Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Rocky Mountains, major mountain system of W North America and easternmost belt of the North American cordillera, extending more than 3,000 mi (4,800 km) from central N.Mex. to NW Alaska; Mt. Elbert (1...

(Encyclopedia) Naryn nərĭnˈ [key], river, c.450 mi (720 km) long, rising in several branches in the Tian Shan mountain system, SW Kyrgyzstan and SE Uzbekistan. The longest river in Kyrgyzstan, it flows generally ...

(Encyclopedia) oasis ōāˈsĭs [key], an area within a desert where the water table reaches the surface, with enough moisture to permit the growth of vegetation. The water may come up to the surface in springs, or ...

(Encyclopedia) Magnitogorsk məgnyēˌtəgôrskˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 440,000), SW Siberian Russia, on the slopes of Mt. Magnitnaya in the S Urals, on the Ural River. Built (1929–31) under the first Five-Year P...

(Encyclopedia) Maillart, Robert mīyärˈ [key], 1872–1940, Swiss engineer, renowned for his inventive and beautiful reinforced-concrete bridges. Maillart's basic structural principles—integration of the support...

(Encyclopedia) Nikko nēkˈkō [key], town (2011 est. pop. 91,000), Tochigi prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, partially in Nikko National Park. Mergers with surrounding municipalities, including Imaichi, have made ...

(Encyclopedia) Olympus ōlĭmˈpəs [key], Gr. Ólimbos, mountain range, c.25 mi (40 km) long, N Greece, on the border of Thessaly and Macedonia, near the Aegean coast. It rises to c.9,570 ft (2,920 m) at Mt. Olympu...

(Encyclopedia) Baalah bāˈələ [key] [Heb., fem. of Baal], in the Bible. 1 The same as Bilhah (2.) 2 The same as Kirjath-jearim. 3 Unidentified mountain, in the vicinity of Jamnia. ...

(Encyclopedia) Camp David, U.S. presidential retreat, located in Catoctin Mountain Park (see National Parks and Monuments, tablenational parks and monuments, table), in NW Md. The Camp David accords, the terms of a ...

(Encyclopedia) feud, formalized private warfare, especially between family groups. The blood feud (see vendetta) is characteristic of those societies in which a strong central government either has not arisen or has...