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comprehendinn; about 1200 leagues in circuit, wnich is formed 

 by tlie Arc'.iipelago, called the Aleutian or Aleoutfl-tie iflands, 

 with the north-weft coaft of America, and the north-eaft coail 

 of Afia, and which communicates towards the fouth with the 

 great Boreal ocean by as many ftraits as the iflands form chan- 

 nels between them, and towards the north, under the 66th pa- 

 rallel, with the Ardlic Frozen ocean, by Beering's Straits 

 alone. See Aleutian. 



Beering's, or Behring's Bay, a bay on the north-weft 

 coaft of America, fituated between cape Suckling and cape 

 Fair-wealher, and fo called in honour of commodore Beer- 

 ing', who, in 1741, difcovercd this bay, and anchored in it. 

 The extreme poip.ts of this bay, in Vancouver's chart, arc 

 port Manby and port Turner ; cape Phipps lies to the fouth 

 of it, and port Mulgrave, formed by iflands, and affording a 

 convenic:;t anchoring place fecure from all winds, is fituated 

 ■within the bay. In this part of the bay Beering is fuppofed 

 to have anchored. Beering's mount, St. Ehas, lies at a fmall 

 diftance to the north of this bay. Mr. Dixon called it 

 Admiralty bay. La Peroufe defcribes it under the denomi • 

 iiation of Behring's river. According to captain Cook, the 

 opening of this bay was in N. lat. 59" 18' ; and La Percufe 

 makes it 59° 20'. Cook's longitude was 220° 19' E. or i_^9^ 

 41' W. 142° rW. from the Meridian of Paris. La Pe- 

 roufe fixes his longitude at 142° 2', making only a difference 

 of 1' from that of Cook. Vancouver, who reconnoitred 

 this coaft more accurately than capt. Cook had an opportu- 

 rity of doing, as he paffed it at fome diftancefrom the Ihore, 

 places it further to the north and weft, its opening being 

 about 59° 32', and E. long. 220° 35'. 



Beering'j- IJland, an ifland in the north Pacific ocean 

 on the north eaft of Kamtfchatka, which fome have con- 

 fidered as one of the groups called the Aleutian ifles, (fee 

 Aleutian) and others have feparated from it. This 

 ifland was difcovered by Beering in 1741. This adventu- 

 rous navigator having been for fome time in a ftate of 

 indifpofition and decay, was unable to concern himfelf about 

 the manag'iment of his fliip, and his crew were generally 

 attacked by the feurvy, and in a fickly, enfeebled condi- 

 tion. Purfuing their navigation, they were at length driven 

 by the winds and feas on this ifland, with the pofition of 

 which, with regard to the two continents, they were un- 

 acquainted, and here the ftiip was call away. On the 8th 

 of December, Beering died on this ifland, which has very 

 properly affumed the name of the firft navigator who 

 ventured into thefe ftas, and who difcovercd the weft con- 

 tinent of America, in a latitude wliich, before him, no 

 known voyager had attained. In the following year, the 

 furviving crew contrived, with great trouble, to conftrucl 

 a boat, which conveyed them to Kamtfchatka. 'J'his 

 ifland is fituated between the north latitude of <^'^'' and 

 56° and E. long. 167" 20', about 50 leagues from the 

 coaft of Kamtfchatka. It is 165 vcrfts in length, and of 

 various breadths, the greateft breadth being 23 verfts ; and it 

 confifts of a range of bold cliffs and hills, which, fepara- 

 ted by feveral very narrow vallies, lying north and fouth, 

 feem to rile from the fea like a fingle rock. The higheft 

 of thefe mountains are elevated perpendicularly, not above 

 a thoufand fatiicms, covered with a yellow clay, and much 

 riven by ftorms and weather. The mountains confirt of 

 granite, thofe rows excepted that ftand neareft the fea, 

 which are commonly of fand-ftone, and form, not unfre- 

 quently, ftore walls, th:.t are very fteep. In thefe moun- 

 tains, tliere are niany-c.iverns. In the year 1741, three 

 fmart ftiocks of earthquakes were perceived in this ifland ; 

 the fea about it is not covered with ice, and the cold is 

 in general moderate, although there are m.cuntains on 

 v/hich the fnow never diffoivcs. Neither thunder nor the 

 Vol. IV. 



