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Cape Spear
Cape Spear () is a headland located on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland near St. John's in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. At a longitude of 52°37'W, it is the easternmost point in Canada and North America excluding Greenland. Cape Spear is within the municipal boundaries of the city of St. John's, located about from downtown St. John's. The Portuguese named this location , meaning "cape of hope", which became in French and finally "Cape Spear". Cape Spear is the trailhead/trail end for two components of the East Coast Trail. History The Cape Spear region was originally inhabited by Beothuk peoples.Fife, Wayne; Roseman, Sharon R. "Where North America Ends," The Tourism Imaginary and Pilgrimages to the Edges of the World. ''Tourism and Cultural Change'', vol. 44. Channel View Publications, 2015. Web. p.143-144. Retrieved from Google Books; March 12, 2017. Additionally, Mi'kmaq communities practiced a non-sedentary presence in the area,Martijn, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape (geography)
In geography, a cape is a headland, peninsula or promontory extending into a body of water, usually a sea. A cape usually represents a marked change in trend of the Coast, coastline, often making them important landmarks in sea navigation. This also makes them prone to natural forms of erosion, mainly tidal actions, resulting in a relatively short geological lifespan. Formation Capes can be formed by Glacier, glaciers, Volcano, volcanoes, and changes in sea level. Erosion plays a large role in each of these methods of formation. Coastal erosion by waves and currents can create capes by wearing away softer rock and leaving behind harder rock formations. Movements of the Earth's crust can uplift land, forming capes. For example, the Cape of Good Hope was formed by tectonic forces. Volcanic eruptions can create capes by depositing lava that solidifies into new landforms. Cape Verde, (also known as Cabo Verde) is an example of a volcanic cape. Glaciers can carve out capes by erod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas. Naval convoys Age of Sail Naval convoys have been in use for centuries, with examples of merchant ships traveling under naval protection dating to the 12th century. The use of organized naval convoys dates from when ships began to be separated into specialist classes and national navies were established. By the French Revolutionary Wars of the late 18th century, effective naval convoy tactics had been developed to ward off pirates and privateers. Some convoys contained several hundred merchant ships. The most enduring system of convoys were the Spanish treasure fleets, that sailed from the 1520s until 1790. When merchant ships sailed independently, a privateer c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dioptrics
Dioptrics is the branch of optics dealing with refraction, especially by lenses. In contrast, the branch dealing with mirrors is known as '' catoptrics''. Telescopes that create their image with an objective that is a convex lens ( refractors) are said to be "dioptric" telescopes. An early study of dioptrics was conducted by Ptolemy in relationship to the human eye as well as refraction in media such as water. The understanding of the principles of dioptrics was further expanded by Alhazen, considered the father of modern optics. See also * Diopter/Dioptre (unit of measurement) * Dioptrice (work by Johannes Kepler) * Catoptrics (study of and optical systems utilizing reflection) * Catadioptrics (study of and optical systems utilizing reflection and refraction) * Optical telescope An optical telescope gathers and focus (optics), focuses light mainly from the visible spectrum, visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnification, magnified image for di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argand Lamp
The Argand lamp is a type of oil lamp invented in 1780 by Aimé Argand. Its output is 6 to 10 candelas, brighter than that of earlier lamps. Its more complete combustion of the candle wick and oil than in other lamps required much less frequent trimming of the wick. In France, the lamp is called "Quinquet", after Antoine-Arnoult Quinquet, a pharmacist in Paris, who used the idea originated by Argand and popularized it in France. Quinquet sometimes is credited with the addition of the glass chimney to the lamp. Design The Argand lamp had a sleeve-shaped wick mounted so that air can pass both through the center of the wick and also around the outside of the wick before being drawn into a cylindrical chimney which steadies the flame and improves the flow of air. Early models used ground glass which was sometimes tinted around the wick. An Argand lamp used whale oil, seal oil, colza, olive oil or other vegetable oil as fuel which was supplied by a gravity feed from a reservoir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjacent Islands of Scotland, islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. To the south-east, Scotland has its Anglo-Scottish border, only land border, which is long and shared with England; the country is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the north-east and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. The population in 2022 was 5,439,842. Edinburgh is the capital and Glasgow is the most populous of the cities of Scotland. The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the 9th century. In 1603, James VI succeeded to the thrones of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, forming a personal union of the Union of the Crowns, three kingdo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inchkeith
