Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

lake, body of water

(Encyclopedia)lake, inland body of standing water occupying a hollow in the earth's surface. The study of lakes and other freshwater basins is known as limnology. Lakes are of particular importance since they act a...

Great Dismal Swamp

(Encyclopedia)Great Dismal Swamp, SE Va. and NE N.C. With dense forests and tangled undergrowth, the wetlands are a favorite site for sportsmen and naturalists. It once may have covered nearly 2,200 sq mi (5,700 sq...

Great Rift Valley

(Encyclopedia)Great Rift Valley, geological fault system of SW Asia and E Africa. It extends c.3,000 mi (4,830 km) from N Syria to central Mozambique. The northernmost extension runs S through Syria and Lebanon, th...

Winnebago, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Winnebago, Lake, 215 sq mi (557 sq km), E Wis.; largest lake in Wisconsin. Fed and drained by the Fox River, the lake is part of an all-water route between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. O...

Roy

(Encyclopedia)Roy, city (1990 pop. 24,603), Weber co., N Utah, near Great Salt Lake; settled by Mormons 1877, inc. 1937. Computer equipment is manufactured, and many residents work at nearby Hill Air Force Base. ...

Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre

(Encyclopedia)Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, formerly Lake Eyre, shallow salt lake, central South Australia state, Australia. The lake, in fact two lakes connected by a channel, is the continent's lowest point (49 ft/15 ...

Magadi, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Magadi, Lake məgäˈdē [key], c.20 mi (30 km) long and 2 mi (3.2 km) wide, S Kenya, in the Great Rift Valley. Formed and constantly resupplied by volcanic springs, the lake has a thick crust of carb...

Erie, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Erie, Lake, 9,940 sq mi (25,745 sq km), 241 mi (388 km) long and from 30 to 57 mi (48–92 km) wide, bordered on the N by S Ont., Canada, on the E by W N.Y., on the S by NW Pa. and N Ohio, and on the ...

Turkana, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Turkana, Lake, c.2,500 sq mi (6,475 sq km), NW Kenya and SW Ethiopia, E Africa, in the Great Rift Valley; alt. 1,230 ft (375 m). Surrounded by desolate, volcanic mountains, the 170-mi-long (274-km) al...

Salt, Sir Titus

(Encyclopedia)Salt, Sir Titus, 1803–76, English textile manufacturer and inventor. He invented a machine for making worsted from coarse wool and a process for spinning and weaving alpaca. In 1851 he started to bu...

Browse by Subject