Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Belo, Carlos Felipe Ximenes cärˈlo͞osh fālēˈpā shēmĕˈnĕsh ;bāˈlō [key], 1948–, East Timorese Roman Catholic bishop and human-rights activist. He studied theology in Portugal and Rome i...

(Encyclopedia) Eustachian tube yo͞ostāˈshən [key] [for Bartolomeo Eustachi], a hollow structure of bone and cartilage extending from the middle ear to the rear of the throat, or pharynx, technically known as the...

(Encyclopedia) Store Bælt Bridge stôˈrə bĕlt [key], link comprising two bridges and a tunnel, S Denmark, across the Store Bælt strait (see Store Bælt and Lille Bælt) between Sjælland and Fyn islands. The en...

(Encyclopedia) Malay Archipelago, great island group of SE Asia, formerly called the East Indies. Lying between the Asian mainland and Australia, and separating the Pacific Ocean from the Indian Ocean, it includes B...

(Encyclopedia) Winzer, Otto ôˈtō vĭntsˈər [key], 1902–75, East German political leader. A member of the German Communist party from 1925, he left Germany in 1935 during the Hitler era and returned after Worl...

(Encyclopedia) Huang He, Hwang Ho both: hwängˈ ho͝oˈ [key], or Yellow River, great river of N China, c.3,000 mi (4,830 km) long, rising in the twin lakes Gyaring and Ngoring in the Kunlun Mts., NW Qinghai prov....

(Encyclopedia) exploration, travel to a part of the earth that is relatively unknown to the traveler's culture, historically often motivated by a desire for colonization, conquest, or trade. See also space explorati...

(Encyclopedia) Babylon băbˈəlŏn [key], ancient city of Mesopotamia. One of the most important cities of the ancient Middle East, it was on the Euphrates River and was north of the cities that flourished in S Mes...

(Encyclopedia) lamp, originally a vessel for holding oil or some combustible substance that could be burned through a wick for illumination; the term has been extended to other lighting devices. Stones, shells, and ...

(Encyclopedia) Cochin China kōˈchĭn, kŏˈ– [key], Fr. Cochinchine, historic region (c.26,500 sq mi/68,600 sq km) of Vietnam, SE Asia. The capital and chief city was Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). Cochin China ...