Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

434 results found

Cilician Gates

(Encyclopedia)Cilician Gates sĭlĭshˈən [key], Turk. Külek Boğazi, mountain pass, S Turkey, leading across the Taurus range. Known to the ancients as the Pylae Ciliciae, it follows the gorge of the Gökoluk Ri...

Tehuantepec, Isthmus of

(Encyclopedia)Tehuantepec, Isthmus of, c.125 mi (200 km) wide at its narrowest, S Mexico, between the Gulf of Campeche and the Gulf of Tehuantepec. It is mostly a rolling, tropical lowland with the lowest pass elev...

Brennus, d. 279 b.c., Gallic leader

(Encyclopedia)Brennus, d. 279 b.c., Gallic leader. He was in command of the band of Gauls (or Galatians) who invaded Greece in 279 b.c. At first halted at Thermopylae, he later turned and took the pass into Doris. ...

Durance

(Encyclopedia)Durance düräNsˈ [key], river, c.180 mi (290 km) long, rising in SE France at the foot of Montgenèvre Pass on the Italian border and flowing southwest then northwest before entering the Rhône Rive...

Semmering

(Encyclopedia)Semmering zĕmˈərĭng [key], scenic resort region of the Eastern Alps, E Austria. The Alps there are crossed by the Semmering Pass, 3,215 ft (980 m) high and 275 ft (84 m) long. Beneath it runs the ...

Piedras Negras, city, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Piedras Negras, city (1990 pop. 96,178), Coahuila state, N Mexico, on the Rio Grande opposite Eagle Pass, Tex. Founded in 1849, the city grew as an international shipping point. Piedras Negras is a co...

Saint Bernard, breed of dog

(Encyclopedia)Saint Bernard, breed of massive working dog developed in Switzerland in the 18th cent. and perfected by British breeders during the 19th cent. It stands from 25 to 29 in. (64–74 cm) high at the shou...

Kicking Horse

(Encyclopedia)Kicking Horse, river of SE British Columbia, Canada, rising in the Rocky Mts., and flowing SW and NW to Golden, where it enters the Columbia River. Its course is rapid, with several high falls. Kickin...

Roncesvalles

(Encyclopedia)Roncesvalles rōnˌthāsväˈlyās [key], Fr. Roncevaux, mountain pass (alt. 3,468 ft/1,057 m), in the Pyrenees, between Pamplona (Spain) and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (France). Tradition has made it th...

Redmond

(Encyclopedia)Redmond, city (1990 pop. 35,800), King co., W Wash., a suburb of Seattle, on Lake Sammamish; inc. 1912. Its economy centers around computer software (Microsoft Corp. is located there); research and de...