Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

268 results found

Greenland

(Encyclopedia)Greenland, Green. Kalaallit Nunaat, Dan. Grønland, the largest island in the world (2015 est. pop. 56,000), 836,109 sq mi (2,166,086 sq km), self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark...

England

(Encyclopedia)England, the largest and most populous portion of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2022Se pop. 68,429,595), 50,334 sq mi (130,3...

Middle Eastern religions

(Encyclopedia)Middle Eastern religions, religious beliefs and practices of the ancient inhabitants of the Middle East. Little was known about the religions of the city-states of W Asia until stores of religious lit...

observatory

(Encyclopedia)observatory, scientific facility especially equipped to detect and record naturally occurring scientific phenomena. Although geological and meteorological observatories exist, the term is generally ap...

pressure

(Encyclopedia)pressure, in mechanics, ratio of the force acting on a surface to the area of the surface; it is thus distinct from the total force acting on a surface. A force can be applied to and sustained by a si...

Arctic, the

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Arctic, the northernmost area of the earth, centered on the North Pole. The arctic regions are not coextensive with the area enclosed by the Arctic Circle (lat. 66°30′N) but are usually defi...

Pueblo, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Pueblo, name given by the Spanish to the sedentary Native Americans who lived in stone or adobe communal houses in what is now the SW United States. The term pueblo is also used for the villages occup...

computer

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Schematic diagram of a computer system: Data flow is indicated by solid lines; control signals are indicated by dashed lines. computer, device capable of performing a series of arithmetic or l...

migration of animals

(Encyclopedia)migration of animals, movements of animals in large numbers from one place to another. In modern usage the term is usually restricted to regular, periodic movements of populations away from and back t...

Mars, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Mars, in astronomy, 4th planet from the sun, with an orbit next in order beyond that of the earth. Mars has two natural satellites, discovered by Asaph Hall in 1877. The innermost of these, Phobos...