Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

94 results found

drought

(Encyclopedia)drought, abnormally long period of insufficient rainfall. Drought cannot be defined in terms of inches of rainfall or number of days without rain, since it is determined by such variable factors as th...

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...

Poopó

(Encyclopedia)Poopó pōˌōpōˈ [key], salt lake, on the high plateau of W Bolivia. It is more than 11,000 ft (3,353 m) above sea level. Although it is Bolivia's second largest lake (965 sq mi/2,499 sq km) when w...

orchard grass

(Encyclopedia)orchard grass or cocksfoot, widely distributed perennial grass (Dactylis glomerata) native to Eurasia and N Africa and extensively naturalized in the United States. It is cultivated as a hay grass mor...

rainmaking

(Encyclopedia)rainmaking, production of rain by artificial means now generally disregarded, though it is probable that rainmaking hastens or increases rainfall from clouds suitable for natural rainfall. Interest in...

Bermuda grass

(Encyclopedia)Bermuda grass, perennial pasture, lawn, and hay grass (Cynodon dactylon) of the family Poaceae (grass family), native to Africa and Asia and now common in warm regions of both hemispheres. It is the s...

Rio Grande, river, United States and Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Rio Grande rēˈō grănd, rēˈō gränˈdē [key], river, c.1,885 mi (3,000 km) long, rising in SW Colo. in the San Juan Mts. and flowing south through the middle of N.Mex., past Albuquerque, then c...

Kountché, Seyni

(Encyclopedia)Kountché, Seyni sānēˈ ko͞onchāˈ [key], 1931–87, president of Niger (1974–87). He was army chief of staff when he ousted Hamani Diori, Niger's first president, in a military coup. He suspend...

Laguna District

(Encyclopedia)Laguna District [Span.,=lake], irrigated area in E Durango and W Coahuila states, N central Mexico. Originally a 900,000-acre (364,200-hectare) tract, consisting of large estates, the land was reappor...

Urmia, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Urmia, Lake ûrˈmēə [key], formerly Lake Rezaiyeh, shallow salt lake, NW Iran; alt. 4,180 ft (1,275 m). The largest lake in Iran, it has no outlet and receives the drainage of the surrounding mount...

Browse by Subject