Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Uralic and Altaic languages yo͝orălˈĭk, ăltāˈĭk [key], two groups of related languages thought by many scholars to form a single Ural-Altaic linguistic family. However, other authorities hold ...

(Encyclopedia) sequoia sĭkwoiˈə [key], name for the redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and for the big tree, or giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), both huge, coniferous evergreen trees of the bald cypress fami...

(Encyclopedia) Scandinavia skănˌdĭnāˈvēə [key], region of N Europe. It consists of the kingdoms of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark; Finland and Iceland are usually considered part of Scandinavia. Physiographicall...

(Encyclopedia) manifest destiny, belief held by many Americans in the 1840s that the United States was destined to expand across the continent, by force, as used against Native Americans, if necessary. The controver...

(Encyclopedia) La Mesa lə māˈsə [key], city (1990 pop. 52,931), San Diego co., S Calif., a suburb of San Diego; inc. 1912. It is a retail center and a popular residence for upper- and middle-income professionals...

(Encyclopedia) Ixtapa ēshtäˈpä [key], resort town, Guerrero, SW Mexico, on the Pacific. Its broad bay was largely untouched until the late 1960s. In 1972 the Mexican government began developing a planned, strict...

(Encyclopedia) Azusa əzo͞oˈsə [key], city (2020 pop. 50,000), Los Angeles co., S Calif., in the San Gabriel valley; inc. 1898. It is a residential and industrial city in a citrus-fru...

(Encyclopedia) Pines, Isle of, or Kunié ko͞oˈnyā [key], island (1989 pop. 1,465), c.58 sq mi (150 sq km), South Pacific, a part of the French overseas territory of New Caledonia. Formerly a penal colony, the isl...

(Encyclopedia) Alofi, village, capital of Niue, a South Pacific island nation in free association with New Zealand. Situated on Alofi Bay on Niue's W coast, it was the island's largest settlement and ...

(Encyclopedia) Brainerd brāˈnərd [key], city (2020 pop. 14,395), seat of Crow Wing co., central Minn., on ...