Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Freedom of Information Act (1966), law requiring that U.S. government agencies release their records to the public on request, unless the information sought falls into a category specifically exempted...

(Encyclopedia) Theodore Roosevelt National Park, 70,447 acres (28,531 hectares), W N.Dak., in the Badlands and on the Little Missouri River; est. 1947. There are three units—the North Unit, the Elkhorn Ranch Unit,...

(Encyclopedia) Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, 2,526,512 acres (1,022,879 hectares), E central Alaska. The preserve, which protects the two river basins, near the Canadian border, contains paleontological an...

(Encyclopedia) Bryce Canyon National Park, 35,835 acres (14,513 hectares), SW Utah; est. 1924. The Pink Cliffs of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, c.2,000 ft (610 m) high, were formed by water, frost, and wind action on alt...

(Encyclopedia) Rainbow Bridge National Monument, 160 acres (65 hectares), S Utah; est. 1910. Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural bridge in the world, is a symmetrical, pink, sandstone arch, 309 ft (94 m) high, 33 ft...

(Encyclopedia) Big Bend National Park, 801,163 acres (324,471 hectares), W Tex.; authorized 1935, est. 1944. It is a triangle formed where the Rio Grande runs southeast then northeast in a big bend along the U.S.-Me...

(Encyclopedia) Richberg, Donald Randall, 1881–1960, American public official, b. Knoxville, Tenn. He practiced law in Chicago, served as attorney for the city and for Illinois, and became nationally known after sp...

(Encyclopedia) Wind Cave National Park, 28,295 acres (11,459 hectares), in the Black Hills, SW S.Dak.; est. 1903. Wind Cave, discovered in 1881, was named for the strong air currents that blow alternately in and out...

(Encyclopedia) National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, established by an act of Congress, 1937. Andrew W. Mellon donated funds for construction of the building as well...

(Encyclopedia) Johnson, John Albert, 1861–1909, American political leader, governor of Minnesota, b. St. Peter, Minn. The son of poor parents, he left school early and worked at various trades until 1887, when he ...