Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Cretaceous period

(Encyclopedia)Cretaceous period krĭtāˈshəs [key], third and last period of the Mesozoic era of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table), lasting from approximately 144 to 65 millio...

Auvergne

(Encyclopedia)Auvergne ōvĕrˈnyə [key], former province and former administrative region, S central France. The area is now occupied chiefly by the departments of Puy-de-Dôme, Allier, Haute-Loire, and Cantal. T...

North Island

(Encyclopedia)North Island or Te Ika-a-Maui [Maori,=the fish of Maui] (1996 pop. 2,718,188), 44,702 sq mi (115,777 sq km), New Zealand. It is the smaller but more populous of the two principal islands of the countr...

artesian well

(Encyclopedia)artesian well, deep drilled well through which water is forced upward under pressure. The water in an artesian well flows from an aquifer, which is a layer of very porous rock or sediment, usually san...

Monterrey

(Encyclopedia)Monterrey mōntārāˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 1,068,996), capital of Nuevo León state, NE Mexico, the third largest city of Mexico. Located c.150 mi (240 km) S of Laredo, Tex., in a valley surrounded...

Lee, Henry

(Encyclopedia)Lee, Henry, 1756–1818, American Revolutionary soldier, known as Light-Horse Harry Lee, b. Prince William co., Va. He was a cousin of Arthur Lee, Francis L. Lee, Richard H. Lee, and William Lee and w...

Saint Joseph, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Saint Joseph sānt jōˈzəf [key]. 1 City (1990 pop. 9,214), seat of Berrien co., SW Mich., a port on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the St. Joseph River across from Benton Harbor; inc. 1834. Located ...

San Jose, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)San Jose sănəzāˈ, săn hōzāˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. Along with San Francisco and Oakland the city comprises the fou...

bedbug

(Encyclopedia)bedbug, any of the small, blood-sucking bugs of the family Cimicidae, which includes about 30 species distributed throughout the world. Bedbugs are flat-bodied, oval, reddish brown, and about 1⁄4 in...

Browse by Subject