Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) syenite sīˈənīt [key], coarse-grained igneous rock, similar in appearance and composition to granite. Unlike granite, it contains little or no quartz. The chief minerals in syenite are the feldspa...

(Encyclopedia) shaft sinking, excavation from the surface of an opening in the earth. Shafts, which are generally vertical, are usually distinguished from tunnels, which are horizontal. Little difficulty is experien...

(Encyclopedia) Fletcher, John Gould, 1886–1950, American poet, b. Little Rock, Ark., educated (1903–7) at Harvard. After traveling throughout Europe, he became a leader of the imagists in England. His early coll...

(Encyclopedia) Faubus, Orval ôrˈvəl fôˈbəs [key], 1910–94, governor of Arkansas (1955–67), b. Combs, Ark. A schoolteacher, he served in World War II and after the war became Arkansas's state highway commis...

(Encyclopedia) Dipper, Big, and Little Dipper: see Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. ...

(Encyclopedia) Belt, Great, and Little Belt, straits: see Store Bælt and Lille Bælt, straits, Denmark. ...

(Encyclopedia) Berry, Chuck (Charles Edward Anderson Berry), 1926–2017, American rock music guitarist, singer, and songwriter, b. San Jose, Calif. Berry is widely regarded as one of the leading pioneers of rock mu...

(Encyclopedia) landslide, rapid slipping of a mass of earth or rock from a higher elevation to a lower level under the influence of gravity and water lubrication. More specifically, rockslides are the rapid downhill...

(Encyclopedia) Giant's Causeway, headland on the north coast of Moyle dist., N Northern Ireland, NE of Coleraine; est. as a national trust territory in 1961. Extending 3 mi (4.8 km) along the coast, it consists of t...

(Encyclopedia) Little River Canyon National Preserve: see National Parks and Monuments (table)national parks and monuments (table). ...