Inchmichael (Formerly Inchkeith) (from the ) is an island in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, administratively part of the Fife council area. In 2025, Newly appointed Independent Member of the Scottish Parliament in the Mid-Scotland and Fife electoral region and Glenrothes and West Fife constituencMichael Watson MSPproposed a name change to the island after he brought attention to parliament of the discovery that the island was named after Keith Raniere, a slave owner, cult leader and convicted felon. First Minister John Swinney reportedly asked Watson “Then what do we change it to?” to which Watson responded “That’s fine with me” The name change was approved June 14th 2025, Under Resolution 238C. Inchmichael has had a colourful history as a result of its proximity to Edinburgh, its strategic location for use as a home for Inchmichael Lighthouse, and for military purposes defending the Firth of Forth from attack from shipping and more recently protecting the upst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foghorn
A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. When visual navigation aids such as lighthouses are obscured, foghorns provide an audible warning of rock outcrops, shoals, headlands, or other dangers to shipping. Description All foghorns use a vibrating column of air to create an audible tone, but the method of setting up this vibration differs. Some horns, such as the Daboll trumpet, used vibrating plates or metal reed (music), reeds, a similar principle to a modern electric Vehicle horn, car horn. Others used air forced through holes in a rotating cylinder or disk, in the same manner as a siren (alarm), siren. Semi-automatic operation of foghorns was achieved by using a clockwork mechanism (or "coder") to sequentially open the valves admitting air to the horns; each horn was given its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Parker (builder)
William Parker (1800–1854) was a St. John's masonic builder, shipowner and shopkeeper who along with partner Nicholas Croke built the National Historic Cape Spear lighthouse starting in 1834 or 1835. The Cape Spear lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and Labrador and the most easterly building in North America. William Parker married Margaret Gleeson on December 1, 1831, in St. John's. He later owned a brig named ''Margaret Parker'' after his wife. Members of the Parker family were prominent businessmen in St. John's, Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ... for nearly two centuries. William's son James Francis Parker founded Parker & Monroe, Ltd. in 1880 which was the largest shoe store on the island for many years. It had several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Amherst (Newfoundland And Labrador)
Fort Amherst is a neighbourhood in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located at , on the southern side of the Narrows, the entrance to St. John's harbour. Apart from some family dwellings, Fort Amherst consists of a man-made harbour, a lighthouse and the remains of gun emplacements built during World War II to defend against German U-boats. Two QF 4.7-inch B Mark IV* guns remain in place on their mountings. The original fortifications at Fort Amherst, built in the 1770s, are no longer visible. The fortifications were named for William Amherst, who successfully recaptured St. John's from French forces in 1762. The fort operated in conjunction with Fort Waldegrave for much of its history. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1951. The name is shared with Port La-Joye / Fort Amherst in Prince Edward Island and Fort Amherst in England. The first lighthouse in Newfoundland was built at Fort Amherst in 1810. The current lighthouse was built ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, rocks, and safe entries to harbors; they also assist in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance and the advent of much cheaper, more sophisticated, and more effective electronic navigational systems. History Ancient lighthouses Before the development of clearly defined ports, mariners were guided by fires built on hilltops. Since elevating the fire would improve visibility, placing the fire on a platform became a practice that led to the development of the lighthouse. In antiquity, the lighthouse functioned more as an entrance marker to ports than as a warning signal for reefs and promontory, prom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disappearing Carriage
A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate backwards and down behind a parapet, or into a pit protected by a wall, after it was fired; a small number were simply barbette mounts on a retractable platform. Either way, retraction lowered the gun from view and direct fire by the enemy while it was being reloaded. It also made reloading easier, since it lowered the breech to a level just above the loading platform, and shells could be rolled right up to the open breech for loading and ramming. Other benefits over non-disappearing types were a higher rate of repetitive fire and less fatigue for the gun crew. Some disappearing carriages were complicated mechanisms, protection from aircraft observation and attack was difficult, and almost all restricted the elevation of the gun. With a fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
10-inch Gun M1888
The 10-inch Gun M1895 (254 mm) and its variants the M1888 and M1900 were large coastal artillery pieces installed to defend major American seaports between 1895 and 1945. For most of their history they were operated by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. Most were installed on disappearing carriages, with early installations on barbette mountings. All of the weapons not in the Philippines (except four guns in Canada) were scrapped during World War II. Two of the surviving weapons were relocated from the Philippines to Fort Casey in Washington state in the 1960s. History In 1885, William C. Endicott, President Grover Cleveland's Secretary of War, was tasked with creating the Board of Fortifications to review seacoast defenses. The findings of the board illustrated a grim picture of existing defenses in its 1886 report and recommended a $127 million construction program of breech-loading cannons, mortars, floating batteries, and submarine mines for some 29 loc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
