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Thomas Simpson (explorer)
Thomas Simpson (2 July 1808 – 14 June 1840) was a Scottish Arctic explorer, fur trader and cousin of Governor Sir George Simpson of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). He is known for helping chart the northern coasts of Canada as well as his mysterious death by violence while traveling near the Turtle River in what was then part of the Territory of Iowa (now the U.S. state of North Dakota). The circumstances of Simpson's final hours—in which he allegedly killed himself after gunning down two companions—have long been a subject of controversy. Early life Thomas Simpson was born in Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland, the son of magistrate and schoolteacher Alexander Simpson (1751–1821) by his second wife Mary, who had helped raise Thomas' cousin Sir George Simpson. He had a half-brother, Aemilius, and a full brother, Alexander. Simpson was a sickly and timid youth, avoiding rough sport. After his father's death the family ended up in financial distress, but despite this h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dingwall
Dingwall (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north of Stirling. On the town's present-day outskirts lies Tulloch Castle, parts of which may date back to the 12th century. In 1411 the Battle of Dingwall is said to have taken place between the Clan Mackay and the Clan Donald. History Early history Its name, derived from the Scandinavian (field or meeting-place of the ''thing (assembly), thing'', or local assembly; compare Tynwald, Tingwall (other), Tingwall, Thingwall in the British Isles alone, plus many others across northern Europe), preserves the Viking connections of the town; Gaels call it (), meaning "the mouth of the Peffery" or meaning "cabbage town". The site of the , and of the medieval Moothill, thought to have been established by the Vikings after they invaded in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canadian Arctic Archipelago
The Arctic Archipelago, also known as the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is an archipelago lying to the north of the Canadian continental mainland, excluding Greenland (an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, which is, by itself, much larger than the combined area of the archipelago) and Iceland (an independent country). Situated in the northern extremity of North America and covering about , this group of 36,563 islands, surrounded by the Arctic Ocean, comprises much of Northern Canada, predominately Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. The archipelago is showing some effects of climate change, with some computer estimates determining that melting there will contribute to the rise in sea levels by 2100. History Around 2500 BCE, the first humans, the Paleo-Eskimos, arrived in the archipelago from the Canadian mainland. Between 1000 and 1500 CE, they were replaced by the Thule people, who are the ancestors of today's Inuit. British claims on the islands, the British A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Back River (Nunavut)
The Back River, formerly Backs River (Dogrib language, Dogrib: ''Thlewechodyeth'', Inuktitut: ''Haningayok'', or Great Fish River), is the List of longest rivers of Canada, 20th longest Canadian river and is located in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It rises at an unnamed lake in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories and flows more than mostly through the Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, to its mouth at the Arctic Ocean in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. Course The river begins at the outflow of an unnamed lake at an elevation of and flows west into Sussex Lake, then north to Muskox Lake, at the border between the Northwest Territories and the Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, where it takes in the left tributary Icy River. It flows over the Muskox Rapids, takes in the Tributary#Terminology, left tributary Contwoyto River, and heads east through the Heywood Range. The Back River heads over the Malley Rapids, takes in the left tributary Siorak River and enters the long ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kent Peninsula
Kiillinnguyaq, formerly the Kent Peninsula, is a large Arctic peninsula, almost totally surrounded by water, in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. Were it not for a isthmus at the southeast corner it would be a long island parallel to the coast. From the isthmus it extends westward into the Coronation Gulf. To the south, Melville Sound separates it from the mainland. To the north is Dease Strait and then Victoria Island. To the west is Coronation Gulf and to the east, Queen Maud Gulf. Cape Flinders marks the western tip of the peninsula, Cape Franklin is at the northwestern point, and Hiiqtinniq, formerly Cape Alexander marks the northeastern point. Historically, the Umingmuktogmiut subgroup of the Copper Inuit had a permanent community at Umingmuktog on the peninsula's western coast. A landmark for early explorers was Cape Turnagain or Point Turnagain,Turanagain Point Kent Peninsula "Sailing Directions for Northern Canada - The Coast of Labrador Northwards ..."US Hydrograp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coppermine River
The Coppermine River is a river in the North Slave Region, North Slave and Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Kitikmeot regions of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Canada. It is long. It rises in Lac de Gras, a small lake near Great Slave Lake, and flows generally north to Coronation Gulf, an arm of the Arctic Ocean. The river freezes in winter but may still flow under the ice. The community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, Kugluktuk (formerly Coppermine) is located at the river's mouth. History The river was named for the copper ores which are located along the river, by Samuel Hearne in 1771. Hearne found only one lump of copper and commercial mining was not considered viable. Bloody Falls, part of the Kugluk/Bloody Falls Territorial Park, is located from Kugluktuk, and was home to the Kogluktogmiut a sub-group of the Copper Inuit. It is the site of the Bloody Falls Massacre, when Matonabbee, Samuel Hearne's guide, and his fellow Chipewyan warriors ambushed and massacred the local In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Point Barrow
