Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Kara

(Encyclopedia)Kara kärˈə [key], river, c.140 mi (230 km) long, NE European and NW Siberian Russia. It flows N from the N Urals into the Kara Sea, forming part of the traditional border between European and Asian...

Symplegades

(Encyclopedia)Symplegades sĭmplĕgˈədēz [key], in Greek mythology, two floating cliffs that swung together and crushed anything going between them until Jason's ship, the Argo, passed safely through them. They ...

Sikar

(Encyclopedia)Sikar sēˈkər [key], walled town (1991 pop. 148,272), Rajasthan state, NW India. Sikar, c.1,500 ft (460 m) above sea level, is a district administrative center and a market for grain and tobacco. Th...

Bashan

(Encyclopedia)Bashan bāˈshän [key], fertile plain E of the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee from the latitude of Haifa northward to that of Tyre. According to Hebrew tradition, it was conquered by the Israelites an...

Pekalongan

(Encyclopedia)Pekalongan pĕkˌälôngˈgän [key], city (1990 pop. 242,714), N central Java, Indonesia, on the Java Sea. It is a textile and batik center and the principal port for central Java; sugar, rubber, and...

Ymir

(Encyclopedia)Ymir ēˈmĕr [key], in Norse mythology, primeval giant and progenitor of a race of giants. Odin and his brothers slew Ymir; from his skull they fashioned the sky, from his flesh the earth, from his b...

Yser

(Encyclopedia)Yser izĕrˈ [key], river, c.50 mi (80 km) long, rising in N France and flowing generally NE through NW Belgium and into the North Sea at Nieuwpoort. It connects a network of canals. The area was the ...

Ailsa Craig

(Encyclopedia)Ailsa Craig ālˈsə [key], island, c.1 sq mi (2.6 sq km), off SW Scotland, W of Girvan in the Firth of Clyde; it rises to 1,114 ft (340 m). It has granite quarries and a lighthouse and is a sanctuary...

Bozrah

(Encyclopedia)Bozrah bŏzˈrə [key], in the Bible. 1 Important city of Edom, probably the modern Busayra (Jordan), SE of the Dead Sea. The prophets often linked the name Bozrah with that of Edom. 2 City of Moab, p...

Sulawesi

(Encyclopedia)Sulawesi sĕlˈəbēz [key], island (1990 pop. 12,511,163), c.73,000 sq mi (189,070 sq km), largest island in E Indonesia, E of Borneo, from which it is separated by the Makasar Strait. Extremely irre...

Browse by Subject