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swan

(Encyclopedia)swan, common name for a large aquatic bird of both hemispheres, related to ducks and geese. It has a long, gracefully curved neck and an extremely long, convoluted trachea which makes possible its far...

caribou, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)caribou, name in North America for the genus (Rangifer) of deer from which the Old World reindeer was originally domesticated. Caribou are found in arctic and subarctic regions. They are the only deer...

Nichinan

(Encyclopedia)Nichinan nēchēnänˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 49,178), Miyazaki prefecture, SE Kyushu, Japan, on the Pacific Ocean. It is an important fishing port, agricultural center, and manufacturing center for p...

Mollendo

(Encyclopedia)Mollendo mōyĕnˈdō [key], town (1993 pop. 26,724), S Peru, a port on the Pacific Ocean. Mollendo exports wool and has industries producing cement, textiles, canned fish, and cheese. It is also a po...

Saco, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Saco, river, c.105 mi (170 km) long, rising in the White Mts., N central N.H. and flowing SE through Maine to the Atlantic Ocean below Biddeford. The falls at Biddeford, site of a hydroelectric dam (o...

Thjórsá

(Encyclopedia)Thjórsá thyōrsˈouˌ [key], Icelandic Þjórsá, longest river of Iceland, c.150 mi (240 km) long. It rises on the eastern slopes of the Hofsjökull and flows SW to the Atlantic Ocean. ...

Bellingshausen Sea

(Encyclopedia)Bellingshausen Sea, part of the S Pacific Ocean, W Antarctica, SW of Cape Horn between the Antarctic Peninsula and Amundsen Sea. The sea is named after Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshau...

Clydebank

(Encyclopedia)Clydebank, town, West Dunbartonshire, W central Scotland, on the north bank of the Clyde River. The chief industry until the 1970s was shipbuilding. The...

Davis Strait

(Encyclopedia)Davis Strait, c.400 mi (640 km) long and c.180 mi (290 km) wide at the narrowest point, between Greenland and Baffin Island, NE Canada, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and Baffin Bay. Large amounts of i...

Fortunate Isles

(Encyclopedia)Fortunate Isles or Isles of the Blest, in classical and Celtic legend, islands in the Western Ocean. There the souls of favored mortals were received by the gods and lived happily in a paradise. Belie...