BEE 



aurora borealis has been obferved here. The ifland has 

 fprings of excellent water, and beautiful cataracts. Of 

 animals there are only ice foxes, feals, fea-bcars, iea-tions, 

 fea-cows, &c. No wood grows upon this iiland ; but fe- 

 veral kinds of plants are found upon it. It is uiiinliabit- 

 ed. The fliips which have been accuftomed to navigate 

 thefe feas have frequently wintered on this ifland, in order 

 to procure a ftock of faked provifious from the fea-cows 

 and other amphibious animals, tiiat are fouud here in great 

 abundance. Tookc's View of the RufTian Empire', vol. i. 

 ■p. 156, &c. Marchand's Voyage, vol. i. Introd. p. 33. 



Beering'j- Stra'Us, feparate Afia from America, being 

 bounded on the American fide by t?ape Prince of Wales, 

 in N. lat. 65° 50'. E. long. 191° 50', and on the fide of Afia 

 by the eaft cape in N. lat. 66° 6' and E. long. 190° 22'. 

 The breadth of this ftrait is about 13 leagues, or near 

 40 miles. Its depth is from 12 to 30 fathoms. It was 

 difcovered firft by Beering, and afterwards by captain Cook. 

 Beering, in his voyage ofryiS, is faid to have proceeded 

 as far north as 67-' iS', and therefore muft have reached 

 a latitude more northerly by about a degree and a quarter 

 than that of the moil eaftern part of the old continent. 

 He had, therefore, entered the Frozen ocean, and muft 

 have adually paffed this ftrait, probably in the ufual fogs r 

 of the climate, without difcovering land to the eaft ; how- 

 ever, our great navigator, captain Cook, gave the name of 

 the Danifli adventurer to thefe ftraits, when with his ufual 

 accuracy he afterwards explored them. To the north of thefe 

 ftraits the Afiatic fliore leads rapidly to the weft ward ; 

 but the American proceeds nearly in a northern direftion, 

 till, at the dillance of about 4 or 5 degrees, the conti- 

 nents are joined by folid and impenetrable bonds cf ice. 

 The fea from the fouth of thefe ftraits to the crefcent 

 of ifles between Afia and America, is very (hallow, and 

 deepens from thefe ftraits till foundings are loft in the Pa- 

 ciiic ocean, fouth of thefe ifles. Between them and the 

 ftraits there is laid to be an increafe from 12 to 54 fa- 

 thoms, excepting off cape Thaddeus, where the channel is 

 of greater depth. From this, and other circumftances, it 

 has been thought not improbable that a fcparation of 

 the continents may have taken place in fome unknown 

 period, at thefe ftraits, and that the whole fpace from the 

 ifles to that fmall opening might once have been dry land ; 

 and that the fury of the watery element, actuated by that 

 of fire, might have fubveited and overwhelmed the tradt, 

 and left the iflands as volcanic remains of this great eixp- 

 tion. The famous Japanefe map places fome iflands ap- 

 parently within thefe liraits, denominated " Ya Zue," or 

 the kingdom of the dwarfs. Hence it has been imagined, 

 that America was not unknown to the Japanefe, and that 

 they had, as Kocmpfer and Charlevoix have fuggefted, made 

 voyages of difcovery ; and according to the laft writer, 

 that they had aft ually wintered upon the continent, ivherc 

 probably meeting with the Eiquimuux, they might, in com- 

 pariton with'themfelves, juiUy diltiiiguifh them by the name 

 of dwarfs. See Asia. 



BEERO, a Moorilb kingdom of Africa, lying to the 

 north of Bambara, and north-weii cf a Foulaii ftatc, calL-el 

 Maffina. Its capital is Walet, Ctuate, according to Mr. 

 Park's information, about 240 geographical n iles to the call 

 of Benowm. In Rennel's map of North Africa, Walet is in 

 N. lat. 15" 45', and W. long. 2° 45'. The kingdom of 

 Beeroo borders on Sahara, or the Great Defert. 



BEEROTH, in AnchrJ Geography, a city of the CI- 

 deonites, afterwards of the tribe of Benjamin, Jofn, ix. 17. 

 According to Eufcbius, it was diftant 7 miles from Jerurakin, 

 in the way towards Nicopolis. 



Beeroth, of the children of Jaakan, was aftation of the 

 R IfraeJitOs 



