Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

91 results found

Tanganyika, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Tanganyika, Lake, second largest lake of Africa, c.12,700 sq mi (32,890 sq km), E central Africa on the borders of Tanzania, Congo (Kinshasa), Zambia, and Burundi. It is c.420 mi (680 km) long and up ...

Masai

(Encyclopedia)Masai or Maasai mäsīˈ [key], a largely nomadic pastoral people of E Africa, chiefly in Kenya and Tanzania. Cattle and sheep form the basis of the economy that they have maintained in resistance to ...

Moshi

(Encyclopedia)Moshi mōˈshē [key], municipality (2012 pop. 184,292), capital of Kilimanjaro prov., NE Tanzania, on the southern slope of Mt. Kilimanjaro, near Kenya. It is the center of a rich coffee-growing regi...

Guebuza, Armando Emílio

(Encyclopedia)Guebuza, Armando Emílio ärmänˈdo͞o əmēˈlyo͝o gābo͞oˈzä [key], 1943–, Mozambican business executive and politician, president of Mozambique (2005–15). A longtime supporter of the indep...

Ngorongoro Crater

(Encyclopedia)Ngorongoro Crater, caldera in the Great Rift Valley, Arusha region, N Tanzania. It is one of the world's largest unbroken volcanic calderas, created in an eruption some 3 million years ago. The calder...

Museveni, Yoweri

(Encyclopedia)Museveni, Yoweri youˈərē mo͞oˌsəvāˈnē [key], 1944?–, Ugandan political leader, president of Uganda (1986–), b. Ntungamo. He studied economics and political science at the Univ. of Dar es ...

Pohamba, Hifikepunye

(Encyclopedia)Pohamba, Hifikepunye hēfēkĕpo͞onˈyä pōhämˈbä [key], 1935–, Namibia rebel and political leader. A miner, he was a founder of the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) and became ...

sapphire

(Encyclopedia)sapphire, precious stone. A transparent blue corundum, it is classified among the most valuable of gems. Sapphires are found chiefly in Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar and also in Thailand, Tanzani...

Bantu languages

(Encyclopedia)Bantu languages, group of African languages forming a subdivision of the Benue-Niger division of the Niger-Congo branch of the Niger-Kordofanian language family (see African languages). Bantu contains...

corundum

(Encyclopedia)corundum kərŭnˈdəm [key], mineral, aluminum oxide, Al2O3. The clear varieties are used as gems and the opaque as abrasive materials. Corundum occurs in crystals of the hexagonal system and in mass...

Browse by Subject