Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Apennines ăpˈənīnz [key], Ital. Appennino, mountain system, running the entire length of the Italian peninsula. It extends south c.840 mi (1,350 km) from the Cadibona Pass in Liguria, NW Italy, wh...

(Encyclopedia) Ford, Richard, 1944–, American novelist, b. Jackson, Miss.; grad. Michigan State Univ. (B.A., 1966), Univ. of California, Irvine (M.F.A., 1970). Ford's concerns are those of a moralist who displays ...

(Encyclopedia) Khíos kīˈŏs [key], island (1991 pop. 51,060), c.350 sq mi (910 sq km), E Greece, in the Aegean Sea, just W of Asia Minor. It is mountainous and is famous for its scenic beauty and good climate. Th...

(Encyclopedia) Sudetes so͞odēˈtēz [key], Czech Sudety, Ger. Sudeten, mountain range, along the border of the Czech Republic and Poland, extending c.185 mi (300 km) between the Elbe and Oder rivers. It is continu...

(Encyclopedia) bedbug, any of the small, blood-sucking bugs of the family Cimicidae, which includes about 30 species distributed throughout the world. Bedbugs are flat-bodied, oval, reddish brown, and about 1⁄4 in...

(Encyclopedia) Vichy vĭshˈē, Fr. vēshēˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 28,048), Allier dept., central France, on the Allier River. Vichy's hot mineral springs made it one of the foremost spas in Europe, with a casino ...

(Encyclopedia) Saint Joseph sānt jōˈzəf [key]. 1 City (1990 pop. 9,214), seat of Berrien co., SW Mich., a port on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the St. Joseph River across from Benton Harbor; inc. 1834. Located ...

(Encyclopedia) San Jose sănəzāˈ, săn hōzāˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. Along with San Francisco and Oakland the city comprises the fou...

(Encyclopedia) Franzen, Jonathan, 1959–, American novelist, b. Western Springs, Ill., B.A. Swarthmore College, 1981. His first two novels, The Twenty-Seventh City (1988) and Strong Motion (1992), were well receive...

(Encyclopedia) Galilee, Sea of, Lake Tiberias kĭnˈərĕtˌ [key], lake, 64 sq mi (166 sq km), 14 mi (23 km) long, and 3 to 7 mi (4.8–11.3 km) wide, NE Israel; its surface is c.700 ft (210 m) below sea level. Th...