Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

South Sudan

(Encyclopedia)South Sudan so͞odănˈ [key], officially Republic of South Sudan, republic (2015 est. pop. 11,882,000), 248,777 sq mi (644,329 sq km), E Africa. South Sudan is bordered by Sudan (N), Ethiopia (E), Ke...

Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul von

(Encyclopedia)Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul von poul fən lĕtˈō-fôrˈbĕk [key], 1870–1964, German general. In World War I he conducted a brilliant defense of German East Africa against vastly superior Allied power. ...

Libyan Desert

(Encyclopedia)Libyan Desert, northeast part of the Sahara Desert, NE Africa, in SW Egypt, E Libya, and NW Sudan; called the Western Desert in Egypt. It is a region of sand dunes, stony plains, and rocky plateaus. T...

Ras Dashen

(Encyclopedia)Ras Dashen räs dä-shĕnˈ [key], highest peak of Ethiopia, 15,158 ft (4,620 m) high, N Amhara Plateau, E Africa. It is of volcanic origin and has many craters. ...

Semliki

(Encyclopedia)Semliki sĕmˈlĭkē [key], river, c.130 mi (209 km) long, E Congo (Kinshasa), E central Africa, flowing N from Lake Edward to Lake Albert. It forms part of the Congo-Uganda border. ...

Hanno, Carthaginian navigator

(Encyclopedia)Hanno hănˈō [key], fl. c.480? b.c., Carthaginian navigator. He founded seven towns on the Atlantic shore of Morocco and probably explored the Atlantic coast of Africa to Sierra Leone. ...

Lugard, Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron

(Encyclopedia)Lugard, Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron lo͞ogärdˈ [key], 1858–1945, British colonial administrator. After an early military career, he entered (1889) the service of the British East Afri...

river blindness

(Encyclopedia)river blindness or onchocerciasis, disease caused by the parasitic nematode worm Onchocerca volvulus. The worm larvae are transmitted by the bites of blackflies (genus Simulium) that live in fast movi...

Pohamba, Hifikepunye

(Encyclopedia)Pohamba, Hifikepunye hēfēkĕpo͞onˈyä pōhämˈbä [key], 1935–, Namibia rebel and political leader. A miner, he was a founder of the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) and became ...

Browse by Subject