However, it stayed in use and was
enlarged several times. In 1918 the Erie
Canal became the chief link in what is
now called the New York State Canal
System. Still in operation, it is now used
mostly for pleasure boating.
#More to explore
Atlantic Ocean • Canal • Great Lakes
Eriksson, Leif
#see Leif Eriksson.
A man steers two mules pulling a boat
along the Erie Canal. In the early days of
the canal this was how all boats traveled
through the canal.
150 Eriksson, Leif BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Eritrea
The country of Eritrea extends for
about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers)
along the Red Sea in northeastern
Africa. The country’s name comes from
the words Mare Erythraeum, the Latin
name for the Red Sea. The capital is
Asmara.
Geography
Eritrea borders Sudan, Ethiopia, and
Djibouti. It includes the Dahlak Archipelago,
or group of islands, in the Red
Sea. The high Ethiopian Plateau extends
into Eritrea from the south. The lowlands
along the coast are warmer and
drier than the highlands.
People
The Tigray people make up more than
half of the population. The Tigray speak
Tigrinya and are mostly Christians. The
Tigre, the next largest ethnic group, are
mostly Muslims. Their language, also
called Tigre, is similar to Tigrinya. Some
Eritreans also speak Arabic, English, or
Italian. About 80 percent of the people
live in rural areas.
Economy
Eritreans’ crops include root vegetables,
sorghum, beans, and grains. Sheep,
cattle, and goats are the main livestock.
In Asmara, factories make food products,
textiles, and leather goods. The
country’s mines provide salt.
History
Eritrea was originally part of the empire
of Aksum. The Ottoman Empire conquered
Eritrea in the 1500s. In 1889
Italy made Eritrea a colony. The British
controlled Eritrea from 1941 to 1952,
when the land passed to Ethiopia. Eritrea
gained independence from Ethiopia
in 1993. From 1998 to 2000 Eritrea and
Ethiopia fought over a strip of land
between them.
..More to explore
Aksum • Asmara • Ethiopia
Parts of Eritrea have a very dry climate.
Facts About
ERITREA
Population
(2008 estimate)
5,028,000
Area
46,774 sq mi
(121,144 sq km)
Capital
Asmara
Form of
government
Transitional
government
Major cities
Asmara, Keren,
Mendefera,
Asseb, Massawa
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Eritrea 151
Erosion
Water, wind, and other natural forces
cause rocks and earth to wear away.
These forces also move bits of rock and
earth to new places. This movement
changes the shape of the land. These
processes are called erosion.
Types of Erosion
River water picks up and moves mud,
pebbles, and larger rocks as it flows
downstream. These particles rub against
the riverbed and wear away more rock
and soil. This kind of erosion helped to
carve the Grand Canyon in the southwestern
United States. Over millions of
years the swiftly moving waters of the
Colorado River carried away bits of
earth and rock from the land. Little by
little the constant rush of water dug a
canyon out of a flat stretch of ground.
The pounding of ocean waves against
land also causes erosion. The waves constantly
move pebbles and sand on
beaches. The particles rub against each
other and against the rock along the
coast. Over time the water and the particles
wear down rock into more sand.
The water then carries the new sand
away.
Like waves, wind constantly carries sand
and other small bits of earth from one
place to another.Wind forms sand
dunes and changes their shape. As wind
throws sand and soil at rock, the shape
of the rock slowly changes.
The huge masses of ice called glaciers
also cause erosion. Glaciers scrape away
Water, wind, glaciers, and gravity all can
change the land through the process of erosion.
152 Erosion BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
parts of the rocks and the earth below as
they creep down mountain valleys. Glaciers
can even move boulders as big as
houses. When the glaciers melt, the
moved rocks and earth stay behind.
A landslide shows how gravity helps
erosion.Wind and rain can weaken the
sides of mountains and hills. Gravity
then causes soil, mud, and rocks to
tumble down.
Dangers of Erosion
Erosion can be very harmful to farmland.
Crops depend on rich soil for
healthy growth. But this top layer of soil
is thin.Wind and flowing water can
sweep it away.
Farmers use several methods to slow
down erosion. They plant trees around
farmland to block wind. They also cut
terraces, or ledges, into sloping land.
Water gathers on the terraces rather than
rushing down the slope and carrying
away the soil.
#More to explore
Canyon • Sand • Soil
Eskimo
The Eskimo are native people of the
Arctic regions. They live in Greenland,
Alaska, Canada, and eastern Russia.
Europeans and others have called them
Eskimo for hundreds of years. They have
different names for themselves. In
Canada and Greenland they prefer to be
called Inuit. In Alaska they prefer the
term Eskimo.
The Eskimo traditionally got almost all
their food by fishing and hunting. They
ate reindeer, seal, walrus, and whale
meat. On water Eskimo hunters traveled
in kayaks, which are boats covered with
animal skins. On land they rode on sleds
pulled by dogs.
The Eskimo made shelters called igloos
