Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

hibernation

(Encyclopedia)hibernation hīˌbərnāˈshən [key] [Lat.,= wintering], practice, among certain animals, of spending part of the cold season in a more or less dormant state, apparently as protection from cold when ...

Interior, United States Department of the

(Encyclopedia)Interior, United States Department of the, federal executive department established in 1849, delegated custodian of U.S. natural resources, and whose head, the Secretary of the Interior, has cabinet r...

Astrakhan, city, Russia

(Encyclopedia)Astrakhan ăsˈtrəkăn, Rus. äˈstrəkhənyə [key], city (2020 pop. 535,000), capital of Astrakhan region, SE European Russia. A Caspian Sea port on the Volga R...

Laurel, cities, United States

(Encyclopedia)Laurel. 1 Town (1990 pop. 19,438), Prince Georges co., central Md., about halfway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore; patented in the late 1600s, inc. 1870. Primarily residential, Laurel has ligh...

Madura

(Encyclopedia)Madura or Madoera both: mädo͝oˈrä [key], island (1990 pop. 3,015,124), c.1,760 sq mi (4,560 sq km), Indonesia, near the northeast coast of Java, from which it is separated by Madura Strait. The is...

sauce

(Encyclopedia)sauce, seasoning or flavoring composition, usually in liquid or semiliquid form, used as an appetizing accompaniment for meat, fish, vegetables, and desserts. Sauces, an important feature of quality c...

tilefish

(Encyclopedia)tilefish, common name for a superior and brilliantly colored food fish of temperate and tropical waters, marked by fleshy flaps on the top of the head and at the corners of the mouth. It is a bottom f...

Ural

(Encyclopedia)Ural yo͝orˈəl, Rus. o͞orälˈ [key], river, c.1,580 mi (2,540 km) long, rising in the S Urals, flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. Part of the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia, the ...

Ussuri

(Encyclopedia)Ussuri o͞oso͞oˈrē [key], Mandarin Wusuli, river, c.365 mi (590 km) long, formed by the confluence of the Ulukhe and Daubikhe rivers, S Maritime Territory, Russian Far East. It flows N to the Amur ...

Baird, Spencer Fullerton

(Encyclopedia)Baird, Spencer Fullerton, 1823–87, American zoologist, b. Reading, Pa., grad. Dickinson College, 1840. He was professor of natural history at Dickinson from 1846 to 1850. While at the Smithsonian In...