Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Salishan

(Encyclopedia)Salishan sāˈlĭshən, sălˈ– [key], branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic family, or stock, of North America and spoken by Native Americans of the NW United States and W Canada. See Native...

Anthony Rodney, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Rodney, Walter, 1942–1980, Scholar and revolutionary, b. Georgetown, British Guiana. Ph.D. School of African and Oriental Studies, 1966. A Pan-African...

Arctic, the

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Arctic, the northernmost area of the earth, centered on the North Pole. The arctic regions are not coextensive with the area enclosed by the Arctic Circle (lat. 66°30′N) but are usually defi...

Bolivia

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Bolivia bōlĭvˈēə, Span. bōlēˈvyä [key], officially Plurinational Stat...

Pownall, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Pownall, Thomas pouˈnəl [key], 1722–1805, English colonial governor in North America. In 1753 he went to New York as secretary to Sir Danvers Osborn, newly appointed governor. Following Osborn's s...

alternating current

(Encyclopedia)alternating current, abbr. AC, a flow of electric charge that undergoes periodic reverses in direction. In North America ordinary household current alternates at a frequency of 60 times per second. Se...

shrike

(Encyclopedia)shrike or butcher bird, predatory songbird found in most parts of the world except Australia and South America. The plumage of the European and North American species is mostly gray, black, and white;...

Downs, North, and South Downs

(Encyclopedia)Downs, North, and South Downs, parallel ranges of chalk hills, SE England. They rise to 965 ft (294 m) at Leith Hill, Surrey. The North Downs range, extending c.100 mi (160 km) from near Farnham, Surr...

Foreland, North, and South Foreland

(Encyclopedia)Foreland, North, and South Foreland, headlands of Kent, SE England, forming parts of the boundary of The Downs (a roadstead). South Foreland is 4 mi (6.4 km) NE of Dover, and North Foreland is near Ma...

North American Free Trade Agreement

(Encyclopedia)North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), accord establishing a free-trade zone in North America; it was signed in 1992 by Canada, Mexico, and the United States and took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. NAF...

Browse by Subject