Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Scott, Winfield

(Encyclopedia)Scott, Winfield, 1786–1866, American general, b. near Petersburg, Va. Although vain and pompous (he was called “Old Fuss and Feathers”), Scott was also generous, fair-minded, considerate of h...

Transvaal

(Encyclopedia)Transvaal trănzvälˈ [key], former province, NE South Africa. With the new constitution of 1994, it was divided into Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga), Northern Transvaal (now Limpopo), Pretoria-Wi...

aurora borealis

(Encyclopedia)aurora borealis ôstrāˈlĭs [key], luminous display of various forms and colors seen in the night sky. The aurora borealis of the Northern Hemisphere is often called the northern lights, and the aur...

Macapá

(Encyclopedia)Macapá məkəpäˈ [key], city (1996 pop. 214,197), capital of Amapá state, extreme N Brazil, on the Amazon River. Mining is central to its economy. It exports tin iron, gold, and manganese, as well...

Mesilla

(Encyclopedia)Mesilla māsēˈyä [key], town (1990 pop. 1,975), SW N.Mex., on the Rio Grande and near Las Cruces; settled c.1850. The whole Mesilla Valley became part of the United States under the Gadsden Purchas...

Midlothian

(Encyclopedia)Midlothian mĭdlōˈthēən [key], council area (1993 est. pop. 79,910), 137 sq mi (356 sq km), and former county, SE Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Midlothian was divided between t...

Narva, river, Estonia and Russia

(Encyclopedia)Narva, river, c.50 mi (80 km) long, rising in Lake Peipus (Chudskoye), E Estonia, and flowing northeast past the city of Narva into the Gulf of Finland. It forms the border between Estonia and Russia....

Komi-Permyak Autonomous Area

(Encyclopedia)Komi-Permyak Autonomous Area kôˈmē-pĭrmyäkˈ [key], former administrative division, 12,664 sq mi (32,800 sq km), E central European Russia, in the basin of the upper Kama River. The capital was K...

Ilemi Triangle

(Encyclopedia)Ilemi Triangle, triangular-shaped region, c.10,000 sq km (3,860 sq mi) in area, at the NW corner of Lake Turkana, E Africa. It borders South Sudan (W), Ethiopia (E) and Kenya (S). A disputed territory...

Navassa Island

(Encyclopedia)Navassa Island nəvăˈsə [key], Fr. Navasse, coral and limestone islet, c.1 sq mi (2.6 sq km), in the Caribbean Sea between Haiti and Jamaica. Located c.100 mi (160 km) S of the U.S. naval base at G...