Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Nafud nĕfo͞odˈ [key], desert area in the northern part of the Arabian peninsula, occupying a great oval depression; 180 mi (290 km) long and 140 mi (225 km) wide. This area of red sand is surrounde...

(Encyclopedia) Stephen the Great, d.1504, prince of Moldavia (1457–1504). A great military and political leader, Stephen consolidated princely authority, furthered economic prosperity, and reorganized the army, th...

(Encyclopedia) Great Bear Lake, largest lake of Canada and fourth largest of North America, c.12,275 sq mi (31,800 sq km), c.190 mi (310 km) long and from 25 to 110 mi (40–177 km) wide, Northwest Territories, on t...

(Encyclopedia) tornado, dark, funnel-shaped cloud containing violently rotating air that develops below a heavy cumulonimbus cloud mass and extends toward the earth. The funnel twists about, rises and falls, and whe...

(Encyclopedia) China, Great Wall of: see Great Wall of China. ...

(Encyclopedia) Great Lakes, group of five freshwater lakes, central North America, creating a natural border between the United States and Canada and forming the largest body of freshwater in the world, with a combi...

(Encyclopedia) Bannock bănˈək [key], Native North Americans who formerly ranged over wide territory of the N Great Plains and into the foothills of the Rocky Mts. They were concentrated in S Idaho. Their language...

(Encyclopedia) Great Northern Peninsula or Petit Nord Peninsula, comprising NW Newfoundland island, Canada, extending 170 mi (274 km) NE from Bonne Bay on the west to Cape Bauld at the tip; White Bay borders it on t...

(Encyclopedia) Great South Bay, arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.45 mi (72 km) long, between the southern shore of Long Island and offshore barrier islands, SE N.Y. With the rapid population growth along its shores, the...

(Encyclopedia) pasqueflower păskˈflouˌər [key], name for two similar perennials of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family). The Old World pasqueflower (Anemone pulsatilla) was so named because it blossoms ar...