At about 5:02 pm on Monday, November 18, 1929, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck beneath the Laurentian Continental Slope about 250 miles south of the island of Newfoundland. The water there is about 7,000 feet deep. The earthquake was felt as far away as New York, Bermuda, and Montreal.
The world was recently witness to a multi-national effort to rescue the Russian excursion vessel Akademik Shokalskiy after it was beset in wind-driven ice off the coast of Antarctica. The French supply vessel L’Astrolabe turned back from its relief effort.
The Xue Long (Snow Dragon) is the premier polar vessel of the People’s Republic of China. It was built in the Ukraine in 1993 and modified upon its acquisition by China in 1994. Its major function is to serve as a resupply vessel and scientific research platform in the Antarctic and the Arctic.
Little is known of Henry Hudson prior to 1607, when he was hired by the Muscovy Company of the Kingdom of England to find a northern route to the Far East. He and a crew of ten sailed on the 80-ton Hopewell. They reached the east coast of Greenland and traveled north to the ice pack.
Nikumaroro (previously known as Gardner Island) is a small coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean situated just south of the Equator and just west of the 180th meridian. It lies in the Phoenix Island Chain and is part of the Republic of Kiribati.
Live oak is a term used to refer to oak trees that are evergreen (retain leaves year-round, thus “alive”). There are a number of evergreen oak species and many are found in the southeastern United States (North Carolina to Texas). A mature live oak tree is massive…
The St. Lawrence Seaway is a system of locks, canals, and channels providing a connection for ocean-going ships between the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. Small vessels had historically traveled this route, although portage was often required around rapids…