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Riga, Gulf of

(Encyclopedia)Riga, Gulf of, eastern arm of the Baltic Sea, bordering on Estonia and on Latvia. At its mouth it is nearly closed off by the Estonian island of Saaremaa. The gulf, which is frozen from December to Ap...

Oskarshamn

(Encyclopedia)Oskarshamn ôsˌkärs-häˈmən [key], city (1990 pop. 17,790), Kalmar co., SE Sweden, a seaport on the Kalmarsund (an arm of the Baltic Sea); chartered 1856. Manufactures of this industrial center in...

fur seal

(Encyclopedia)fur seal, fin-footed marine mammal of the eared seal family (Otaridae), highly valued for its fur. Like the closely related sea lion, the nine species of fur seals are distinguished from the true seal...

coral

(Encyclopedia)coral, small, sedentary marine animal, related to the sea anemone but characterized by a skeleton of horny or calcareous material. The skeleton itself is also called coral. Although most corals form c...

Sevastopol

(Encyclopedia)Sevastopol sĭvăsˈtəpōlˌ [key], formerly spelled Sebastopol, city (1989 pop. 355,000), on the Crimean peninsula and the Bay of Sevastopol, an inlet of the Black Sea. From 1954 part of Ukraine (th...

Charybdis

(Encyclopedia)Charybdis kərĭbˈdĭs [key], in Greek mythology, a female monster. Because she stole Hercules' cattle, Zeus hurled her into the sea. There she lay under rocks across from Scylla and sucked in and sp...

Ireland, John, English composer

(Encyclopedia)Ireland, John, 1879–1962, English composer. Inspired by visits to the Channel Islands, he wrote music of a simple, rugged beauty. His many songs include the cycle Songs of a Wayfarer (1903) and Sea ...

Inhul

(Encyclopedia)Inhul ēnho͞olˈ [key], Rus. Ingul, river, in Ukraine. Rising N of Kirovohrad, it flows south c.210 mi (340 km) to empty into the Buh estuary, an inlet of the Black Sea, at Mykolayiv. ...

Hazaribagh

(Encyclopedia)Hazaribagh or Hazaribag həzäˈrĭbägˌ [key], town, Jharkhand state, E central India. ...

Hero, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Hero, in Greek mythology, priestess of Aphrodite in Sestos. Her lover, Leander, swam the Hellespont nightly from Abydos to see her. During a storm the light by which she guided him blew out, and he dr...