Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Zillertal Alps

(Encyclopedia)Zillertal Alps tsĭlˈərtälˌ [key], range of the E Alps astride the Austro-Italian border and extending 35 mi (56 km) NE into the Tyrol. The range rises to 11,555 ft (3,522 m) in the Hockfeiler, on...

Salair Ridge

(Encyclopedia)Salair Ridge sələērˈ [key], range, c.200 mi (320 km) long, E Siberian Russia. Extending along the northern border of the Altai Territory, it rises to more than 2,000 ft (610 m) and forms the weste...

Shiwalik Hills

(Encyclopedia)Shiwalik Hills sĭwäˈlĭk [key], southernmost range of the Himalayas, S central Asia, extending c.1,050 mi (1,690 km) from SW Kashmir through N India into S Nepal paralleling the main Himalayan rang...

cruise missile

(Encyclopedia)cruise missile, low-flying, continuously powered offensive missile designed to evade defense systems. A cruise missile typically uses an aircraft engine rather than a rocket engine to fly at subsonic ...

Changbai

(Encyclopedia)Changbai or Changpai both: chängˈbīˈ [key], mountain range, largely in NE China and partly in North Korea; Mt. Paektu, also called Changbai Shan or Baitou Shan (9,003 ft/2,744 m), is the highest p...

Alay

(Encyclopedia)Alay or Alai both: älīˈ [key], mountain range, SW Kyrgyzstan. A western branch of the Tian Shan system, it extends c.200 mi (320 km) W from the Chinese border and rises to c.19,280 ft (5,880 m) in ...

Sulaiman Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Sulaiman Mountains so͞olīmänˈ [key], range, extending c.250 mi (400 km) from N to S along the western edge of the Indus River valley in E Baluchistan province, central Pakistan. The twin peaks of ...

Svanetia

(Encyclopedia)Svanetia svänēˈshə [key], mountainous region, in Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus. It is very difficult to access, and its inhabitants, the Svans, have retained many of thei...

thick-knee

(Encyclopedia)thick-knee, common name for terrestrial, Old World birds in the family Burhinidae. The name derives from the bird's thickened tarsal joints. Thick-knees are shy, solitary birds. They are rapid runners...

Elburz

(Encyclopedia)Elburz ĕlbo͝orzˈ [key], mountain range, N Iran, between the Caspian Sea and the central Iranian plateau; rises to 18,606 ft (5,671 m) at Mt. Damavand. The range consists of steep, narrow, parallel ...

Browse by Subject