Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) heatstroke, profound disturbance of the heat-regulating mechanism of the body, also known as sunstroke. It is characterized by extremely high body temperatures and sometimes by convulsions and coma. T...

(Encyclopedia) Rehe jəhôlˈ, –hōlˈ [key], former province (c.44,000 sq mi/114,000 sq km), NE China. Chengde was the capital. In 1955, Rehe was divided between the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and the prov...

(Encyclopedia) English foxhound, breed of medium-sized, swift hound perfected in England in the 17th and 18th cent. It stands from 21 to 25 in. (53.3–63.5 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 60 to 70 lb (27.2...

(Encyclopedia) hawk, name generally applied to the smaller members of the Accipitridae, a heterogeneous family of diurnal birds of prey, such as the eagle, the kite, and the Old World vulture. Hawks belong to the sa...

(Encyclopedia) jet stream, narrow, swift currents or tubes of air found at heights ranging from 7 to 8 mi (11.3–12.9 km) above the surface of the earth. They are caused by great temperature differences between adj...

(Encyclopedia) Susquehanna səskwĭhănˈə [key], river, 444 mi (715 km) long, rising in Otsego Lake, at Cooperstown, N.Y., and zigzagging SE and SW through E central Pa. to Chesapeake Bay near Havre de Grace, Md. ...

(Encyclopedia) pratincole prătˈənkōlˌ [key], common name for a large-winged shore bird including seven species in the subfamily Glareolinae of the family Glareolidae. Swift and graceful flyers, their sharply po...

(Encyclopedia) Utopia yo͞otōˈpēə [key] [Gr.,=no place], title of a book by Sir Thomas More, published in Latin in 1516. The work pictures an ideal state where all is ordered for the best for humanity as a whole...

(Encyclopedia) Abubakar, Atiku ätēˈko͞o äbo͞obäkärˈ [key], 1946–, Nigerian politician, grad. Ahmadu Bello Univ. Law School (1969). A Muslim and member of the Hausa ethnic group, he worked in the governmen...

(Encyclopedia) cassowary kăsˈəwârˌē [key], common name for a flightless, swift-running, pugnacious forest bird of Australia and the Malay Archipelago, smaller than the ostrich and emu. The plumage is dark and ...