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Meares, John

(Encyclopedia)Meares, John mērz [key], 1756?–1809, British naval officer, explorer, and trader. He served in the navy, in which he attained the rank of lieutenant, until after the Peace of Paris (1783), when he ...

Rasmussen, Knud Johan Victor

(Encyclopedia)Rasmussen, Knud Johan Victor kəno͞otˈ yōˈhän vĭkˈtôr räsˈmo͝osən [key], 1879–1933, Danish arctic explorer and ethnologist. Born in Greenland of Eskimo ancestry on his mother's side, he ...

Continental Divide

(Encyclopedia)Continental Divide, the “backbone” of a continent. In North America, from N Alaska to New Mexico, it moves along the crest of the Rocky Mts., which separates streams with outlets to the west of th...

Pownall, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Pownall, Thomas pouˈnəl [key], 1722–1805, English colonial governor in North America. In 1753 he went to New York as secretary to Sir Danvers Osborn, newly appointed governor. Following Osborn's s...

sedge

(Encyclopedia)sedge, common name for members of the Cyperaceae, a family of grasslike and rushlike herbs found in all parts of the world, especially in marshes of subarctic and temperate zones. The name sedge is al...

vanilla

(Encyclopedia)vanilla, a plant of the genus Vanilla of the family Orchidaceae (orchid family). Vines of hot, damp climates, most are indigenous to Central and South America, especially Mexico, but are now cultivate...

Norumbega

(Encyclopedia)Norumbega nôrəmbĕgˈə [key], name vaguely used, especially on European maps of the 16th and 17th cent., to indicate a region, a river, or a city on the east coast of North America. Fabulous tales ...

Glover, Jose

(Encyclopedia)Glover, Jose glŭvˈər [key], d. 1638, English nonconformist minister, generally considered the father of printing in the English colonies of North America. He visited New England c.1634 and on his r...

skimmer

(Encyclopedia)skimmer, common name for certain sea birds resembling the related tern. Skimmers (genus Rhynchops) have long, laterally compressed bills of which the lower mandible is one fourth longer than the movab...

World Meteorological Organization

(Encyclopedia)World Meteorological Organization (WMO), specialized agency of the United Nations; established in 1950 with headquarters at Geneva, it became affiliated with the United Nations a year later. It replac...