Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Lofoten and Vesterålen

(Encyclopedia)Lofoten vĕstˈərôlən [key], two contiguous island groups (1995 est. pop. 56,700), Nordland and Troms counties, NW Norway, in the Norwegian Sea. Situated within the Arctic Circle, the islands exten...

Cabot, John

(Encyclopedia)Cabot, John, fl. 1461–98, English explorer, probably b. Genoa, Italy. He became a citizen of Venice in 1476 and engaged in the Eastern trade of that city. This experience, it is assumed, was the sti...

Sutter, John Augustus

(Encyclopedia)Sutter, John Augustus, 1803–80, American pioneer, b. Kandern, Baden, of Swiss parents. His original name was Johann August Suter. He emigrated to the United States in 1834, went to St. Louis, then t...

Carnatic

(Encyclopedia)Carnatic kärnăˈtĭk [key], historic region in SE India, comprising roughly the area between the S Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal and the Deccan Plateau. The region comprised the domains of t...

Guiana

(Encyclopedia)Guiana gēănˈə, –änˈ– [key], region, NE South America. It faces the Atlantic Ocean on the north and east and is enclosed on the west and south within a vast semicircle formed by the linked ri...

Ponce de León, Juan

(Encyclopedia)Ponce de León, Juan pŏns də lēˈŏn, Span. hwän pōnˈthā dā lāōnˈ [key], c.1460–1521, Spanish explorer, first Westerner to reach Florida. He served against the Moors of Granada, and in 14...

Downs, The

(Encyclopedia)Downs, The, roadstead, c.8 mi (13 km) long and 6 mi (9.7 km) wide, between North Foreland and South Foreland, off Deal, Kent, SE England, in the English Channel. It is protected, except from strong so...

Costa Mesa

(Encyclopedia)Costa Mesa kŏsˈtə māˈsə [key], city (2020 pop. 111,918), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific ...

Connemara

(Encyclopedia)Connemara kŏnəmärˈə [key], wild, mountainous region, Co. Galway, W Republic of Ireland, lying between the Atlantic Ocean and Loughs Corrib and Mask. Many mountains, lakes, streams, and glens help...

Clark, John

(Encyclopedia)Clark, John, 1766–1832, governor of Georgia (1819–23), b. Edgecomb co., N.C. As a boy he served with his father, Elijah Clarke, in the American Revolution and afterward won distinction as an India...