Riel, Louis, 1844–85, Canadian insurgent, leader of two rebellions, b. Manitoba, of French and métis parentage. In 1869–70 he led the rebels of the Red River settlements, mainly métis and indi...

Duck Lake, small lake, central Sask., Canada, SW of Prince Albert. It was the scene of the first encounter in Riel's Rebellion (see under Riel, Louis) in 1885. A large group of métis (persons ...

Athena, or Pallas Athena, in Greek religion and mythology, one of the most important Olympian deities. According to myth, after Zeus seduced Metis he learned that any son she bore would overth...

Penetanguishene, town (1991 pop. 6,643), S Ont., Canada, on Penetanguishene Bay, an inlet of Georgian Bay. The name is a Native American word for white rolling sands. The town is a tourist cen...

Manitoba, province (2001 pop. 1,119,583), 250,934 sq mi (650,930 sq km), including 39,215 sq mi (101,580 sq km) of water surface, W central Canada. Easternmost of the Prairie Provinces, Manito...

Red River Settlement, agricultural colony in present Manitoba, North Dakota, and Minnesota. It was the undertaking of Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of Selkirk. Wishing to relieve the dispossessed a...

Roche limit, the closest distance that a celestial body held together only by its own gravity can come to a planet without being pulled apart by the planet's tidal (gravitational) force. This ...

Northwest Territories, territory (2001 pop. 37,360), 532,643 sq mi (1,379,028 sq km), NW Canada. The Northwest Territories lie W of Nunavut, N of lat. 60°N, and E of Yukon. Until 1999, when th...

Jupiter, in astronomy, 5th planet from the sun and largest planet of the solar system. Jupiter's orbit lies beyond the asteroid belt at a mean distance of 483.6 million mi (778.3 million km) f...

Canada, independent nation (2001 pop. 30,007,094), 3,851,787 sq mi (9,976,128 sq km), N North America. Canada occupies all of North America N of the United States (and E of Alaska) except for ...