Columbia Encyclopedia
Search results
500 results found
Mayotte
(Encyclopedia)Mayotte mīŏtˈ [key], island (2015 est. pop. 240,000), 144 sq mi (374 sq km), French departmental collectivity, Indian Ocean, in the Comoro chain. Mamoudzou is the capital and largest city. The land...Trincomalee
(Encyclopedia)Trincomalee trĭngˌkəməlēˈ [key], town (1995 est. pop. 50,000), capital of Eastern prov., NE Sri Lanka, on the Bay of Bengal. Trincomalee has one of the world's finest natural harbors and can acc...cyclone
(Encyclopedia)cyclone, atmospheric pressure distribution in which there is a low central pressure relative to the surrounding pressure. The resulting pressure gradient, combined with the Coriolis effect, causes air...Gama, Vasco da
(Encyclopedia)Gama, Vasco da văˈskō də găˈmə, Port. väshˈkō dä gäˈmə [key], c.1469–1524, Portuguese navigator, the first European to journey by sea to India. His epochal voyage (1497–99) was made ...hermit crab
(Encyclopedia)hermit crab, a crustacean distinguished from true crabs by its long, soft, spirally coiled abdomen terminating in an asymmetrically hooked tail. Most hermit crabs protect this vulnerable portion of th...Maputo
(Encyclopedia)Maputo məpo͞oˈtō [key], city (1997 pop. 966,837), capital of Mozambique, a port on the Indian Ocean. It is Mozambique's largest city and its administrative, communications, and commercial center. ...Kidd, William
(Encyclopedia)Kidd, William, 1645?–1701, British privateer and pirate, known as Captain Kidd. He went to sea in his youth and later settled in New York, where he married and owned property. In 1691 he was rewarde...Krakatoa
(Encyclopedia)Krakatoa kräkätouˈ [key], volcanic island, c.5 sq mi (13 sq km), W Indonesia, in Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra; rising to 2,667 ft (813 m). A momentous volcanic explosion on Aug. 23, 1883, ...sea snake
(Encyclopedia)sea snake, name for any of the venomous marine snakes of the family Hydrophidae, found in tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. The sea snake's body is flattened laterally and its oarlike ...Tamil Nadu
(Encyclopedia)Tamil Nadu mədrăsˈ, mədräsˈ [key], state (2001 provisional pop. 62,110,839), 50,180 sq mi (129,966 sq km), SE India, on the Bay of Bengal. The capital is Chennai (formerly Madras). On a low-lyin...Browse by Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
-
Places
+-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-
