Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Gajdusek, Daniel Carleton gīdˈəshĕkˌ [key], 1923–2008, American virologist, b. Yonkers, N.Y., grad. Univ. of Rochester; M.D. Harvard, 1945. He worked in the United States, Iran, Australia, and ...

(Encyclopedia) nutcracker, common name for a small crow of the genus Nucifraga in the family Corvidae (crow family). The Old World nutcracker (N. caryocatactes) is found throughout the colder regions of Europe, incl...

(Encyclopedia) Maidu mīˈdo͞o [key], Native North Americans belonging to the Penutian linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the early 19th cent. they were located on the eastern tributaries of the S...

(Encyclopedia) Mesabi məsäbˈē [key], range of low hills, NE Minn., once famous for its extensive iron ore deposits. The ores were found in a belt c.110 mi (180 km) long and from 1 to 3 mi (1.6–4.8 km) wide bet...

(Encyclopedia) Noatak National Preserve, 6,569,904 acres (2,660,811 hectares), N Alaska. The preserve is the largest mountain-ringed river basin in the United States that is still virtually unaffected by human activ...

(Encyclopedia) Pan-American Highway, system of roads, c.16,000 mi (25,750 km) long, linking the nations of the Western Hemisphere. It was suggested at the Fifth International Conference of American States (1923) and...

(Encyclopedia) Marden, Brice, 1938–, American painter, b. Bronxville, N.Y.; grad Boston Univ. (B.F.A., 1961), Yale Univ. (M.A., 1963). Marden began exhibiting his work in the 1960s, becoming known for minimalist a...

(Encyclopedia) markhor märˈkôr [key], wild goat, Capra falconeri, found in the rugged mountains of central Asia, from S Russia to the W Himalayas. Largest of the goats, the male may stand over 40 in. (100 cm) at ...

(Encyclopedia) Mixtón War mēstōnˈ [key], 1541, revolt of indigenous peoples against Spanish rule in Nueva Galicia, W Mexico. The conquest under Nuño de Guzmán had been particularly harsh and the encomienda sys...

(Encyclopedia) Denali, formerly Mount McKinley, peak, 20,310 ft (6,190 m) high, S central Alaska, in the Alaska Range; highest point in North America. Permanent snowfields cover more than half the mountain and feed ...