Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Iberian Peninsula, c.230,400 sq mi (596,740 sq km), SW Europe, separated from the rest of Europe by the Pyrenees. Comprising Spain and Portugal, it is washed on the N and W by the Atlantic Ocean and o...

(Encyclopedia) Hardangerfjord härdängˈərfyôrˈ [key], second largest fjord of Norway, penetrating 114 mi (183 km) from the Atlantic Ocean into Hordaland co., SW Norway. A southern branch, the Sørfjord, cleaves...

(Encyclopedia) Hattin, Battle of hättēnˈ [key], battle on July 4, 1187, in N Palestine, where Saladin's Muslim forces defeated the Christian armies of Guy de Lusignan. When Saladin attacked Tiberias in July, 1187...

(Encyclopedia) Helvetia hĕlvĕˈshə [key], region of central Europe, occupying the plateau between the Alps and the Jura mts. The name is derived from the Roman term for its inhabitants, the predominantly Celtic H...

(Encyclopedia) Vosges vōzh [key], mountain range, E France, between the Alsatian plain in the east and the plateau of S Lorraine in the west. It extends generally north and parallel to the Rhine River for c.120 mi ...

(Encyclopedia) Vatnajökull vätˈnäyöˈko͝ol [key], glacier, c.3,150 sq mi (8,160 sq km), SE Iceland; largest glacier in Europe. At an elevation of from 4,200 to 6,100 ft (1,280–1,860 m), it covers a huge volc...

(Encyclopedia) Baidoa or Baidabo bīdäˈbo͞o [key], town, capital of Bay region, S central Somalia. Locate...

(Encyclopedia) Seine sān, Fr. sĕn [key], Lat. Sequana, river, c.480 mi (770 km) long, rising in the Langres Plateau and flowing generally NW through N France. It passes Troyes, Melun, and Paris, whence it meanders...

(Encyclopedia) Nullarbor Plain [Lat.,=no trees], vast, barren limestone plateau, c.100,000 sq mi (260,000 sq km), S Australia, extending from the Great Victoria Desert (N) to the Great Australian Bight (S) in Wester...

(Encyclopedia) Picardy pĭkˈərdē [key], Fr. Picardie, region and former province, N France, on the English Channel, part of the French administrative region of Hauts-de-France. It includes the Somme, Oise, and Ai...