Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

100 results found

quetzal

(Encyclopedia)quetzal kāsälˈ [key], common name for a magnificent bird of the family Trogonidae (trogon family), found in the rain forests from S Mexico to Costa Rica at altitudes of up to 9,000 ft (2,745 m). It...

Central America

(Encyclopedia)Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. Historically, geographe...

Sandinistas

(Encyclopedia)Sandinistas, members of a left-wing Nicaraguan political party, the Sandinist National Liberation Front (FSLN). The group, named for Augusto Cesar Sandino, a former insurgent leader, was formed in 196...

Costa, António Luís Santos da

(Encyclopedia)Costa, António Luís Santos da, 1961–, Portuguese lawyer and political leader, b. Lisbon. A Socialist, he served on Lisbon's municipal council in the 1980s, then in the national assembly (1991–20...

Sarney de Araújo Costa, José

(Encyclopedia)Sarney de Araújo Costa, José, 1930–, Brazilian politician, president of Brazil (1985–90), b. José Ribamar Ferreira de Araújo Costa. He served as a federal deputy (1958–64), governor of Maran...

Garvey, Marcus

(Encyclopedia)Garvey, Marcus, 1887–1940, American proponent of black nationalism, b. Jamaica. At the age of 14, Garvey went to work as a printer's apprentice. After leading (1907) an unsuccessful printers' strike...

Vizcaíno, Sebastián

(Encyclopedia)Vizcaíno, Sebastián sāvästyänˈ vēthkäēˈnō [key], c.1550–c.1628, Spanish explorer and merchant. After an unsuccessful attempt to plant a colony in Lower California (1596), he sailed (1602)...

cinchona

(Encyclopedia)cinchona chĭngkōˈnə [key], name for species of the genus Cinchona, evergreen trees of the madder family native to the Andean highlands from Bolivia to Colombia and also to some mountainous regions...

Nicaragua

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Nicaragua nĭkäräˈgwä [key], officially Republic of Nicaragua, republic (2015 est. pop. 6,082,000), 49,579 sq mi (128,410 sq km), Central America. Nicaragua is bordered on the north and nor...

Burle Marx, Roberto

(Encyclopedia)Burle Marx, Roberto, 1909–1994, Brazilian landscape architect. As an art student he visited (1928) Berlin's botanical gardens and became interested in tropical plants. Upon returning to Brazil (1930...