Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

scale, in cartography

(Encyclopedia)scale, in cartography, the ratio of the distance between two points on a map to the real distance between the two corresponding points portrayed. The scale may be expressed in three ways: numerically,...

isotherm

(Encyclopedia)isotherm, line drawn on a map of a particular region of the earth's surface connecting points of equal temperature; each point reflects one temperature reading or an average of several readings over a...

Acton

(Encyclopedia)Acton, town (2020 pop. 24,021), Middlesex co., E Mass., NW of Boston; settled c.1680, inc. 1735. Among its manufactures are electrical machinery, chemicals, prefabricated houses, and preci...

isopleth

(Encyclopedia)isopleth īˈsəplĕthˌ [key], line drawn on a map through all points of equal value of some measurable quantity. In many meteorologic, oceanographic, or geologic studies some physical or chemical pr...

Bermuda Triangle

(Encyclopedia)Bermuda Triangle, area in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida where a number of ships and aircraft have vanished. Also known as the Devil's Triangle, it is bounded at its points by Melbourne, Fla.; Bermuda...

Port Colborne

(Encyclopedia)Port Colborne kōlˈbərn [key], town (1991 pop. 18,766), S Ont., Canada, on Lake Erie, at the south end of the Welland Ship Canal. It is an important transshipment center between Montreal and points ...

function

(Encyclopedia)function, in mathematics, a relation f that assigns to each member x of some set X a corresponding member y of some set Y; y is said to be a function of x, usually denoted f(x) (read “f of x ”)....

sphere

(Encyclopedia)sphere, in geometry, the three-dimensional analogue of a circle. The term is applied to the spherical surface, every point of which is the same distance (the radius) from a certain fixed point (the ce...

Amersfoort

(Encyclopedia)Amersfoort äˈmərsfōrt [key], city, Utrecht prov., central Netherlands. It is a transportation and manufacturing center. Points of interest include a 14th-century water...

Mata-Utu

(Encyclopedia)Mata-Utu, town (2003 pop. 1,191), capital of the French overseas territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands. Located on the E coast of Uvea island, it is a port and the chief city of the territory. Po...

Browse by Subject