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tide

(Encyclopedia) tide, alternate and regular rise and fall of sea level in oceans and other large bodies of water. These changes are caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and, to a lesser…

Northern Pacific Railway

(Encyclopedia) Northern Pacific Railway, former American rail line, following the northern route from Duluth and St. Paul, Minn., to Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Oreg. The Northern Pacific RR…

sirenian

(Encyclopedia) sireniansireniansīrēˈnēən [key] or sea cow, name for a large aquatic mammal of the order Sirenia. Living sirenians are the dugong and the manatee, both found in warm, shallow waters in…

Canadian Pacific Railway

(Encyclopedia) Canadian Pacific Railway, transcontinental transportation system in Canada and extending into the United States, privately owned and operated. The construction of a railroad crossing…

Iquique

(Encyclopedia) IquiqueIquiqueēkēˈkā [key], city (1990 est. pop. 148,500), capital of Iquique prov., N Chile. A port on the Pacific, it exports nitrates and ore from the Atacama Desert. The city,…

seafloor spreading

(Encyclopedia) CE5 Schematic model of the oceanic crust, showing seafloor spreading seafloor spreading, theory of lithospheric evolution that holds that the ocean floors are spreading outward…

transcontinental railroad

(Encyclopedia) transcontinental railroad, in U.S. history, rail connection with the Pacific coast. In 1845, Asa Whitney presented to Congress a plan for the federal government to subsidize the…

Melanesia

(Encyclopedia) MelanesiaMelanesiamĕlənēˈzhə, –shə [key], one of the three main divisions of Oceania, in the SW Pacific Ocean, NE of Australia and S of the equator. Melanesia includes the Solomon…

mangrove

(Encyclopedia) mangrove, large tropical evergreen tree, genus Rhizophora, that grows on muddy tidal flats and along protected ocean shorelines. Mangroves are most abundant in tropical Asia, Africa,…

Guerrero

(Encyclopedia) Guerrero, state, 24,887 sq mi (64,457 sq km), S Mexico, on the Pacific Ocean. The capital is Chilpancingo. Dominated by the Sierra Madre…