Cooper Creek or Barcoo River Intermittent stream, east-central Australia. Rising as the Barcoo on the northern slopes of the Warrego Range in Queensland, it is joined by the Alice River, turns southwest, and receives its principal tributary, the Thomson, from which point it is known as Cooper Creek. Crossing the South Australia border, it carries water to Lake Eyre. Its total length is 880 mi (1,420 km).
cooperative Organization owned by and operated for the benefit of those using its services. Cooperatives have been successful in such fields as the processing and marketing of farm products and the purchasing of other kinds of equipment and raw materials, and in the wholesaling, retail¬ ing, electric power, credit and banking, and housing industries. The mod¬ em consumer cooperative traces its roots to Britain’s Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers (1844); the movement spread quickly in northern Europe. In the U.S., agricultural marketing cooperatives developed in rural areas in the 19th century; other contemporary examples include consumer and housing cooperatives. See also credit union.
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Political party prominent in western Canada in the 1930s and ’40s. It was founded in Calgary, Alta., in 1932 by a federation of farm, labour, and socialist par¬ ties to transform the capitalist system into a “cooperative commonwealth” by democratic means. It called for the socialization of banks and public ownership of transportation, communication, and natural resources. It won the general election in Saskatchewan in 1944 and took over the pro¬ vincial government. It won further Saskatchewan elections but declined elsewhere. In 1961 it merged with the New Democratic Party.
coordinate geometry See analytic geometry
coordinate system Arrangement of reference lines or curves used to identify the location of points in space. In two dimensions, the most com¬ mon system is the Cartesian (after Rene Descartes) system. Points are des¬ ignated by their distance along a horizontal (x) and vertical (y) axis from a reference point, the origin, designated (0, 0). Cartesian coordinates also can be used for three (or more) dimensions. A polar coordinate system locates a point by its direction relative to a reference direction and its
Calvin Coolidge.
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462 i coordinate system ► Copernicus
distance from a given point, also the origin. Such a system is used in radar or sonar tracking and is the basis of bearing-and-range navigation sys¬ tems. In three dimensions, it leads to cylindrical and spherical coordinates.
coordinate system, spherical See spherical coordinate system
Coos \'kiis\ Bay formerly Marshfield Bay Town (pop., 2000: 15,374), southwestern Oregon, U.S. Located on Coos Bay, an inlet of the Pacific, it was settled as Marshfield in 1854 and developed early ship¬ building industries. In the early 1900s it became a major lumber-shipping port. A port of entry, it also processes seafood products and is the heart of a seaside resort area. Incorporated in 1874, it was renamed Coos Bay (after an Indian tribal name) in 1944.
Coosa River River, in Georgia and Alabama, U.S. Formed by the con¬ fluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula rivers at Rome, Ga., it flows south for 286 mi (460 km) through the Appalachian Ridge and Valley region into the Gulf coastal plain. It joins the Tallapoosa River north of Mont¬ gomery to form the Alabama River. Locks and dams make navigation pos¬ sible to Rome.
coot Any of 10 species of ducklike waterbirds (genus Fulica) in the rail family. Coots are found worldwide in larger inland waters and streams, where they swim and bob for food, mostly plants, seeds, mollusks, and worms. They have greenish or blu¬ ish gray feet, with toes fringed by a lobed membrane that helps them swim and walk over marshes. The short conical beak is topped by a flat¬ tened, fleshy shield that extends onto the forehead. The European coot is about 18 in. (45 cm) long and weighs 2 lbs (900 g). The coot of North America resembles the European species.
cootie See human louse
Copacabana \ l ko-p3-ko- , ba-n3\
Southeastern district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Occupying a narrow strip of land between the mountains and the sea, it is a popular resort area, famous for its magnificent 2.5-mi (4-km) curved beach along the entrance to Guanabara Bay. Hotels, nightclubs, and restaurants line the waterfront.
Copan \ko-'pan\ Ruined ancient Mayan city, Honduras. It lies near the Guatemalan border on the bank of the Copan River, about 35 mi (56 km) from modem Santa Rosa de Copan. An important centre of Mayan art and astronomy during the Classic Period (c. ad 250-c. 900), it was at its peak early in the 9th cen¬ tury and may have been home to as many as 20,000 people. The site con¬ sists of stone temples, two large pyramids, several stairways and pla¬ zas, and a ball court. It is particularly noted for the friezes on its buildings.
The Maya had completely aban¬ doned the site by c. 1200. It was des¬ ignated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.
Cope, Edward Drinker (b. July 28, 1840, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d.
April 12, 1897, Philadelphia) U.S. paleontologist. He devoted 22 years to exploration and research, espe¬ cially in the description of extinct fishes, reptiles, and mammals of the western U.S. He discovered about 1,000 species of extinct vertebrates and developed the evolutionary his¬ tories of the horse and of mammalian teeth. His theory of kinetogenesis, stating that the natural movements of animals aided in the alteration and development of moving parts, led him to support Lamarck’s theory of evo¬
lution. He engaged in a bitter, long-running feud with O.C. Marsh. Among his 1,200 books and papers are Reptilia and Aves of North America (1869- 70) and Relation of Man to Tertiary Mammalia (1875).
Copenhagen V.ko-psn-'ha-gan, 'ko-pgn-.ha-gsnV Danish Keben- havn \,kce-b3n-'haun\ Capital and largest city (pop., 2001: city, 499,148; metro, area, 1,081,673) of Denmark. It is located on the islands of Zealand (Sjaelland) and Amager. A small village existed on the site by the early 10th century. In 1167 Bishop Absalon built a castle there and fortified the town. In 1445 Copenhagen was made the capital and the residence of the royal family. Its palaces include Amalienborg, home to the Danish mon- archs, and Christiansborg, now housing Parliament. Tivoli amusement park is a popular attraction. Copenhagen is one of Europe’s leading cul¬ tural and educational centres; its oldest university was founded in 1479. Historically a trade and shipping hub, it has also become an industrial city. Shipbuilding, machinery production, and canning and brewing are among the chief manufacturing activities.
Copenhagen, Battle of (April 2, 1801) British naval victory over Denmark in the Napoleonic Wars. The armed-neutrality treaty of 1794 between Denmark and Sweden, to which Russia and Prussia adhered in 1800, was considered a hostile act by England. In 1801 a detachment of the British navy was sent to Copenhagen. After a fierce battle in the har¬ bor, Adm. Horatio Nelson, ignoring orders to withdraw from the fleet commander, Sir Hyde Parker, instead continued to destroy most of the Danish fleet. Danish losses amounted to some 6,000 dead and wounded, six times those of the British. Denmark subsequently withdrew from the neutrality treaty.
copepod Vk6-p3-,pad\ Any of the 10,000 known species of crustaceans in the subclass Copepoda. Copepods are widely distributed and ecologi¬ cally important, serving as food for many species of fish. Most species are free-living marine forms, found from the sea’s surface to great depths. Some live in freshwater or in damp vegetation; others are para¬ sites. Most species are 0.02-0.08 in.