Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Porbandar pōrˈbəndər [key], town (1991 pop. 116,546), Gujurat state, W central India, on the Arabian Sea. Porbandar trades with Persian Gulf and East African ports, has airline service and major h...

(Encyclopedia) Ratnapura rŭtˈnəpo͝orə [key] [Sinhalese,=city of gems], town (1995 est. pop. 46,000), SW Sri Lanka. Located in a rubber- and rice-producing area, Ratnapura is Sri Lanka's major precious-stone cen...

(Encyclopedia) Wenders, Wim, 1945–, German filmmaker, b. Düsseldorf. During the late 1960s he attended film school and worked as a film critic in Munich. Wenders first attracted attention with The Goalie's Anxiet...

(Encyclopedia) Albee, Edward ălˈbē [key], 1928–2016, American playwright, one of the leading dramatists of his generation, b. Washington, D.C., as Edward Harvey. His most characteristic work constitutes an absu...

(Encyclopedia) Dibon dīˈbŏn [key] or Dibon-gad, ancient city, E of the Dead Sea, now a ruin called Dhiban. The Moabite stone was found there, and important remains from the Moabite period have been excavated. Ref...

(Encyclopedia) Anyang än-yäng [key], city (1994 est. pop. 458,400), N Henan prov., China, on the Beijing-Guangzhou RR, in a cotton-growing area. It is an agricultural and trade center with textile mills, coal mine...

(Encyclopedia) Cotswold Hills kŏtˈswōld [key], range, mainly in Gloucestershire, W England, extending c.50 mi (80 km) NE from Bath; Cleeve Cloud (c.1,080 ft/330 m) is the highest point. Its crest line forms the T...

(Encyclopedia) prune, popular name for a dried plum. Fruits of the many varieties of Prunus domestica, which are firm-fleshed and dry easily without removal of the stone, are gathered after falling from the tree, di...

(Encyclopedia) Bideford bĭdˈəfərd [key], town (1985 est. 12,300), Devon, SW England, on the Torridge estuary. Formerly a major seaport, it still maintains some foreign trade (timber is imported) and has a boatbu...

(Encyclopedia) Excalibur ĕkskălˈĭbər [key], in Arthurian legend, sword given to King Arthur by the Lady of the Lake. At Arthur's death Sir Bedivere threw Excalibur into the lake; a hand rose from the water, cau...