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Cabot, John

(Encyclopedia)Cabot, John, fl. 1461–98, English explorer, probably b. Genoa, Italy. He became a citizen of Venice in 1476 and engaged in the Eastern trade of that city. This experience, it is assumed, was the sti...

Canadian Shield

(Encyclopedia)Canadian Shield or Laurentian Plateau lôrĕnˈchən [key], U-shaped region of ancient rock, the nucleus of North America, stretching N from the Great Lakes to the Arctic Ocean. Covering more than hal...

Sabah

(Encyclopedia)Sabah säˈbä [key], state (1991 pop. 1,736,902), 28,417 sq mi (73,600 sq km), Malaysia, N Borneo, on the South China and Sulu seas. It is bordered on the south by Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). The...

Thompson, David

(Encyclopedia)Thompson, David, 1770–1857, Canadian geographer, fur trader, and explorer, b. London, England. In 1784 he came to Fort Churchill, Canada, as an apprentice of the Hudson's Bay Company, and until 1797...

dredging

(Encyclopedia)dredging, process of excavating materials underwater. It is used to deepen waterways, harbors, and docks and for mining alluvial mineral deposits, including tin, gold, and diamonds. The Dutch at an ea...

cyclone

(Encyclopedia)cyclone, atmospheric pressure distribution in which there is a low central pressure relative to the surrounding pressure. The resulting pressure gradient, combined with the Coriolis effect, causes air...

King Philip's War

(Encyclopedia)King Philip's War, 1675–76, the most devastating war between the colonists and the Native Americans in New England. The war is named for King Philip, the son of Massasoit and chief of the Wampanoag....

Hastings, city, New Zealand

(Encyclopedia)Hastings, city, SE North Island, New Zealand, close to Napier. It has extensive food-processing industries, including meatpacking, canning, and dairy pr...