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Wilkins, Sir George Hubert

(Encyclopedia)Wilkins, Sir George Hubert, 1888–1958, British explorer, b. Australia. He made a number of trips to Antarctica and to the Arctic. Valuable experience gained when he accompanied Vilhjalmur Stefansson...

Bering Strait

(Encyclopedia)Bering Strait, c.55 mi (90 km) wide, between extreme NE Asia and extreme NW North America, connecting the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea. It is usually completely frozen over from October to June. Th...

Marryat, Frederick

(Encyclopedia)Marryat, Frederick mărˈēăt [key], 1792–1848, English novelist. He is famous for his thrilling tales of sea adventure. His 24 years of service in the British navy in various parts of the world pr...

ragweed

(Encyclopedia)ragweed, any plant of the genus Ambrosia, coarse, weedy herbs belonging to the family Asteraceae (aster family), most of which are native to America. They have inconspicuous greenish flowers and soft ...

Groseilliers, Médard Chouart, sieur des

(Encyclopedia)Groseilliers, Médard Chouart, sieur des mādärˈ shwär syör dā grôsāyāˈ [key], 1618?–c.1690, French trader and explorer in North America. He was the brother-in-law of Pierre Esprit Radisson...

Trans-Canada Highway

(Encyclopedia)Trans-Canada Highway, c.4,800 mi (7,700 km) long, S Canada; dedicated 1962; completed 1970. The world's longest national highway, it traverses North America from St. John's, N.L., to Victoria, British...

Saint Martin-in-the-Fields

(Encyclopedia)Saint Martin-in-the-Fields, church in London, England, on Trafalgar Square; built 1721–26 by James Gibbs. It has a Corinthian portico and elaborate spire. It is the prototype for many colonial churc...

diet, in nutrition

(Encyclopedia)diet, food and drink regularly consumed for nourishment. Nutritionists generally recommend eating a wide variety of foods; however, some groups of people survive on a very limited diet. The traditiona...

Eskimo

(Encyclopedia)Eskimo ĕsˈkəmō [key], a general term used to refer to a number of groups inhabiting the coastline from the Bering Sea to Greenland and the Chukchi Peninsula in NE Siberia. A number of distinct gro...

folk song

(Encyclopedia)folk song, music of anonymous composition, transmitted orally. The theory that folk songs were originally group compositions has been modified in recent studies. These assume that the germ of a folk m...