Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

112 results found

Maryknoll

(Encyclopedia)Maryknoll, headquarters of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, near Ossining, N.Y. A Roman Catholic community of priests (the “Maryknoll Fathers”) are there especially trained for for...

Guaporé

(Encyclopedia)Guaporé gwəpo͝orĕˈ [key], river, c.750 mi (1,207 km) long, rising in the mountains of Mato Grosso state, W Brazil. It flows northwest through rain forest and forms part of the Brazil-Bolivia bord...

Corumbá

(Encyclopedia)Corumbá ko͝oro͞ombäˈ [key], city, Mato Grosso do Sul state, SW Brazil, on the Paraguay River. A ...

Andes

(Encyclopedia)Andes ănˈdēz [key], mountain system, more than 5,000 mi (8,000 km) long, W South America. The ranges run generally parallel to the Pacific coast and extend from Tierra del Fuego northward, across t...

Tiahuanaco

(Encyclopedia)Tiahuanaco tyäwänäˈkō [key], ancient native ruin, W Bolivia, 34 mi (55 km) S of Lake Titicaca on the Tiahuanaco R. in the S central Andes, near the Peruvian border; also called Tiwanaku or Tiahua...

Latin American Integration Association

(Encyclopedia)Latin American Integration Association (LAIA), organization formed in 1980 by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, taking over the duti...

El Alto

(Encyclopedia)El Alto ĕl älˈtō [key], city, La Paz dept., W Bolivia. A burgeoning suburb of La Paz that became a city in 1988, ...

sodium nitrate

(Encyclopedia)sodium nitrate, chemical compound, NaNO3, a colorless, odorless crystalline compound that closely resembles potassium nitrate (saltpeter or niter) in appearance and chemical properties. It is soluble ...

Garay, Juan de

(Encyclopedia)Garay, Juan de hwän dā gärīˈ [key], c.1528–1583, Spanish conquistador, refounder of Buenos Aires. He went to Peru (1544) in the train of the first viceroy, Blasco Núñez Vela, and was active a...

Latin America

(Encyclopedia)Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. The 20 republics are Arge...