Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

dolphin, aquatic mammal

(Encyclopedia)dolphin, aquatic mammal, any of the small toothed whales of the family Delphinidae, numbering more than 50 species. These include the true, or beaked, dolphins, the killer whale, the pilot whale, and ...

net

(Encyclopedia)net, mesh fabric, known from prehistoric times. Nets have been made of many materials, including sinews, strips of hide, silk, vegetable and synthetic fibers, and metallic threads. Their earliest use ...

Luang Phabang

(Encyclopedia)Luang Phabang prə– [key], city (1995 est. pop. 55,300), capital of Luang Phabang prov. and the historic, religious, and cultural capital of Laos, NW Laos, on the Mekong River. The economic center o...

Tônlé Sap

(Encyclopedia)Tônlé Sap tŏnˈlā säp [key] [great lake], lake, central Cambodia; largest lake of SE Asia. It occupies the depression of the Cambodian plain and is fed by many streams; the Tônlé Sap River, c.7...

Seram

(Encyclopedia)Seram, formerly Ceram both: sāˈräm [key], island, c.6,600 sq mi (17,100 sq km), E Indonesia, W of New Guinea, second largest of the Moluccas; also called Seran or Serang. Its chief port and town is...

Virginius affair

(Encyclopedia)Virginius affair, 1873, incident that came near to causing war between the United States and Spain. The Virginius, a filibustering ship, was fraudulently flying the American flag and carrying arms to ...

tarpon

(Encyclopedia)tarpon tärˈpŏn [key], common name for members of the family Megalopidae, or Elopidae, large game fish of the warm seas of the Western Hemisphere, ranging occasionally from Long Island to Brazil and...

Tartus

(Encyclopedia)Tartus tärto͞osˈ [key], town (1995 est. pop. 130,000), W Syria, a port on the Mediterranean Sea. Olive oil is pressed, and petroleum, phosphates, fish, and agricultural produce are shipped. The tow...

Gloucester, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Gloucester, city (2020 pop. 29,729), Essex co., NE Mass., on Cape Ann; settled 1623, inc. as a city 1873. It is a port of entry at the head of Glouceste...

goby

(Encyclopedia)goby, common name for a member of the family Gobiidae, small marine fishes familiar in shallow waters, especially along southern shores. Gobies may be either scaled or scaleless; all species have the ...