Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kola Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Kola Peninsula kōˈlə, Rus. kôˈlə [key], peninsula, c.50,000 sq mi (129,500 sq km), NW European Russia, in Murmansk region. Forming an eastern extension of the Scandinavian peninsula, it lies bet...

Barentz, Willem

(Encyclopedia)Barentz or Barents, Willem both: vĭˈləm bäˈrənts [key], d. 1597, Dutch navigator. He made three voyages (1594, 1595, 1596–97) in search of the Northeast Passage to Asia. He reached Novaya Zeml...

Murmansk

(Encyclopedia)Murmansk mo͝ormänskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 468,000), capital of Murmansk region, NW European Russia, on the Kola Gulf of the Barents Sea. It is the terminus of the Northeast Passage and the world'...

East China Sea

(Encyclopedia)East China Sea, arm of the Pacific Ocean, c.480,000 sq mi (1,243,200 sq km), bounded on the E by the Kyushu and Ryukyu islands, on the S by Taiwan, and on the W by China. It is connected with the Sout...

East Siberian Sea

(Encyclopedia)East Siberian Sea, Rus. Vostochno-Sibirskoye More, part of the Arctic Ocean N of NE Siberia, Russia, bounded on the W by the New Siberian Islands and on the E by Wrangel Island. The Indigirka, Kolyma,...

diving, deep-sea

(Encyclopedia)diving, deep-sea, act of descending into deep water, generally with some form of breathing apparatus, and remaining there for an extended period. It is used in fishing for sponges, coral, and pearls; ...

Coral Sea Islands

(Encyclopedia)Coral Sea Islands, external territory of Australia, comprising scattered small islands and reefs spread over c.400,000 sq mi (1,035,995 sq km) of the South Pacific Ocean, E of the Great Barrier Reef, ...

Dead Sea Scrolls

(Encyclopedia)Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient leather and papyrus scrolls first discovered in 1947 in caves on the NW shore of the Dead Sea. Most of the documents were written or copied between the 1st cent. b.c. and the...

Browse by Subject