Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Acominatus, Michael

(Encyclopedia)Acominatus, Michael kōnēāˈtēz [key], c.1140–1220, Byzantine writer and metropolitan of Athens. Acominatus' speeches, poems, and letters give much information about medieval Athens, which he, a ...

Porta, Guglielmo della

(Encyclopedia)Porta, Guglielmo della dĕlˈlä pôrˈtä [key], d. 1577, Italian sculptor. His early works are in Genoa. In 1546 he went to Rome, where he was employed by Pope Paul III in restoring certain antique...

Pratas Island

(Encyclopedia)Pratas Island do͝ongˈshäˈ [key], in the South China Sea, controlled by Taiwan and administered as part of Kaohsiung. A national park, the island is part of an atoll and has guano deposits. It was ...

Baranovichi

(Encyclopedia)Baranovichi bäränôvēˈchĕ [key], city, in W Belarus. It is a major railway junction and has ...

Barddhaman

(Encyclopedia)Barddhaman bərdwänˈ [key], city, West Bengal state, E central India. It has industries in ...

Ulloa, Francisco de

(Encyclopedia)Ulloa, Francisco de ᵺā o͞olyōˈä [key], d. c.1540, Spanish explorer in Mexico. Against the orders of Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, Hernán Cortés sent Ulloa to explore the Gulf of California. In...

Qaidam

(Encyclopedia)Qaidam tsīˈdäm, chī-däm [key], arid basin, c.350 mi (560 km) long and c.100 mi (160 km) wide, between two branches of the Kunlun range, central Qinghai prov., W China. A salt marsh occupies most ...

Qattara Depression

(Encyclopedia)Qattara Depression mo͝ongkhäfädˈ äl-kät-täräˈ [key], desert basin, c.7,000 sq mi (18,130 sq km), NW Egypt, NE Africa, in the Libyan Desert. It was long believed to be the lowest point (436 ft...

Navan

(Encyclopedia)Navan än o͞oˈəv [key], town (1991 pop. 11,606), seat of Co. Meath, E Republic of Ireland, at the confluence of the Boyne and Blackwater rivers. It produces woolens and has sawmills. Clothing, furn...

Vuelta Abajo

(Encyclopedia)Vuelta Abajo vwĕlˌtäbäˈhō [key], district, c.90 mi (140 km) long and c.10 mi (16 km) wide, Pinar del Rio prov., W Cuba, along the southern piedmont of the Órganos Mts. Famous for the fine quali...