deerlike African antelopes, usually found in reeds or tall grasses near water. The males of this group have horns that curve back, up, and forward; femal...

sandgrouse

(Encyclopedia)sandgrouse, common name for pigeon-sized, seed-eating, terrestrial birds of the genera Pteroclida (approximately 14 species) and Syrrhaptes (2 species). They are birds of the Old World deserts and ste...

San Joaquin

(Encyclopedia)San Joaquin săn wäkēnˈ [key], river, c.320 mi (510 km) long, rising in the Sierra Nevada, E Calif., and flowing W then N through the S Central Valley to form a large delta with the Sacramento Rive...

bog

(Encyclopedia)bog, very old lake without inlet or outlet that becomes acid and is gradually overgrown with a characteristic vegetation (see swamp). Peat moss, or sphagnum, grows around the edge of the open water of...

carbonated beverage

(Encyclopedia)carbonated beverage, an effervescent drink that releases carbon dioxide under conditions of normal atmospheric pressure. Carbonation may occur naturally in spring water that has absorbed carbon dioxid...