Coal • Energy • Fossil • Gas, Natural
• Petroleum • Pollution
Fourth of July
#see Independence Day.
Fox
The Fox were a Native American tribe
that traditionally lived in the western
Great Lakes region. By the 1600s they
had settled in what is now northeastern
Wisconsin. Europeans called them the
Fox, but they called themselves
Coal is an important type of fossil fuel. It is
buried underground and must be dug up.
Five Fox men pose in about 1890.
56 Fourth of July BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Mesquakie, meaning “Red-Earth
People.”
During the spring and summer the Fox
lived along river valleys in large houses
made from poles and elm bark. They
grew corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins
and gathered wild nuts and berries for
food. After the harvest the Fox left their
villages to hunt bison (buffalo) on the
prairies. They also hunted deer and
other game. While on the hunt they
lived in small, portable dome-shaped
houses called wigwams.
During the 1600s traders from France
and England began arriving in Fox territory.
The French, with the help of the
Ojibwa tribe, drove the Fox into what
are now Illinois and Iowa. The United
States later forced the Fox to give up
their land. In the mid-1800s the tribe
moved to what is now Oklahoma, where
they shared a reservation with the Sauk.
Americans called both groups the Sauk
and Fox tribe. In 1857 some Sauk and
Fox returned to Iowa, where they
bought land. At the end of the 20th
century there were more than 4,000
Sauk and Fox. Most lived in Kansas,
Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Iowa.
#More to explore
Native Americans
Fox
Foxes are mammals that look like small,
bushy-tailed dogs. They live all over the
world. Different kinds favor different
habitats. The red fox likes farmland. The
gray fox lives in forests. The silver fox is
found in cold areas. The Arctic fox lives
around the North Pole.
Foxes have pointed ears, short legs, and
a narrow snout. They are about 32 to 57
inches (81 to 145 centimeters) long,
including the tail. Foxes usually weigh 6
to 17 pounds (3 to 8 kilograms). They
have long fur that varies in color. Red
foxes are reddish brown. Silver foxes are
black with gray-tipped hair. The Arctic
fox is brownish in the summer and
white in the winter.
Foxes usually live in dens. The den is
often a burrow that another animal dug
and left. Most foxes hide by day and
hunt by night. Foxes will eat almost
anything they can find. They like to eat
birds, including chickens, and small
mammals such as gophers and rabbits.
Foxes have few enemies except for
humans. People hunt foxes for sport and
for their fur. People also raise foxes on
farms for their fur.
#More to explore
Dog • Mammal
Long fur keeps a red fox warm in winter.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Fox 57
France
France is a large country in western
Europe. France is known for its proud
history and rich culture. The capital is
Paris.
Geography
France shares borders with Belgium,
Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland,
Italy, Spain, and Andorra. The Mediterranean
Sea lies to the south, and the
Atlantic Ocean lies to the west.
In the north and west the Seine and
Loire rivers run through broad plains. In
the southeast are the French Alps.
France’s highest point—Mont Blanc,
which rises 15,771 feet (4,807
meters)—is in the Alps. In the southwest
the Pyrenees Mountains lie
between France and Spain.
The north of France has cool to cold
winters, warm summers, and moderate
rainfall. On the Mediterranean coast
winters are sunny, and it rarely rains in
summer.
Plants and Animals
Forests cover about one fourth of the
land. Pine, fir, ash, oak, beech, maple,
chestnut, and olive trees are common.
The country’s wild animals and birds
include foxes, beavers, wildcats, deer,
wild pigs, hawks, and storks.
People
Most of the people are French. The
French language is one of the world’s
most widely spoken languages. The
population also includes small groups of
North Africans and other Europeans.
Some Basque people live in southern
France. More than three fourths of the
people are Roman Catholics. Other religious
groups include Muslims, Protestants,
and Jews.
Dinan is a town on the Rance River in the
region of Brittany in western France.
58 France BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Economy
France is one of the major economic
powers of the world. Its economy is
based on services, including tourism and
banking. Manufacturing is also important.
France produces machinery, cars,
aircraft, medicines, food products, iron
and steel, cosmetics, clothing, and other
goods.
Though agriculture is a small part of the
economy, France is a top producer of
wheat, cattle, pigs, and chickens. It is
also well known for its cheeses and
wines.
History
People lived in what is now France more
than 100,000 years ago. The Gauls, a
Celtic people, migrated to the area in
about 1200 BC. By about 50 BC the
ancient Romans had conquered the
region, which they called Gaul.
As the Roman Empire weakened, German
tribes invaded Gaul. The Franks
were the strongest of those tribes, and
they gave France its name. The greatest
Frankish ruler was Charlemagne, who
came to power in AD 768. By the early
800s Charlemagne’s empire covered
