Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Appalachian Mountains ăpəlāˈchən, –chēən, –lăchˈ– [key], mountain system of E North America, extending in a broad belt c.1,600 mi (2,570 km) SW from the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec 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) star-of-Bethlehem, in botany, low, spring-blooming bulbous plant (Ornithogalum umbellatum) of the family Liliaceae (lily family), native to the Mediterranean region but naturalized in North America an...

(Encyclopedia) Cathay kăthāˈ [key], name for North China used by medieval Europeans, derived from the Khitan (or Khitai), a Manchurian people who conquered S Manchuria and N China and founded the Liao dynasty (93...

(Encyclopedia) jumping mouse, rodent slightly larger than the common mouse, found in North America and N Asia, also called the kangaroo mouse. Its long hind legs and tail enable it to leap distances up to 12 ft (3.7...

(Encyclopedia) Evenki Autonomous Area ĕvyĕnˈkē [key], former administrative division, 287,645 sq mi (745,000 sq km), N ...

(Encyclopedia) Gatineau gătˈĭnō [key], river, c.240 mi (390 km) long, rising in the Laurentians, SW Que., Canada, and flowing S to the Ottawa River at Gatineau. There are several rapids with hydroelectric power ...

(Encyclopedia) peyotism, religion of some Native North Americans in which the hallucinogenic peyote button is used as the sacramental food. It is the most widespread indigenous contemporary Native American religion....

(Encyclopedia) Heckewelder, John Gottlieb Ernestus hĕkˈəvĕldər [key], 1743–1823, Moravian missionary in the United States, b. Bedford, England. Settling (1754) in Bethlehem, Pa., with his parents, he later wa...

(Encyclopedia) cypress, common name for members of the Cupressaceae, a widely distributed family of coniferous shrubs and trees, several yielding valuable timber. The major genera are Juniperus (juniper), Thuja (arb...