Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Libyan Desert

(Encyclopedia)Libyan Desert, northeast part of the Sahara Desert, NE Africa, in SW Egypt, E Libya, and NW Sudan; called the Western Desert in Egypt. It is a region of sand dunes, stony plains, and rocky plateaus. T...

Macomb

(Encyclopedia)Macomb, city (1990 pop. 19,952), seat of McDonough co., W Ill.; inc. as a city 1856. A trade and manufacturing center in a rich farm, clay, and coal region, the city is known for its artistic clay pro...

Hamites

(Encyclopedia)Hamites, African people of caucasoid descent who occupy the Horn of Africa (chiefly Somalia and Ethiopia), the western Sahara, and parts of Algeria and Tunisia. They are believed to be the original se...

ghost town

(Encyclopedia)ghost town, term for any once flourishing American community that has been abandoned, generally for economic reasons. While most of the towns have little or no population, they often contain old build...

McClure, Sir Robert John Le Mesurier

(Encyclopedia)McClure, Sir Robert John Le Mesurier, 1807–73, British arctic explorer. He entered the navy and in 1848 accompanied Sir James Clark Ross to the arctic. As a naval captain he was given command (1850)...

melody

(Encyclopedia)melody, succession of single tones of varying pitch. Melody is the linear aspect of music, in contrast to harmony, the chordal aspect, which results from the simultaneous sounding of tones. Melody mus...

Zagros

(Encyclopedia)Zagros zăgˈrŏs [key], mountain system of W Iran, extending c.1,100 mi (1,770 km) from the Turkish-Armenian frontier SE to the Strait of Hormuz, forming the western and southern border of the centra...

inflation

(Encyclopedia)inflation, in economics, persistent and relatively large increase in the general price level of goods and services. Its opposite is deflation, a process of generally declining prices. The U.S. Bureau ...

Fortunate Isles

(Encyclopedia)Fortunate Isles or Isles of the Blest, in classical and Celtic legend, islands in the Western Ocean. There the souls of favored mortals were received by the gods and lived happily in a paradise. Belie...

Kokkola

(Encyclopedia)Kokkola kōkˈkōlä [key], Swed. Gamlakarleby, city (1996 pop. 35,510), Western Finland prov., W Finland, on the Gulf of Bothnia. It is a port with lumber, machine, and leather industries. It was cha...