Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Baykal

(Encyclopedia)Baykal or Baikal both: bīkälˈ [key], lake, 12,160 sq mi (31,494 sq km), SE Siberian Russia. It is the largest freshwater lake of Eurasia, with a width up to 50 mi (80 km) and a length of c.395 mi (...

Stickley, Gustav

(Encyclopedia)Stickley, Gustav, 1858–1942, American furniture designer, b. Osceola, Wis. Probably the best-known American associated with the arts and crafts movement, Stickley ran a Binghamton, N.Y., chair facto...

shark

(Encyclopedia)shark, member of a group of almost exclusively marine and predaceous fishes. There are about 250 species of sharks, ranging from the 2-ft (60-cm) pygmy shark to 50-ft (15-m) giants. They are found in ...

midge

(Encyclopedia)midge, name for any of numerous minute, fragile flies in several families. The family Chironomidae consists of about 2,000 species, most of which are widely distributed. The herbivorous larvae are fou...

Montevideo

(Encyclopedia)Montevideo mŏntāvēᵺāˈō [key], city (1996 pop. 1,330,405), S Uruguay, capital and largest city of Uruguay, on the Río de La Plata. It is one of the major ports of South America and the governm...

mink

(Encyclopedia)mink, semiaquatic carnivorous mammal of the genus Mustela, closely related to the weasel and highly prized for its fur. One species, Mustela vison, is found over most of North America and another, M. ...

Merovingian art and architecture

(Encyclopedia)Merovingian art and architecture mĕrˌəvĭnˈjēən [key]. This period is named for Merovech, the founder of the first Germanic-Frankish dynasty (c.a.d. 500–a.d. 751). The Merovingian period was m...

Liepaja

(Encyclopedia)Liepaja or Liepaya both: lēĕˈpäyä [key], Ger. Libau, city (2011 provisional pop. 76,570), W Latvia. An ice-free port on the Baltic Sea, it is located at the end of an isthmus separating the Balti...

man-o'-war bird

(Encyclopedia)man-o'-war bird or frigate-bird, most aerial of the water birds, found in the tropic seas. The man-o'-war bird's wingspread (71⁄2 ft/228.5 cm) is the largest in proportion to its body (3–4 lb/1.4�...

killer whale

(Encyclopedia)killer whale, orca, or grampus, a large, rapacious marine mammal of the dolphin family. Historically considered one species, Orcinus orca, killer whales may be classified into several types, based on...