Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) alpine plants, high-altitude representatives of various flowering plants (chiefly perennials) that because of their dwarf habit, profuse blooming, and the preference of many for shady places are culti...

(Encyclopedia) Great Sandy Desert, Australia's second-largest desert, c.110,000 sq mi (284,900 sq km), Western Australia and Northern Territory. Lying between the Tanami Desert (NE) and the Gibson Desert (S), it is ...

(Encyclopedia) amphibole ămˈfəbōlˌ [key], any of a group of widely distributed rock-forming minerals, magnesium-iron silicates, often with traces of calcium, aluminum, sodium, titanium, and other elements. The ...

(Encyclopedia) Palmer, Ray, 1808–87, American Congregational clergyman and hymn writer, b. Little Compton, R.I., grad. Yale, 1830. He held pastorates in Bath, Maine (1835–50), and Albany, N.Y. (1850–66). He is...

(Encyclopedia) Charente, river, 220 mi (354 km) long, rising near Limoges, W France, and flowing W to the Bay of Biscay. The river flows past Angoulême (the head of navigation), Cognac, Saintes, and Rochefort, and ...

(Encyclopedia) John Climax, Saint [Gr.,=ladder], d. c.649, Syrian hermit of Mt. Sinai. Little is known of his life, but his guide to the spiritual life in 30 steps, The Ladder of Paradise, was widely read in the Mid...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 A. Dorsal view of a chiton, representative mollusk of the class Amphineura B. Internal anatomy of a chiton chiton kīˈtən [key], common name for rock-clinging marine mollusks of the class Po...

(Encyclopedia) feldspar fĕlˈspär [key], an abundant group of rock-forming minerals which constitute 60% of the earth's crust. Chemically the feldspars are silicates of aluminum, containing sodium, potassium, iron...

(Encyclopedia)  Jarrett, Keith , 1945- , American jazz pianist and composer, b. Allentown, Pa. A child prodigy on the piano, Jarrett was exposed to contemporary jazz d...