Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Colorado tick fever or mountain tick fever, acute disease caused by infection with a double-stranded RNA virus (a Coltvirus) that is transmitted to humans by Rocky Mountain wood ticks (Dermacentor and...

(Encyclopedia) caribou, name in North America for the genus (Rangifer) of deer from which the Old World reindeer was originally domesticated. Caribou are found in arctic and subarctic regions. They are the only deer...

(Encyclopedia) hyssop hĭsˈəp [key], aromatic, perennial, somewhat woody herb (Hyssopus officinalis) of the family Labiatae (mint family), native to the Old World but partially naturalized in North America. The pl...

(Encyclopedia) infanticide ĭnfănˈtəsīd [key] [Lat.,=child murder], the putting to death of the newborn with the consent of the parent, family, or community. Infanticide often occurs among peoples whose food sup...

(Encyclopedia) cross-laminated timber (CLT), manufactured wood panels that consist of layers of boards glued together under pressure with the grain of the boards in one layer running perpendicular to the grain in ad...

(Encyclopedia) fence [short for defense], humanly erected barrier between two divisions of land, used to mark a legal or other boundary, to keep animals or people in or out, and sometimes as an ornament. In newly se...

(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) herbaceous plant hûrbāˈshəs [key], plant whose stem is soft and green and shows little growth of wood. The term is used to distinguish such plants from woody plants. Herbaceous plants, or herbs, a...

(Encyclopedia) waterway, natural or artificial navigable inland body of water, or system of interconnected bodies of water, used for transportation, may include a lake, river, canal, or any combination of these. The...

(Encyclopedia) baldness, thinning or loss of hair as a result of illness, functional disorder, or hereditary disposition; also known as alopecia. Male pattern baldness, a genetic trait, is the most common cause of b...