Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Puy-en-Velay, Le

(Encyclopedia)Puy-en-Velay, Le lə püēˈ-äN-vəlāˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 23,434), capital of Haute-Loire dept., S central France. Le Puy-en-Velay is the center of an old lace industry, as well as traditional ...

basalt

(Encyclopedia)basalt bəsôltˈ, băsˈôlt [key], fine-grained rock of volcanic origin, dark gray, dark green, brown, reddish, or black in color. Basalt is an igneous rock, i.e., one that has congealed from a molt...

Nian Rebellion

(Encyclopedia)Nian Rebellion or Nien Rebellion both: nēˈĕn [key], uprising that occurred against the Ch'ing dynasty of China. Bands [Chinese,=nien] of antigovernment rebels in the south part of the North China P...

Antofagasta

(Encyclopedia)Antofagasta äntōfägäˈstä [key], city, capital of Antofagasta region, N Chile, a port on the Pacific Ocean. Antofagasta was founded by Chileans in 1870 to exploit nit...

Lorelei

(Encyclopedia)Lorelei lôrˈəlī, Ger. lōˈrəlī [key], cliff, 433 ft (132 m) high, on the right bank of the Rhine River, near St. Goarshausen, W Germany, about midway between Koblenz and Bingen. There the Rhine...

Sterling

(Encyclopedia)Sterling. 1 City (1990 pop. 10,362), seat of Logan co., NE Colo., on the South Platte River; inc. 1884. It is the trading and shipping center of an agricultural area (grain, cattle, dairy products). O...

Forth

(Encyclopedia)Forth, river, c.60 mi (100 km) long, formed by streams that join near Aberfoyle in Stirling, S central Scotland. It meanders generally eastward past the town of Stirling to the Firth of Forth at Alloa...

Phoebe, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Phoebe fēˈbē [key], in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn IX (or S9), Phoebe is 137 mi (220 km) in diameter, orbits Saturn at a mean distance ...

Leakey, Mary Douglas

(Encyclopedia)Leakey, Mary Douglas, 1913–96, British archaeologist, b. London as Mary Douglas Nicol; wife of Louis Leakey and mother of Richard Leakey. She had little formal education, but a fascination with arch...

La Salle, Robert Cavelier, sieur de

(Encyclopedia)La Salle, Robert Cavelier, sieur de rōbĕrˈ kävəlyāˈ syör də lä sälˈ [key], 1643–87, French explorer in North America, one of the most celebrated explorers and builders of New France. He ...