Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Back, Sir George, 1796–1878, British explorer in N Canada. He accompanied Sir John Franklin on arctic expeditions in 1818, 1819–22, and 1824–27. On an expedition (1833–35) to search for the mi...

(Encyclopedia) Boothia Peninsula bo͞oˈthēə [key], 12,483 sq mi (32,331 sq km), Nunavut Territory, Canada; the northernmost (71°58′N) tip of the North American mainland. It is almost an island, being connected...

(Encyclopedia) Cocos Islands kōˈkōs [key] or Keeling Islands, officially Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Isl...

(Encyclopedia) Watie, Stand wätˈē [key], 1806–71, Native American leader and Confederate general, b. near Rome, Ga., as Degataga Oowatie. Of mixed white and Cherokee descent, he favored moving in the face of wh...

(Encyclopedia) Etah ēˈtə [key], abandoned village, NW Greenland, on Smith Sound, opposite Ellesmere Island. The Eskimo tribe discovered there by John Ross in 1818 is known as the Polar Eskimo and was studied by R...

(Encyclopedia) Erebus, Mount, volcanic peak, 12,280 ft (3,743 m) high, on Ross Island, in the Ross Sea, E Antarctica. One of the loftiest volcanoes of the world, it was discovered in 1841 by the British explorer Jam...

(Encyclopedia) Baffin, William, c.1584–1622, British arctic explorer. He was pilot on two expeditions (1615–16) sent out to search for the Northwest Passage under command of Robert Bylot, who was formerly with H...

(Encyclopedia) Parry, Sir William Edward păˈrē [key], 1790–1855, British arctic explorer and rear admiral. He entered the navy at 13 and made his first voyage to the Arctic under Sir John Ross in 1818 in search...

(Encyclopedia) Stuart or Stewart, John, duke of Albany ôlˈbənē [key], 1481–1536, regent of Scotland; son of Alexander Stuart, duke of Albany, and grandson of James II of Scotland. He was brought up on his esta...

(Encyclopedia) Skagit skăjˈĭt [key], river, c.150 mi (240 km) long, rising in the Cascade Range, British Columbia, and flowing SW through Wash. into Puget Sound. Gorge High Dam, Diablo Dam, and Ross Dam provide e...