Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Maranhão

(Encyclopedia)Maranhão mərənyouNˈ [key], state (1996 pop. 5,218,442), 126,897 sq mi (328,663 sq km), NE Brazil, on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is São Luís (also known as Maranhão). Agriculture and livest...

Paramaribo

(Encyclopedia)Paramaribo părˌəmărˈĭbō [key], city (1996 pop. 222,843), capital of Suriname, on the Suriname River, c.10 mi (16 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. It exports bauxite, sugarcane, rice, cacao, coffee,...

stargazer

(Encyclopedia)stargazer, common name for any of several species of marine fishes of the family Uranoscopidae, found in southern waters, and having the mouth, nostrils, and eyes set high in the head. Stargazers lie ...

Vigo

(Encyclopedia)Vigo vēˈgō [key], city (1990 pop. 279,986), Pontevedra prov., NW Spain, in Galicia, on an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean. A naval base and one of the most active ports of Spain, it has the country's m...

Vitória

(Encyclopedia)Vitória vētôˈrēə [key], city (1996 pop. 263,708), capital of Espírito Santo state, E Brazil, on an island in Espírito Santo Bay of the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of Brazil's chief ore ports and...

Field, Cyrus West

(Encyclopedia)Field, Cyrus West, 1819–92, American merchant, promoter of the first Atlantic cable, b. Stockbridge, Mass.; brother of David Dudley Field and Stephen J. Field. As head of a paper business, he accumu...

shearwater

(Encyclopedia)shearwater, common name for members of the family Procellariidae, gull-like sea birds related to the petrel and the albatross and including the fulmar. Shearwaters are found on unfrozen saltwaters all...

Mona Passage

(Encyclopedia)Mona Passage mōˈnä, –nə [key], strait, c.80 mi (130 km) wide, between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Connecting the N Atlantic Ocean with the Caribbean Sea, it is a favored shipping lan...

Paraíba, river, Brazil

(Encyclopedia)Paraíba or Paraíba do Sul do͝o so͞ol [key], river, c.650 mi (1,050 km) long, rising as the Paraitinga in the Serra do Mar, São Paulo state, SE Brazil. It flows southwesterly to a point NE of São...

Banjul

(Encyclopedia)Banjul băthˈərst [key], port city, capital of The Gambia, situated on St. Mary's Island wh...

Browse by Subject