Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) inchworm, name for the larvae of moths of the family Geometridae, a large, cosmopolitan group with over 1,200 species indigenous to North America. Also called measuring worms, spanworms, and loopers, ...

(Encyclopedia) Mixtón War mēstōnˈ [key], 1541, revolt of indigenous peoples against Spanish rule in Nueva Galicia, W Mexico. The conquest under Nuño de Guzmán had been particularly harsh and the encomienda sys...

(Encyclopedia) Spanish colonial art and architecture, fl. 16th–early 19th cent., the artistic production of Spain's colonies in the New World. These works followed the historical development of styles previously e...

(Encyclopedia) North Fork, river, c.100 mi (160 km) long, rising in the Ozarks, S Mo., and flowing S, into N Ark., to the White River. Near its mouth is Norfolk Dam (completed 1944), which impounds Norfolk Lake and ...

(Encyclopedia) Fort Dearborn, U.S. army post on the Chicago River, NE Ill.; est. 1803 and named for Secretary of War Henry Dearborn. Threatened by the indigenous population at the start of the War of 1812, the front...

(Encyclopedia) San Blas Islands mo͞oläˈtäs [key], archipelago off the northeast coast of Panama. It consists of 332 coral islands. The inhabitants are almost pure-blooded aborigines of Carib origin; fishing and ...

(Encyclopedia) Dias, Antônio Gonçalves əntôˈnyo͝o go͝onsälˈvəs dēˈəs [key], 1823–64, Brazilian poet and dramatist. A leading writer of the romantic school, he is noted for his strong nativist feeling ...

(Encyclopedia) North Atlantic Drift, warm ocean current in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a continuation of the Gulf Stream, the merging point being at lat. 40°N and long. 60°W. Off the British Isl...

(Encyclopedia) Pledge of Allegiance, in full, Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, oath that proclaims loyalty to the United States. and its national symbol. It reads: “I pledge allegi...

(Encyclopedia) quinine kwīˈnīnˌ, kwĭnēnˈ [key], white crystalline alkaloid with a bitter taste. Before the development of more effective synthetic drugs such as quinacrine, chloroquine, and primaquine, quinin...