Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

(Encyclopedia)Sable Island, low, sandy island, c.25 mi (40 km) long and 1 mi (1.6 km) wide, off N.S., Canada, ESE of Halifax, near the edge of the continental shelf. The crescent-shaped island is the exposed part o...

Saint Croix, island, Virgin Islands

(Encyclopedia)Saint Croix sānt kroi [key], island (2010 pop. 50,601), 80 sq mi (207 sq km), the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, in the West Indies. Christiansted, on the northeast coast, is the island's leadin...

Saint Thomas, island, Virgin Islands

(Encyclopedia)Saint Thomas, island (2010 pop. 51,634), 32 sq mi (83 sq km), one of the U.S. Virgin Islands, West Indies. Charlotte Amalie, the capital of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and a campus of the Univ. of the Vi...

calico

(Encyclopedia)calico, plain weave cotton fabric in one or more colors. Calico, named for Calicut, India, where the fabric originated, was mentioned by historians before the Christian era and praised by early travel...

temperature

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Temperature scales temperature, measure of the relative warmth or coolness of an object. Temperature is measured by means of a thermometer or other instrument having a scale calibrated in unit...

wallpaper

(Encyclopedia)wallpaper was used in Europe in the 16th and 17th cent. as an inexpensive substitute for costly hangings. The French developed marbled papers, introduced from the East via Italy and used at first for ...

capital, in architecture

(Encyclopedia)CE5 A. Types of capitals B. Parts of a capital capital, in architecture, the crowning member of a column, pilaster, or pier. It acts as the bearing member beneath the lintel or arch supported by t...

Browse by Subject