Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Whitstable

(Encyclopedia)Whitstable hwĭtˈstəbəl [key], town (1991 pop. 26,227), Kent, SE England. Formerly the port for Canterbury pilgrims, Whitstable is largely a resort and residential area. Whitstable oysters have lon...

Valley Stream

(Encyclopedia)Valley Stream, village (1990 pop. 33,946), Nassau co., SE N.Y., on Long Island, a residential suburb of New York City; inc. 1925. Kennedy International Airport is to the west. Valley Stream is the sit...

Warner, William

(Encyclopedia)Warner, William, 1558?–1609, English poet. A lawyer educated at Oxford, he wrote Pan his Syrinx (1584), translated Plautus's Menaechmi (1595), and gained a reputation with Albion's England, a long h...

Watchung Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Watchung Mountains, two long low ridges of volcanic origin, from 400 to 500 ft (122–152 m) high, N central N.J. They curve c.40 mi (60 km) between Paterson and Somerville. Basalt is quarried there. ...

Val-des-Sources

(Encyclopedia)Val-des-Sources, formerly Asbestos, town (1991 pop. 6,487), SE Que., Canada. Manufactures include wood products and electrical equipment. Asbestos, from which the town derived its former name, was lon...

Westbury

(Encyclopedia)Westbury, residential village (1990 pop. 13,060), Nassau co., SE N.Y., on Long Island; settled 1650, inc. 1932. The State Univ. of New York's Old Westbury campus and Old Westbury Gardens are nearby. H...

tuning fork

(Encyclopedia)tuning fork, steel instrument in the shape of a U with a short handle. When struck it produces an almost pure tone, retaining its pitch over a long period of time; thus it is a valuable aid in tuning ...

Blackwater

(Encyclopedia)Blackwater, river, c.100 mi (161 km) long, rising in Co. Kerry, SW Republic of Ireland. It flows east through the dairy region of Co. Cork and Co. Waterford before turning abruptly south and entering ...

Seaford

(Encyclopedia)Seaford, uninc. urban community (1990 pop. 15,597), Nassau co., SE N.Y., on the southern shore of Long Island, on Great South Bay; settled 1643. It is a residential suburb of New York City and a resor...

Saint Joseph, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Saint Joseph, river, 210 mi (338 km) long, rising in S Mich. and flowing generally westward in wide curves to Lake Michigan at Benton Harbor, Mich. South Bend, Ind., is on the river, which was an impo...

Browse by Subject