Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Canadian National Railway

(Encyclopedia)Canadian National Railway, rail system in Canada and the United States, extending from coast to coast in Canada with many branch lines in each province and in the United States. The system began as an...

Verrazzano, Giovanni da

(Encyclopedia)Verrazzano, Giovanni da jōvänˈnē dä vĕrˌrätsäˈnō; vĕrˌəzäˈnō [key], c.1480–1527?, Italian navigator and explorer, in the service of France, possibly the first European to enter New ...

pink

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Deptford pink, Dianthus armeria pink, common name for some members of the Caryophyllaceae, a family of small herbs found chiefly in north temperate zones (especially the Mediterranean area) bu...

Johnson, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, Sir William, 1715–74, British colonial leader in America, b. Co. Meath, Ireland. He settled (1738) in the Mohawk valley, became a merchant, and gained great power among the Mohawk and other...

De Smet, Pierre Jean

(Encyclopedia)De Smet, Pierre Jean pyĕr zhäN də smĕtˈ [key], 1801–73, Jesuit missionary in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, b. Belgium. He emigrated to the United States in 1821, served his novitiate in Florissan...

National Petroleum Reserve

(Encyclopedia)National Petroleum Reserve, area, c.23 million acres (9.32 million hectares), Alaska North Slope, situated W of Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The reserve, which is the largest r...

Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Selkirk, Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of, 1771–1820, Scottish philanthropist, founder of the Red River Settlement. Emigration to America seemed to him the best solution for the poverty of his countrymen...

dogwood

(Encyclopedia)dogwood or cornel kôrˈnəl [key], shrub or tree of the genus Cornus, chiefly of north temperate and tropical mountain regions, characteristically having an inconspicuous flower surrounded by large, ...

grizzly bear

(Encyclopedia)grizzly bear or grizzly, large, powerful North American brown bear, characterized by gray-streaked, or grizzled, fur. Grizzlies are 6 to 8 ft (180–250 cm) long, stand 31⁄2 to 4 ft (105–120 cm) a...

harbor seal

(Encyclopedia)harbor seal, most commonly seen seal of the Northern Hemisphere, Phoca vitulina. Harbor seals are found along coasts and in sheltered bays and harbors of North America, Europe, and NE Asia. They range...

Browse by Subject