Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Arabian Desert

(Encyclopedia)Arabian Desert or Eastern Desert, c.86,000 sq mi (222,740 sq km), E Egypt, bordered by the Nile valley in the west and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez in the east. It extends along most of Egypt's ea...

satyr

(Encyclopedia)satyr sāˈtər, sătˈər [key], in Greek mythology, part bestial, part human creature of the forests and mountains. Satyrs were usually represented as being very hairy and having the tails and ears ...

Shikoku

(Encyclopedia)Shikoku shĭkōˈko͞o [key], island (1990 pop. 4,240,265), 7,247 sq mi (18,770 sq km), S Japan, separated from Honshu and Kyushu by the Inland Sea. The smallest of the major islands of Japan, its hig...

Sierra Morena

(Encyclopedia)Sierra Morena syāˈrä mōrāˈnä [key], mountain range, SW Spain, extending c.375 mi (600 km) eastward along the southern edge of the Meseta (central plateau) from the Portuguese border to the Sier...

Saltillo

(Encyclopedia)Saltillo sältēˈyō [key], city (1990 pop. 420,947), capital of Coahuila state, N Mexico. It is located in an alluvial valley almost surrounded by mountains. Saltillo is a commercial and industrial ...

Revillagigedo Islands

(Encyclopedia)Revillagigedo Islands or Revillagigedo Archipelago rāvēˈyähēhāˈᵺō [key], volcanic island group in the Pacific Ocean, c.450 mi (720 km) W of Colima state and S of Baja California, Mexico. The...

Xikang

(Encyclopedia)Xikang shēˈkängˈ, sēˈ– [key], former province, SW China. Kangding was the capital before 1950 and Ya'an from 1950 to 1955. It is largely a region of high mountains (over 10,000 ft/3,050 m) cut...

Sognafjorden

(Encyclopedia)Sognafjorden sôngˈnəfyôrˌdən [key], or Sogne Fjord, inlet of the Norwegian Sea, SW Norway, in Sogn og Fjordane co. Extending c.110 mi (180 km) inland and reaching a depth of c.4,000 ft (1,220 m)...

Suess, Eduard

(Encyclopedia)Suess, Eduard āˈdo͞oärt züs [key], 1831–1914, Austrian geologist, b. London. He was a professor (1857–1901) at the Univ. of Vienna and served for more than 20 years in the Austrian parliament...

Zeravshan

(Encyclopedia)Zeravshan zyĕrəfshänˈ [key], river, c.460 mi (740 km) long, rising in the Turkistan Range of the Pamir-Alai mountain system, in Tajikistan. It flows westward through the agricultural Zeravshan val...