Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

chantey

(Encyclopedia)chantey or shanty both: shănˈtē [key], work song with marked rhythm, particularly one sung by a group of sailors while hoisting sail or anchor or pushing the capstan. Often it has solo stanzas sung...

Tobruk

(Encyclopedia)Tobruk tōbro͝okˈ [key], Arab. Tubruq, city (1984 pop. 75,282), NE Libya, a port on the Mediterranean Sea. It was a fiercely contested objective in World War II (see North Africa, campaigns in). Tob...

right of way

(Encyclopedia)right of way, in land and air traffic and in sea navigation, rules that determine precedence in the use of traffic lanes. The rules are framed in the simplest possible terms and with nearly absolute u...

Norilsk

(Encyclopedia)Norilsk nərēlskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 175,000), Krasnoyarsk Territory, N Siberian Russia. The northernmost major city of Russia and the world's second largest city (after Murmansk) above the Arct...

Wilhelmshaven

(Encyclopedia)Wilhelmshaven vĭlˌhĕlms-häˈfən [key], city (1994 pop. 91,680), Lower Saxony, NW Germany, on Jade Bay, an inlet of the North Sea. It is a major oil port and an industrial center. Manufactures inc...

Sunda Islands

(Encyclopedia)Sunda Islands sŭnˈdə [key], mainly in Indonesia, between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, comprising the western part of the Malay Archipelago. It includes two main groups: the Greater Sun...

Jeruel

(Encyclopedia)Jeruel jērˌyo͞oˈĕl [key], in the Bible, an unidentified wilderness, W of the Dead Sea. ...

Mephaath

(Encyclopedia)Mephaath mĕfˈāăth, mēfāˈăth [key], in the Bible, Levitical city, later Moabite, E of the Dead Sea. ...

Great Dividing Range

(Encyclopedia)Great Dividing Range, crest line of the Eastern Highlands of Australia. For the most part it separates rivers draining into the Pacific Ocean from those flowing into the Indian Ocean and the Arafura S...

Clwyd, river, Wales

(Encyclopedia)Clwyd, river, c.30 mi (50 km) long, rising in Denbighshire, N Wales. It flows N through the Vale of Clwyd to the Irish Sea at Rhyl. The vale is notable for its excellent pastureland. ...

Browse by Subject