Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Mitterrand, François Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Mitterrand, François Maurice fräNswäˈ mōrēsˈ mētəräNˈ [key], 1916–96, French political leader, president of France, 1981–95. Initially a supporter of Pétain's Vichy government during W...

New South Wales

(Encyclopedia)New South Wales, state (2016 pop. 7,480,228), 309,443 sq mi (801,457 sq km), SE Australia. It is bounded on the E by the Pacific Ocean. Sydney is the capital. The other principal urban centers are New...

land use

(Encyclopedia)land use, exploitation of land for agricultural, industrial, residential, recreational, or other purposes. Because the United States historically has a laissez-faire attitude toward land use, the land...

Seychelles

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Seychelles sāshĕlzˈ [key], officially Republic of Seychelles, republic (2015 est. pop. 94,000), c.110 sq mi (285 sq km), comprising approximately 100 islands in the Indian Ocean, c.600 mi (9...

castle

(Encyclopedia)castle, type of fortified dwelling characteristic of the Middle Ages. Fortification of towns had been in practice since antiquity, but in the 9th cent. feudal lords began to develop the private fortre...

geography

(Encyclopedia)geography, the science of place, i.e., the study of the surface of the earth, the location and distribution of its physical and cultural features, the areal patterns or places that they form, and the ...

Gambia, The, country, Africa

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Gambia, The gămˈbēə, gämˈ– [key], officially Republic of The Gambia, republic (2015 est. pop. 1,978,000), 4,361 sq mi (11,295 sq km), W Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on t...

Ontario, province, Canada

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Ontario ŏntârˈēō [key], province (2001 pop. 11,410,046), 412,582 sq mi (1,068,587 sq km), E central Canada. Before the arrival of Europeans the Ontario region was inhabited by several Al...

commune, in medieval history

(Encyclopedia)commune kômˈyo͞on [key], in medieval history, collective institution that developed in continental Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. Because of the importance of the commune in municipal g...

population

(Encyclopedia)population, the inhabitants of a given area, but perhaps most importantly, the human inhabitants of the earth (numbering about 7.5 billion in 2017), who by their increasing numbers and corresponding i...