Point Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska, northeast of Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow). It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States, at , south of the North Pole. (The northernmost point on the North American mainland, Murchison Promontory in Canada, is farther north.) Geography Point Barrow is an important geographical landmark, marking the limit between two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Chukchi Sea to the west and the Beaufort Sea to the east. History Archaeological evidence indicates that Point Barrow was occupied by the ancestors of the Iñupiat for almost 1,000 years prior to the arrival of the first Europeans. Occupation continued into the 1940s. The headland is an important archaeological site, yielding burials and artifacts associated with the Thule culture, including uluit and bola. The waters off Point Barrow are on the bowhead whale migration route and it is surmised, that the site ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick William Beechey
Rear-Admiral Frederick William Beechey (17 February 1796 – 29 November 1856) was an English naval officer, artist, explorer, hydrographer and writer. Life and career He was the son of two painters, Sir William Beechey, RA and his second wife, Anne Jessop.John Wilson, 'Beechey, Sir William (1753–1839)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 200accessed 2 May 2017/ref> Born in London on 17 February 1796, his brothers included the British admiral and painter Richard Brydges Beechey, the portraitist Henry William Beechey and the painter George Duncan Beechey. Frederick entered the Royal Navy at the age of 10 under the command of John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent. He was promoted to midshipman on February 8 1807 and saw active service during the War of 1812. He served in the Battle of New Orleans. Because of this, he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant on March 10 1815 In early 1818, and now a lieutenant, Beechey sai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Franklin
Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Northern Canada, Canadian Arctic and through the islands of the Arctic Archipelago, during the Coppermine expedition of 1819 and the Mackenzie River expedition of 1825, and served as Governor of Tasmania, Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1837 to 1843. During Franklin's lost expedition, his third and final expedition, an attempt to traverse the Northwest Passage in 1845, Franklin's ships became icebound off King William Island in what is now Nunavut, where he died in June 1847. The icebound ships were abandoned ten months later, and the entire crew died from causes such as starvation, hypothermia, and scurvy. Biography Early life Franklin was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, on , the ninth of twelve children born to Hannah Weekes and Willingham Fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, although some oceanographers call it the Arctic Mediterranean Sea. It has also been described as an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It is also seen as the northernmost part of the all-encompassing world ocean. The Arctic Ocean includes the North Pole region in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere and extends south to about 60°N. The Arctic Ocean is surrounded by Eurasia and North America, and the borders follow topographic features: the Bering Strait on the Pacific side and the Greenland Scotland Ridge on the Atlantic side. It is mostly covered by sea ice throughout the year and almost completely in winter. The Arctic Ocean's surface temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes; its salinity is the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mackenzie River
The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' [tèh tʃʰò], literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' [kuːkpɑk], literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, along with the Slave River, Slave, Peace River, Peace, and Finlay River, Finlay, the longest river system in Canada, and includes the second largest drainage basin of any North American river after the Mississippi River, Mississippi. The Mackenzie River flows through a vast, thinly populated region of forest and tundra entirely within the Northwest Territories in Canada, although its many tributaries reach into five other Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces and territories. The river's mainstem (hydrology), main stem is long, flowing north-northwest from Great Slave Lake into the Arctic Ocean, where it forms a large River delta, delta at its mouth. Its extensive watershed drains about 20 percent of Canada. It is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early Middle Ages, medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Kingdom of France, France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the English Navy of the early 16th century; the oldest of the British Armed Forces, UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service. From the early 18th century until the World War II, Second World War, it was the world's most powerful navy. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superior ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canoe
A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ''canoe'' can also refer to a kayak, whereas canoes are then called Canadian (canoe), Canadian or open canoes to distinguish them from kayaks. However, for official competition purposes, the American distinction between a kayak and a canoe is almost always adopted. At the Olympics, both conventions are used: under the umbrella terms Canoe Slalom and Canoe Sprint, there are separate events for canoes and kayaks. Culture Canoes were developed in cultures all over the world, including some designed for use with sails or outriggers. Until the mid-19th century, the canoe was an important means of transport for exploration and trade, and in some places is still used as such, sometimes with the addition of an outboard motor. Where the canoe play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
