Columbia

Columbia is a poetic name for the United States and its nineteenth century female personification, which inspired related uses such as the former unofficial U.S. national anthems Columbia, Gem of the Ocean and Hail, Columbia. It is also the name of the capital of the United States, District of Columbia. It should not be confused with Colombia, a nation in South America, which has a different spelling.

Places in North America named Columbia include:

• Columbia River
• British Columbia
• District of Columbia
• Mt. Columbia in Colorado
• Mt. Columbia in Alberta
• Columbia Glacier in Alberta
• Columbia Glacier in Alaska
• Columbia Glacier and Columbia Peak in Washington
• Columbia Icefield in Alberta and British Columbia

The largest U.S. city named Columbia is Columbia, South Carolina (that state's capital). Other locations by that name include:

• Columbia, Connecticut
• Columbia, Illinois
• Columbia, Maryland
• Columbia, Mississippi
• Columbia, Missouri
• Columbia, New Jersey
• Columbia, New York
• Columbia, North Carolina
• Columbia, Pennsylvania
• Columbia, Tennessee.

Other places in the U.S. with Columbia within their names include:

• Columbia City, Indiana
• Columbia County, Arkansas
• Columbia County, Georgia
• Columbia County, New York
• Columbia County, Pennsylvania
• Columbia Heights, Minnesota
• Columbia Heights, Washington, DC
• Columbia Station, Ohio
• Three places named Columbia Township in Michigan:
  • one in Jackson County
  • one in Tuscola County
  • one in Van Buren County.

Well-known companies named Columbia include:

• Columbia Pictures (also known as Columbia TriStar)
• Columbia Broadcasting System, which became CBS
• Columbia Records
• Columbia Sportswear
• Columbia University Press, publisher of Columbia Encyclopedia

Educational institutions named Columbia include:

• Columbia University
• any of several Columbia Colleges
• Columbia Theological Seminary

Technology named Columbia includes

• Columbia Nuclear Generating Station in Washington
• Columbia, a NASA supercomputer

Vehicles called Columbia include:

• Space shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated during reentry in 2003
• the Apollo 11 Command/Service Module
• USS Columbia, several ships of the US Navy
• HMS Columbia, several ships of the Royal Navy
• The type 2-4-2 railroad locomotive is called a Columbia in the Whyte notation

Fictional uses of Columbia include:

• Columbiad, the fictional cannon that was used to travel to the moon in From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne
• a spaceship in Wally Wood's comic story Dark Side of the Moon, published in 1950.
• Columbia NX-02, a fictional starship on the television series Star Trek: Enterprise
• a character in The Rocky Horror Picture Show
• a song by Oasis (band) on Definitely Maybe

Songs about Columbia include:

• Roll on Columbia, a 1941 popular song by Woody Guthrie about the Columbia River

Related terms include:

• Colombia, a country in South America often misspelled as 'Columbia'
• The constellation Columba
• Niobium, an element formerly named Columbium