Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Pentland Firth

(Encyclopedia)Pentland Firth pĕntˈlənd fûrth [key], channel, 6 to 8 mi (9.7–12.9 km) wide and c.14 mi (23 km) long, N Scotland. Connecting the North Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, it separates the Scottish main...

Bond, Sir Robert

(Encyclopedia)Bond, Sir Robert, 1857–1927, Newfoundland political leader. He was educated in England and later entered Newfoundland politics. In 1890, he negotiated a reciprocity agreement between Newfoundland an...

Turlock

(Encyclopedia)Turlock tûrˈlŏk [key], city (1990 pop. 42,198), Stanislaus co., central Calif.; inc. 1908. It is the center of the Turlock irrigation district, which uses the waters of the Tuolumne River for a fer...

Mont-Saint-Michel

(Encyclopedia)Mont-Saint-Michel môN-săN-mēshĕlˈ [key], rocky isle (1993 est. pop. 72) in the Gulf of Saint-Malo, an arm of the English Channel, Manche dept., NW France, 1 mi (1.6 km) off the coast, near Avranc...

lionfish

(Encyclopedia)lionfish, common name for a genus (Pterois) of the family Scorpaenidae (see rockfish), comprising venomous subtropical marine fish native to the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea. Nativ...

Phoenix Islands

(Encyclopedia)Phoenix Islands, group of eight islands, 11 sq mi (28 sq km), central Pacific, N of Samoa. The chain comprises a portion of Kiribati. The two most important are Kanton (or Abariringa) and Enderbury Is...

cowrie

(Encyclopedia)cowrie or cowry both: kouˈrē [key], common name applied to marine gastropods belonging to the family Cypraeidae, a well-developed family of marine snails found in the tropics. Cowries are abundant i...

Balsas, Río

(Encyclopedia)Balsas, Río rēˈō bälˈsäs [key], river, c.450 mi (720 km) long, rising in the state of Puebla, E central Mexico. One of Mexico's longest rivers, it flows in a curve from south to northwest throu...

sea fan

(Encyclopedia)sea fan, colonial marine animal forming erect, flattened, branching colonies in tropical and subtropical waters. Colonies may be several feet high and are often colorful, with purples, reds, and yello...

Balaton

(Encyclopedia)Balaton băˈlətŏn, Hung. bŏˈlŏtôn [key], lake, 230 sq mi (596 sq km), W central Hungary, at the foot of the Bakony Forest. The Zala River is its main tributary; the lake is drained by the Sió ...
 

Browse by Subject