Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) novel, in modern literary usage, a sustained work of prose fiction a volume or more in length. It is distinguished from the short story and the fictional sketch, which are necessarily brief. Although ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Plate tectonics: Map of the world showing major plates and plate boundaries CE5 Plate tectonics: Schematic model of the oceanic crust, showing the three types of plate boundaries plate tect...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Argentina ärjəntēˈnə, Span. ärhāntēˈnä [key], officially Argentine Republic, republic (2020 est. pop. 45,380,000), 1,072,157 sq mi (2,776,889 sq k...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Kentucky kəntŭkˈē, kĭn– [key], state of the SE central United States. It is bordered by West Virginia and Virginia (E); Tennessee (S); the Mississippi River, across which lies Missouri (...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Sierra Leone sēĕrˈə lēōˈnē, lēōnˈ; sērˈə lēōn [key], officially Republic of Sierra Leone, republic (2015 est. pop. 5,879,000), 27,699 sq mi (71,740 sq km), W Africa. It is borde...

(Encyclopedia) integration, in U.S. history, the goal of an organized movement to break down the barriers of discrimination and segregation separating African Americans from the rest of American society. Racial segr...

(Encyclopedia) Cretaceous period krĭtāˈshəs [key], third and last period of the Mesozoic era of geologic time (see Geologic Timescale, tablegeologic timescale, table), lasting from approximately 144 to 65 millio...

(Encyclopedia) tragedy, form of drama that depicts the suffering of a heroic individual who is often overcome by the very obstacles he is struggling to remove. The protagonist may be brought low by a character flaw ...

(Encyclopedia) human evolution, theory of the origins of the human species, Homo sapiens. Modern understanding of human origins is derived largely from the findings of paleontology, anthropology, and genetics, and i...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Washington, state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is bordered by Idaho (E); Oregon, with the Columbia River marking much of the boundary (S); the Pacific Ocean (W); and the Ca...