Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

381 results found

Kotzebue, Otto von

(Encyclopedia)Kotzebue, Otto von ôˈtō vônˈ kôtˈzəbo͞o [key], 1787–1846, Russian naval officer and explorer; son of A. F. F. von Kotzebue. He accompanied A. J. von Krusenstern on his circumnavigation (180...

Nordenskjöld, Nils Adolf Erik, Baron

(Encyclopedia)Nordenskjöld, Nils Adolf Erik, Baron nĭls äˈdôlf āˈrĭk no͞orˈdənshöld [key], 1832–1901, Swedish geologist and arctic explorer, first to navigate the Northeast Passage, b. Finland. He ser...

Alaska Peninsula

(Encyclopedia)Alaska Peninsula, SW Alaska, extending 500 mi (800 km) SW from the mainland, separating Bristol Bay and the Bering Sea from Cook Inlet, the Shelikof Strait, and Pacific Ocean. The Aleutian Range, runn...

Saint Lawrence Island

(Encyclopedia)Saint Lawrence Island, c.90 mi (145 km) long and from 8 to 22 mi (13–36 km) wide, off W Alaska, in the Bering Sea. A barren island, it is inhabited by Eskimo engaged in fishing. It was visited by Da...

Komandorski Islands

(Encyclopedia)Komandorski Islands kŏməndôrˈskē [key] or Commander Islands, Rus. Komandorskiye Ostrova, group of treeless islands, off E Kamchatka Peninsula, E Russian Far East, in SW Bering Sea. They consist o...

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...

Pribilof Islands

(Encyclopedia)Pribilof Islands prĭbˈĭlŏfˌ [key], group of four volcanic islands, off SW Alaska in the Bering Sea, c.230 mi (370 km) N of the Aleutian Islands; explored and named in 1786 by Gerasim Pribilof, a ...

Saint Elias, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Saint Elias, Mount ĭlīˈəs [key], 18,008 ft (5,489 m) high, in the St. Elias Mts. on the U.S.-Canadian border between SW Yukon and SE Alaska; fourth highest peak of North America. It was first seen...

Foster, John Watson

(Encyclopedia)Foster, John Watson, 1836–1917, American diplomat, b. Pike co., Ind.; grandfather of John Foster Dulles. Foster practiced law (1857–61) at Evansville, Ind., and then served (1861–65) with the Un...

Pacific Ocean

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Pacific Ocean, largest and deepest ocean, c.70,000,000 sq mi (181,300,000 sq km), occupying about one third of the earth's surface; named by the explorer Ferdinand Magellan; the southern part i...