Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

molasses

(Encyclopedia)molasses, sugar byproduct, the brownish liquid residue left after heat crystallization of sucrose (commercial sugar) in the process of refining. Molasses contains chiefly the uncrystallizable sugars a...

Ardennes, region, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France

(Encyclopedia)Ardennes, wooded plateau, from 1,600 to 2,300 ft (488–701 m) high, in SE Belgium, N Luxembourg, and Ardennes dept., N France, E and S of the Meuse River. The plateau is cut into wild crags and ravin...

Masai

(Encyclopedia)Masai or Maasai mäsīˈ [key], a largely nomadic pastoral people of E Africa, chiefly in Kenya and Tanzania. Cattle and sheep form the basis of the economy that they have maintained in resistance to ...

Sancti Spíritus

(Encyclopedia)Sancti Spíritus sängkˈtē-spēˈrēto͞os [key], city (1994 est. pop. 86,000), Sancti Spíritus prov., central Cuba, on the Yayabo River. It is the commercial and processing center of an area that ...

San Marcos

(Encyclopedia)San Marcos săn märˈkəs [key]. 1 City (1990 pop. 38,974), San Diego co., S Calif., a northern suburb of San Diego; settled 1880s, inc. 1963. Citrus fruit, avocados, flowers, and ornamental plants a...

ragweed

(Encyclopedia)ragweed, any plant of the genus Ambrosia, coarse, weedy herbs belonging to the family Asteraceae (aster family), most of which are native to America. They have inconspicuous greenish flowers and soft ...

Ségou

(Encyclopedia)Ségou or Segu both: sāgo͞oˈ [key], town (1993 est. pop. 85,000), SW Mali, a port on the Niger River. It is the administrative and commercial center for an area where cotton, rice, millet, and pean...

Tarbes

(Encyclopedia)Tarbes tärb [key], city (1990 pop. 50,228), capital of Hautes-Pyrénées dept., SW France, on the Adour River. It is an industrial, commercial, and tourist center in a cattle- and horse-raising area....

albino

(Encyclopedia)albino ălbīˈnō [key] [Port.,=white], animal or plant lacking normal pigmentation. The absence of pigment is observed in the body covering (skin, hair, and feathers) and in the iris of the eye. The...

Ciudad Bolívar

(Encyclopedia)Ciudad Bolívar syo͞oᵺäᵺˈ bōlēˈvär [key], city, capital of Bolívar state,...

Browse by Subject