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World Meteorological Organization

(Encyclopedia)World Meteorological Organization (WMO), specialized agency of the United Nations; established in 1950 with headquarters at Geneva, it became affiliated with the United Nations a year later. It replac...

skimmer

(Encyclopedia)skimmer, common name for certain sea birds resembling the related tern. Skimmers (genus Rhynchops) have long, laterally compressed bills of which the lower mandible is one fourth longer than the movab...

arnica

(Encyclopedia)arnica ärˈnəkə [key], any plant of the genus Arnica, yellow-flowered perennials of the family Asteraceae (aster family), native to north temperate and arctic regions. In North America, arnicas gro...

sweet clover

(Encyclopedia)sweet clover or melilot mĕlˈəlŏt [key], Eurasian and North African leguminous herbs of the genus Melilotus of the family Leguminosae (pulse family). Sweet clovers, now widely naturalized in North ...

Alaska Range

(Encyclopedia)Alaska Range, S central Alaska, rising to the highest mountain in North America, Denali (Mt. McKinley; 20,310 ft/6,190 m). The range divides S central Alaska from the great plateau of the interior. Mt...

Hubbard Glacier

(Encyclopedia)Hubbard Glacier, SE Alaska, largest tidewater glacier in North America, on Disenchantment Bay at head of Yakutat Bay, at the northern end of the Alaskan panhandle. Extending 76 mi (122 km) from Mt. Lo...

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...

Whistler, town, Canada

(Encyclopedia)Whistler, town (1990 est. pop. 4,459), SW B.C., W Canada, 60 mi (97 km) N of Vancouver, near Alta and Green lakes in Whistler Valley in the Coast Mts. A popular summer resort area since the 1920s, it ...

Calgary, University of

(Encyclopedia)Calgary, University of, at Calgary, Alta., Canada; coeducational; provincially supported; founded 1945 as a branch of the Univ. of Alberta. It gained full autonomy in 1966. It has faculties of educati...

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...