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Nordenskjöld, Nils Otto Gustaf

(Encyclopedia)Nordenskjöld, Nils Otto Gustaf, 1869–1928, Swedish geographer and explorer, nephew of Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskjöld. He headed an expedition to Patagonia (1895–97) and later explored the Klondike...

Whitney, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Whitney, Mount, peak, 14,494 ft (4,418 m) high, E Calif., in the Sierra Nevada at the eastern border of Sequoia National Park; the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states (Denali [Mt. McKinley], Alas...

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...

Kluane National Park

(Encyclopedia)Kluane National Park klo͞oānˈ [key], c.8,500 sq mi (22,000 sq km), SW Yukon, Canada, between Kluane Lake and the British Columbia and Alaska borders; est. 1972. Located in the St. Elias Mts., the p...

Augustine Island

(Encyclopedia)Augustine Island ôˈgəstēn, –tĭn; ôgŭsˈtĭn [key], unihabited volcanic island, S Alaska, in Kamishak Bay at mouth of Cook Inlet. The active Augustine (or St. Augustine) volcano, which forms t...

Alverstone, Richard Everard Webster, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Alverstone, Richard Everard Webster, 1st Viscount ôlˈvərstən [key], 1842–1915, lord chief justice of England (1900–1913). He served on various international arbitration commissions, including ...

Nunivak

(Encyclopedia)Nunivak no͞oˈnĭvăk [key], island, c.1,700 sq mi (4,400 sq km), off W Alaska, in the Bering Sea. It is the second largest island in the Bering Sea. Fogbound most of the year, Nunivak is covered wit...

Eskimo-Aleut

(Encyclopedia)Eskimo-Aleut, family of Native American languages consisting of Aleut (spoken on the Aleutian Islands and the Kodiak Peninsula) and Eskimo or Inuktitut (spoken in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Siberi...

Yukon, river, Canada and the United States

(Encyclopedia)Yukon yo͞oˈkŏn [key], river, c.2,000 mi (3,220 km) long, rising in Atlin Lake, NW British Columbia, Canada, and receiving numerous headwater streams; one of the longest rivers of North America. It ...

Bering, Vitus Jonassen

(Encyclopedia)Bering, Vitus Jonassen vēˈto͝os yōˈnäsən bārˈĭng [key], 1681–1741, Danish explorer in Russian employ. In 1725 he was selected by Peter I to explore far NE Siberia. Having finally moved men...