Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Messina, Strait of, channel, c.20 mi (32 km) long and from 2 to 10 mi (3.2–16 km) wide, separating the Italian peninsula from Sicily and connecting the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. Reggio di Calabria...

(Encyclopedia) exile, removal of a national from his or her country, or the civilized parts of it, for a long period of time or for life. Exile may be a forceful expulsion by the government or a voluntary removal by...

(Encyclopedia) conscription, compulsory enrollment of personnel for service in the armed forces. Obligatory service in the armed forces has existed since ancient times in many cultures, including the samurai in Japa...

(Encyclopedia) Klein, Ralph Phillip, 1942–2013, Canadian politician, b. Calgary. He served in the Canadian air force and worked in public relations and as a weathercaster and reporter in radio and television befor...

(Encyclopedia) Lenglen, Suzanne süzänˈ läNglĕnˈ [key], 1899–1938, French tennis player. She won the world hard-court singles and doubles titles in 1914. She was champion of French women's singles (1920–23,...

(Encyclopedia) Nagano nägäˈnō [key], city (1990 pop. 347,026), capital of Nagano prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, on the Tenryu River. It has a food-processing industry and produces auto parts and textiles. It...

(Encyclopedia) Prespa, Lake prĕsˈpä [key], Albanian Prespës, Macedonian Prespansko, 112 sq mi (290 sq km), SW North Macedonia, NW Greece, and E Albania; highest lake (alt. 2,798 ft/853 m) of the Balkans. It is c...

(Encyclopedia) Olympus ōlĭmˈpəs [key], Gr. Ólimbos, mountain range, c.25 mi (40 km) long, N Greece, on the border of Thessaly and Macedonia, near the Aegean coast. It rises to c.9,570 ft (2,920 m) at Mt. Olympu...

(Encyclopedia) Induráin, Miguel (Miguel Angel Induráin Larraya) mēgĕlˈ ängˈkhāl ĭndo͞oräˈēn läˈräyä [key], 1964–, Spanish bicycle racer. In a career lasting from 1985 to 1997, he dominated Europea...

(Encyclopedia) orientation, in architecture, the disposition of the parts of a building with reference to the points of the compass. From remote antiquity the traditional belief in the efficacy of religious ceremoni...