Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Pittsfield

(Encyclopedia)Pittsfield, city (1990 pop. 48,622), seat of Berkshire co., W Mass., between mountain ranges, on branches of the Housatonic River; inc. as a town 1761, as a city 1889. The city is the metropolis of th...

catechu

(Encyclopedia)catechu kătˈəcho͞o [key] or cutch, extract from the heartwood of Acacia catechu, a leguminous tree of the pulse family, native to India and Myanmar. Catechu is a fast brown dye used for various sh...

Cotentin

(Encyclopedia)Cotentin kôtäNtăNˈ [key], region of N France, in Normandy, roughly coinciding with the peninsula formed by Manche dept. and extending into the English Channel. Cherbourg is the chief port, and the...

Fitzgerald, Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Fitzgerald, Maurice, d. 1176, Anglo-Norman soldier. He was the son of Gerald, steward of Pembroke castle, and Nesta, daughter of the prince of South Wales. Fitzgerald crossed to Ireland in 1169 to joi...

Newport, city, Wales

(Encyclopedia)Newport, Welsh Casnewydd, city and unitary authority (1991 pop. 129,900), 74 sq mi (191 sq km), SE Wales, on the Usk River. Lumber, tea, automobiles, electronics, semiconductors, and aircraft are made...

Kinsale

(Encyclopedia)Kinsale kĭnsālˈ [key], town (1991 pop. 1,759), Co. Cork, S Republic of Ireland, on the Bandon River estuary. It is a fishing port and seaside resort. Manufactures include sheet steel, electrical co...

Wigan

(Encyclopedia)Wigan wĭgˈən [key], metropolitan borough (1991 pop. 88,725), N England, located in the Manchester metropolitan area on the Douglas River. Wigan has a wide variety of industries, including electrica...

Barletta

(Encyclopedia)Barletta bärlĕtˈtä [key], city, Apulia, S Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. It is a seaport and a ...

Powys

(Encyclopedia)Powys pōˈĭs [key], county, 2,009 sq mi (5,204 sq km), E central Wales. The terrain is a network of lowlands, highlands, and connecting plateaus. Agriculture is economically important, as are sheep ...

water moccasin

(Encyclopedia)water moccasin or cottonmouth, highly venomous snake, Ancistrodon piscivorus, of the swamps and bayous of the S United States. Like the closely related copperhead, it is a pit viper and has a heat-sen...

Browse by Subject