Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Hall, Charles Francis

(Encyclopedia)Hall, Charles Francis, 1821–71, American arctic explorer, b. Rochester, N.H. He became interested in the many search expeditions for Sir John Franklin's party, and with Eskimo companions he explored...

Fort Chipewyan

(Encyclopedia)Fort Chipewyan chĭpəwīˈən [key], trading post, NE Alta., Canada, at the west end of Lake Athabasca. The old Fort Chipewyan, on the south shore, was built for the North West Company at the urging ...

Dease, Peter Warren

(Encyclopedia)Dease, Peter Warren dēs [key], 1788–1863, Canadian explorer. He was in the North West Company before its merger with the Hudson's Bay Company and later was a Hudson's Bay Company trader. He was a m...

Laptev Sea

(Encyclopedia)Laptev Sea läpˈtyĭf [key], section of the Arctic Ocean, c.250,900 sq mi (649,800 sq km), N Siberian Russia, between the Taymyr Peninsula and the New Siberian Islands. It is shallow sea and is froze...

Vardø

(Encyclopedia)Vardø värˈdö [key], town (1995 pop. 3,016), Finnmark co., extreme NE Norway, on the island of Vardøya in the Arctic Ocean, near the entrance to the Varangerfjord. It is an ice-free port; fishing ...

Alert

(Encyclopedia)Alert əlûrtˈ [key], settlement, on Ellesmere Island, extreme N Nunavut Territory, Canada, on the Arctic Ocean. It is the most northerly permanent settlement in the world. The settlement has a radio...

Inari

(Encyclopedia)Inari ēˈnärē [key], Swed. Enare, lake, c.500 sq mi (1,290 sq km), N Finland. It is fed by the Ivalojoki and empties into the Arctic Ocean through the Paatsjoki. Lake Inari contains more than 3,000...

tundra

(Encyclopedia)tundra tŭnˈdrə [key], treeless plains of N North America and N Eurasia, lying principally along the Arctic Circle, on the coasts and islands of the Arctic Ocean, and to the north of the coniferous ...

Kongsfjorden

(Encyclopedia)Kongsfjorden kôngsˌfyôrˈdən [key] [Kings Bay], inlet of the Arctic Ocean, 14 mi (23 km) long, NW Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Ny-Ålesund is on the inlet. The scenic fjord is often visited by tourist v...

Point Barrow

(Encyclopedia)Point Barrow, northernmost point of Alaska, on the Arctic Ocean, at lat. 71°23′N and long. 156°30′W. Visited in 1826 by Frederick W. Beechey, a British explorer, and named by him for the British...