Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Back, Sir George

(Encyclopedia)Back, Sir George, 1796–1878, British explorer in N Canada. He accompanied Sir John Franklin on arctic expeditions in 1818, 1819–22, and 1824–27. On an expedition (1833–35) to search for the mi...

Pichincha

(Encyclopedia)Pichincha pēchēnˈchä [key], active volcano, 15,918 ft (4,852 m) high, N Ecuador, near Quito. Its most serious recent eruption was in 1998–2001. On its lower slopes, in the decisive battle of Pic...

Nettilling Lake

(Encyclopedia)Nettilling Lake nĕchˈĭlĭng [key], freshwater lake, 1,956 sq mi (5,066 sq km), S Baffin Island, Nunavut Territory, Canada; one of the largest lakes entirely within Canada. It is located in an arcti...

Auyuittuq National Park

(Encyclopedia)Auyuittuq National Park ouyo͞oˈətək, –ətŭkˌ [key], c.8,290 sq mi (21,470 sq km), E Baffin Island near Pangnirtung, Nunavut Territory, Canada; est. 1972. Located on the Cumberland Peninsula, i...

Lampedusa

(Encyclopedia)Lampedusa, island, 8 sq mi (20.7 sq km), S Sicily, Italy, in the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and Tunisia, the largest of the Pelagie Islands and Italy's southernmost territory. Il Porto is the onl...

Lanarkshire

(Encyclopedia)Lanarkshire lănˈərk, –ärk [key], former county, central Scotland. Lanarkshire became (1975) part of the Strathclyde region; when the region was dissolved (1996) the council areas of North and So...

Salair Ridge

(Encyclopedia)Salair Ridge sələērˈ [key], range, c.200 mi (320 km) long, E Siberian Russia. Extending along the northern border of the Altai Territory, it rises to more than 2,000 ft (610 m) and forms the weste...

Giant's Causeway

(Encyclopedia)Giant's Causeway, headland on the north coast of Moyle dist., N Northern Ireland, NE of Coleraine; est. as a national trust territory in 1961. Extending 3 mi (4.8 km) along the coast, it consists of t...

Etruria

(Encyclopedia)Etruria ĭtro͝orˈēə [key], ancient country, W central Italy, now forming Tuscany and part of Umbria. It was the territory of the Etruscans, who in the 6th cent. b.c. spread Etruscan civilization t...

Ussuriysk

(Encyclopedia)Ussuriysk o͝oˌso͝orēskˈ [key], city (1989 pop. 158,000), Maritime Territory, Russian Far East, on the Suyfun River. It is a coal-mining center and a Trans-Siberian RR junction. A direct rail line...