Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Ronne, Finn, 1899–1980, Norwegian-American Antarctic explorer. Ronne graduated from college in Norway in 1922 and immigrated to the United States. His first of nine Antarctic expeditions was with Ad...

(Encyclopedia) Ross Island, in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf. Part of the Ross Dependency, the island is separated from Victoria Land by McMurdo Sound. Mt. Erebus, an active volcano, an...

(Encyclopedia) frostweed or frostwort, North American woodland flowers (Helianthemum canadense and sometimes other related species) of the family Cistaceae (rockrose family). In cold weather, crystals of ice shoot f...

(Encyclopedia) Fury and Hecla Strait hĕkˈlə [key], narrow channel, c.100 mi (160 km) long and from 10 to 15 mi (16–24 km) wide, N Canada, between Baffin Island and Melville Peninsula. It connects Foxe Basin wit...

(Encyclopedia) greyhound, breed of tall, swift, sight hound developed nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt. It stands about 26 in. (66 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 65 lb (29.5 kg). Its short, smooth coat may...

(Encyclopedia) beer, alcoholic beverage made by brewing and fermenting cereals, especially malted barley, usually with the addition of hops as a flavoring agent and stabilizer. One of the oldest of alcoholic beverag...

(Encyclopedia) Lausanne lōzänˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 117,600), capital of Vaud canton, W Switzerland, on the Lake of Geneva. An important rail junction and lake port (see Ouchy), it is the trade and commercial c...

(Encyclopedia) glove, hand covering with a separate sheath for each finger. The earliest gloves, relics of the cave dwellers, closely resembled bags. Reaching to the elbow, they were most probably worn solely for pr...

(Encyclopedia) Rice, Condoleezza, 1954–, U.S. government official and educator, b. Birmingham, Ala. A political scientist who has specialized in Russian and E European studies, Rice has been a professor at Stanfor...

(Encyclopedia) Mercury, in astronomy, nearest planet to the sun, at a mean distance of 36 million mi (58 million km); its period of revolution is 88 days. Mercury passes through phases similar to those of the moon a...