Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

184 results found

Cimarron

(Encyclopedia)Cimarron sĭmˈərŏnˌ [key], river, 698 mi (1,123 km) long, rising in NE N.Mex., and flowing generally E to the Arkansas River, W of Tulsa, Okla. It follows the direct route of the Santa Fe Trail fo...

Fort Bridger State Park

(Encyclopedia)Fort Bridger State Park, on Blacks Fork of the Green River, SW Wyo. The supply post, founded by U.S. fur trader James Bridger in 1843, was an important station on the Oregon Trail. The Mormons held Fo...

National Road

(Encyclopedia)National Road, U.S. highway built in the early 19th cent. At the time of its construction, the National Road was the most ambitious road-building project ever undertaken in the United States. It final...

Sharpton, Rev. Al

(Encyclopedia) Sharpton, Rev. Al (Alfred Charles Sharpton), 1954- , African-American minister and civil rights activist, b, Brownsville, Brooklyn, N.Y. A child-prodi...

Fort Riley

(Encyclopedia)Fort Riley, U.S. military post, 5,760 acres (2,331 hectares), NE Kans., on the Kansas River; est. 1852 to protect travelers on the Santa Fe Trail from attack by Native Americans. Located near the geog...

fireball

(Encyclopedia)fireball, very bright meteor leaving a trail in the sky that can remain visible for several minutes; often a distinct sound, perhaps caused by very low frequency radio waves, is associated with it. A ...

Fort Hall

(Encyclopedia)Fort Hall, trading post on the Snake River, near Pocatello, SE Idaho; est. 1834 by U.S. trader Nathaniel Wyeth. It was sold in 1836 to the Hudson's Bay Company, which occupied the post until 1856. For...

Sand to Snow National Monument

(Encyclopedia)Sand to Snow National Monument, 154,000 acres (62,000 hectares) in the San Bernadino Mountains, S Calif. It rises from the Sonoran Desert floor to Mount San Gorgonio (11,503 ft/3,506 m), the highest p...

Broadway

(Encyclopedia)Broadway, famous thoroughfare in New York City. It extends from Bowling Green near the foot of Manhattan island N to 262d St. in the Bronx. Throughout its length Broadway is chiefly a commercial stree...

James, Thomas, American fur trader and pioneer

(Encyclopedia)James, Thomas, 1782–1847, American fur trader and pioneer, b. Maryland. He accompanied the 1809 expedition of the Missouri Fur Company up the Missouri River. He left the expedition at the Mandan vil...
 

Browse by Subject