Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Imperial Valley, fertile region in the Colorado Desert, SE Calif., extending S into NW Mexico. Once part of the Gulf of California, most of the region is below sea level; its lowest point is −232 ft...

(Encyclopedia) foundling hospital, institution for receiving and caring for abandoned children. In Athens and in Rome until the 4th cent., unwanted children were exposed, or left to die, in appointed places. The fir...

(Encyclopedia) Douglas, Archibald, 6th earl of Angus, 1489–1557, Scottish nobleman; grandson of Archibald Douglas, 5th earl of Douglas. His marriage (1514) to Margaret Tudor alienated the Scottish noblemen and cau...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Kansas kănˈzəs [key], midwestern state occupying the center of the coterminous United States. It is bordered by Missouri (E), Oklahoma (S), Colorado (W), and Nebraska (N). Kansas has b...

(Encyclopedia) Peckham, Rufus Wheeler pĕkˈəm [key], 1838–1909, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1895–1909), b. Albany, N.Y. Admitted (1859) to the bar, he became a leading Albany lawyer and was pr...

(Encyclopedia) Manning, Daniel, 1831–87, American journalist and political leader, b. Albany, N.Y. At the age of 11 he went to work for the Albany Atlas, which in 1856 was consolidated with the Argus; he became ed...

(Encyclopedia) Fort Nassau. 1 Built (1614) on Castle Island, in the Hudson River, S of Albany, N.Y. The fort served as a trading post for the Dutch until 1617, when it was destroyed by flood and replaced (1624) by F...

(Encyclopedia) trade, traffic in goods. Conducted by gift, barter, or sale, trade is one of the most widespread of all social institutions. The theory of commerce as imposed by the national state has varied from...

(Encyclopedia) Buffalo, city (2020 pop. 278,349), seat of Erie co., W N.Y., on Lake Erie and the Niagara and Buffalo rivers; inc. 1832. With more than 37 mi (60 km) of...

(Encyclopedia) National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, cooperative agency of 35 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations. Formed in 1950, with headquarters in New York Cit...