Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Yellow River

(Encyclopedia)Yellow River, China: see Huang He. ...

sea snake

(Encyclopedia)sea snake, name for any of the venomous marine snakes of the family Hydrophidae, found in tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. The sea snake's body is flattened laterally and its oarlike ...

East China Sea

(Encyclopedia)East China Sea, arm of the Pacific Ocean, c.480,000 sq mi (1,243,200 sq km), bounded on the E by the Kyushu and Ryukyu islands, on the S by Taiwan, and on the W by China. It is connected with the Sout...

sea star

(Encyclopedia)sea star, also called starfish, echinoderm of the class Asteroidae, common in tide pools. Sea stars vary in size from under 1⁄2 in. (1.3 cm) to over 3 ft (90 cm) in diameter. They are commonly dull ...

sea turtle

(Encyclopedia)sea turtle, name for several species of large marine turtles found in tropical and subtropical oceans. These turtles are modified for life in the ocean by having flipperlike forelimbs without toes and...

East Sea

(Encyclopedia)East Sea: see Japan, Sea of.

Coral Sea

(Encyclopedia)Coral Sea, southwest arm of the Pacific Ocean, between Australia, New Guinea, and Vanuatu. The Great Barrier Reef lies along its western edge. During World War II it was the scene of the battle of the...

Dead Sea

(Encyclopedia)Dead Sea, salt lake, c.390 sq mi (1,010 sq km), extending c.45 mi (70 km) in the Jordan trough of the Great Rift Valley between the Ghor on the north and Wadi Arabah on the south, on the border betwee...

Chukchi Sea

(Encyclopedia)Chukchi Sea chəkˈchē [key], part of the Arctic Ocean N of the Bering Strait, between Siberia and Alaska, Wrangell Island lies to the west and the Beaufort Sea lies to the east. The sea has an appro...

Erythraean Sea

(Encyclopedia)Erythraean Sea ĕrĭthrēˈən [key], name of unclear origin anciently applied to the Indian Ocean, later to the Arabian Gulf, and finally to the Red Sea. ...