Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) San Gabriel Mountains, S Calif., E and NE of Los Angeles, running c.50 mi (80 km) westward from Cajon Pass. Mt. San Antonio, also known as Mt. Baldy (10,080 ft/3,072 m), is the highest peak of the ran...

(Encyclopedia) Egan, Patrick ēˈgən [key], 1841–1919, Irish and American political leader, b. Co. Longford, Ireland. Fervently devoted to the cause of Irish home rule and land reform, he was a member of the Iris...

(Encyclopedia) Mosquito Coast or Mosquitia məskēˈtēə, mōskētēˈä [key], region, east coast of Nicaragua and Honduras. The name is derived from the Miskito, the indigenous inhabitants and remnants of the Cho...

(Encyclopedia) Matamoros, city (1990 pop. 266,055), Tamaulipas state, NE Mexico, near the mouth of the Rio Grande, opposite Brownsville, Tex. Matamoros, linked by rail and highway with the United States, is an inter...

(Encyclopedia) Francia, José Gaspar Rodríguez hōsāˈ gäspärˈ rōᵺrēˈgās fränˈsyä [key], 1766–1840, dictator of Paraguay and creator of its national independence, known as El Supremo. Incorruptible a...

(Encyclopedia) Los Cabos, resort area centered on the towns of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, encompassing much of the S tip of the Baja California peninsula. The communiti...

(Encyclopedia) Chacabuco, battle of, Feb. 12, 1817, fought between Chilean independence forces and Spanish troops. It took place just N of Santiago, Chile. José de San Martín, with Bernardo O'Higgins, assaulted an...

(Encyclopedia) Justice, United States Department of, federal executive department established in 1870 and charged with providing the means for enforcing federal laws, furnishing legal counsel in federal cases, and c...

(Encyclopedia) Fernández de Lizardi, José Joaquín hōsāˈ hwäkēnˈ fārnänˈdās dā lēsärˈdē [key], 1776–1827, Mexican journalist, novelist, and dramatist, known by his pseudonym El Pensador Mexicano. ...

(Encyclopedia) city-state, in ancient Greece, Italy, and Medieval Europe, an independent political unit consisting of a city and surrounding countryside. The first city-states were in Sumer, but they reached their p...