Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Corrigan, Mairead

(Encyclopedia)Corrigan, Mairead (Mairead Corrigan Maguire) moiˈrə kôrˈĭgən [key], 1944–, Northern Irish peace activist, b. Belfast. Corrigan was a secretary and volunteer social worker in the Catholic neigh...

Namaqualand

(Encyclopedia)Namaqualand näˈməlănd [key], region, c.150,000 sq mi (388,500 sq km), SW Africa. It extends from Windhoek, Namibia, in the north to Northern Cape, South Africa, in the south and from the Namib Des...

snapper

(Encyclopedia)snapper, name for members of the Lutjanidae, a family of spiny-finned food and game fishes found chiefly in tropical coastal waters. Snappers are carnivorous, active, and voracious, with large mouths ...

Falkland Islands

(Encyclopedia)Falkland Islands fôkˈlənd [key], Span. Islas Malvinas, group of islands (2015 est. pop. 3,000), 4,618 sq mi (11,961 sq km), S Atlantic, c.300 mi (480 km) E of the Strait of Magellan. The islands ar...

Baja California, peninsula, Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Baja California Span.: bäˈhä kälēfōrˈnyä [key] or Lower California, peninsula, c.760 mi (1,220 km) long and from 30 to 150 mi (48–241 km) wide, NW Mexico, separating the Gulf of California f...

North Channel

(Encyclopedia)North Channel, strait, c.75 mi (120 km) long, between Northern Ireland and Scotland, connecting the Irish Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. It is 13 mi (21 km) across at its narrowest point. ...

Port Phillip Bay

(Encyclopedia)Port Phillip Bay, large deepwater inlet of Bass Strait, 30 mi (48 km) long and 25 mi (40 km) wide, Victoria, SE Australia. Port Melbourne and Williamstown are on Hobson's Bay, its northern arm. ...

Alexander of Pherae

(Encyclopedia)Alexander of Pherae fērˈē [key], d. 358 b.c., tyrant of the city of Pherae in Thessaly after 369 b.c. He was opposed by other Thessalian cities and by the Thebans. Pelopidas failed (368 b.c.) in on...

Darién, region, Panama

(Encyclopedia)Darién dârˌēĕnˈ, Span. däryānˈ [key], eastern part of Panama between the Gulf of Darién on the east and the Gulf of San Miguel on the west. Darién province, heavily forested and sparsely po...

Browse by Subject