Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bahr el Abiad, river, Sudan: see White Nile. ...

(Encyclopedia) Royal Ballet, the principal British ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. It is noted for lavish dramatic productions, a superbly disciplined corps de ballet, and bril...

(Encyclopedia) Arkhangelsk ärkˈānˌjəl [key], city (1990 est. 418,000), NW European Russia, on the Northern Dvina near its mouth at the White Sea. Although icebound much of the year, it is a leading Russian port...

(Encyclopedia) killer whale, orca, or grampus, a large, rapacious marine mammal of the dolphin family. Historically considered one species, Orcinus orca, killer whales may be classified into several types, based on...

(Encyclopedia) Sirius sĭrˈēəs [key], or Dog Star, brightest star in the sky. It is located in the constellation Canis Major (1992 position R.A. 6h44.8m, Dec. −16°42′); its Bayer designation is Alpha Canis M...

(Encyclopedia) pronghorn or prongbuck, hoofed herbivorous mammal, Antilocapra americana, of the W United States and N Mexico. Although it is often called the American, or prong-horned, antelope, the pronghorn is the...

(Encyclopedia) veil, a feature of female costume from antiquity, especially in the East, where it was worn primarily to conceal the features. In modern times it is worn to enhance the face. The Egyptian woman of ran...

(Encyclopedia) Tularosa Basin, desert basin, c.6,500 sq mi (16,800 sq km), S N.Mex. and W Tex. From Texas east of El Paso the basin, an area of interior drainage, extends c.170 mi (275 km) to the north, and ranges c...

(Encyclopedia) bass băs [key], common name applied to various fishes of Centrarchidae (black basses and sunfishes), Serranidae (sea basses and groupers), Moronidae (temperate basses), and other families. All basses...

(Encyclopedia) oak, any tree or shrub of the genus Quercus of the family Fagaceae (beech family). This complex genus includes as many as 600, found chiefly in north temperate zones and also in Polynesia. The more so...