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Adam's Bridge

(Encyclopedia)Adam's Bridge or Rama's Bridge räˈmə [key], chain of shoals, c.18 mi (30 km) long, SW Palk Strait, between India and island nation of Sri Lanka. At high tide it is covered by c.4 ft (1.2 m) of wate...

Pinero, Sir Arthur Wing

(Encyclopedia)Pinero, Sir Arthur Wing pĭnērˈō [key], 1855–1934, English dramatist. He achieved initial success with farces, such as The Magistrate (1885), and sentimental comedies, such as Sweet Lavender (188...

Bizerte

(Encyclopedia)Bizerte bēzĕrtˈ [key], Arab. Banzart, city, N Tunisia, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is an ...

Nuku Hiva

(Encyclopedia)Nuku Hiva no͞oˈko͞oˈ hēˈvä [key], volcanic island, 127 sq mi (329 sq km), South Pacific, largest of the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. The island is fertile, with well-watered valleys; it...

Schouten, Willem Cornelis

(Encyclopedia)Schouten, Willem Cornelis vĭlˈəm kôrnāˈlĭs skhouˈtən [key], 1567?–1625, Dutch navigator. In 1615 he sailed from Texel island, Holland, in command of an expedition whose objective was to eva...

Palmyra, atoll, Pacific Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Palmyra, atoll (2 sq mi/5.2 sq km), central Pacific, one of the Line Islands, c.1,100 mi (1,770 km) SW of Honolulu. Palmyra has no permanent inhabitants. First visited by Americans in 1802, and later ...

Kingman Reef

(Encyclopedia)Kingman Reef, uninhabited reef, less than 1 sq mi (2.6 sq km), central Pacific, one of the Line Islands, 1,075 mi (1,730 km) SW of Honolulu. It was discovered by Americans in 1798 and annexed by the U...

Samoa, country, SW Pacific Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Samoa, formerly Western Samoa, officially Independent State of Samoa, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 194,000), South Pacific, comprising the western half of the Samoa island chain. There are ...

Palau

(Encyclopedia)Palau pälouˈ [key], officially Republic of Palau, independent nation (2015 est. pop. 21,000), c.192 sq mi (497 sq km), W Pacific, in the W Caroline Islands. Belau, the indigenous name for Palau, is ...

Devon Island

(Encyclopedia)Devon Island, c.20,900 sq mi (54,100 sq km), Nunavut Territory, Canada, between Baffin and Ellesmere islands.