Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) potassium carbonate, chemical compound, K2CO3, white, crystalline, deliquescent substance that forms a strongly alkaline water solution. It is available commercially as a white, granular powder common...

(Encyclopedia) Croatoan, unexplained letters found (1590) carved on a tree on Roanoke Island off North Carolina by Gov. John White when he returned to the colony from England and discovered the colonists gone. White...

(Encyclopedia) Hereford cattle hûrˈfərd [key], breed of beef cattle originated in Herefordshire, England, and thought to be descended from the primitive cattle of the country. They are medium-to-large, deep-bodie...

(Encyclopedia) Lermontov, Mikhail Yurevich mēkhəyēlˈ yo͞orˈyĭvĭch lyĕrˈməntŭf [key], 1814–41, Russian poet and novelist. Given an extensive private education by his wealthy grandmother, Lermontov began...

(Encyclopedia) Tasso, Torquato tōrkwäˈtō täsˈsō [key], 1544–95, Italian poet, one of the foremost writers and a tragic figure of the Renaissance. Educated in Naples by Jesuits, he later studied law and phil...

(Encyclopedia) pelican, common name for a large, gregarious aquatic bird of warm regions, allied to the cormorants and gannets. Pelicans are heavy-bodied, long-necked birds with large, flat bills. They are graceful ...

(Encyclopedia) state flowers. Each state of the United States has designated, usually by legislative action, one flower as its floral emblem; the rose has been designated by Congress as the national flower of the Un...

(Encyclopedia) Berlin bûrˈlən, bərlĭnˈ [key], city (2020 pop. 10,118), Coos co., NE N.H., in the White Mts. at ...

(Encyclopedia) color, effect produced on the eye and its associated nerves by light waves of different wavelength or frequency. Light transmitted from an object to the eye stimulates the different color cones of the...

(Encyclopedia) condor, common name for certain American vultures, found in the high peaks of the Andes of South America and the Coast Range of S California. Condors are the largest of the living birds, nearly 50 in....