Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), independent U.S. government corporate agency, created in 1933 by act of Congress; it is responsible for the integrated development of the Tennessee River basin. The h...

(Encyclopedia) Egyptian religion, the religious beliefs of the ancient inhabitants of Egypt. Information concerning ancient Egyptian religion is abundant but unsatisfactory. Only certain parts of Egyptian religious ...

(Encyclopedia) magnesium măgnēˈzēəm, –zhəm [key], metallic chemical element; symbol Mg; at. no. 12; at. wt. 24.3050; m.p. about 648.8℃; b.p. about 1,090℃; sp. gr. 1.738 at 20℃; valence +2. In 1808, Sir...

(Encyclopedia) Chlorophyta klōrŏfˈətə [key], phylum (division) of the kingdom Protista consisting of the photosynthetic organisms commonly known as green algae. The organisms are largely aquatic or marine. The ...

(Encyclopedia) Congo zīˈēr, zäērˈ [key], great river of equatorial Africa, c.2,720 mi (4,380 km) long, formed by the waters of the Lualaba River and its tributary, the Luvua River, and flowing generally N and ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Sulfur crystals sulfur or sulphur sŭlˈfər [key], nonmetallic chemical element; symbol S; at. no. 16; interval in which at. wt. ranges 32.059–32.076; m.p. 112.8℃ (rhombic), 119.0℃ (mon...

(Encyclopedia) flood, inundation of land by the rise and overflow of a body of water. Floods occur most commonly when water from heavy rainfall, from melting ice and snow, or from a combination of these exceeds the ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 A. Canal systems of the three morphological types of sponges B. Internal anatomy of an asconoid sponge, representative of the phylum Porifera Porifera pōrĭfˈərə [key] [Lat.,=pore bearer],...

(Encyclopedia) environmentalism, movement to protect the quality and continuity of life through conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and control of land use. The philosophical foundations for ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Hawaii həwīˈē, häväˈē [key], 50th state of the United States, comprising a group of eight major islands and numerous islets in the central Pacific Ocean, c.2,100 mi (3,380 km) SW of San...