liberation of South American countries from Spain and Portugal. It crushed popular movements in Spain, Italy and Greece. But in 1827 all the Powers joined in giving Greece its freedom from Turkey and in making it an independent kingdom by the treaty of London. The same Powers in 1831 recognized the independence of Belgium from Holland. Against the wishes of France the remaining four Powers saved Turkey from the invading forces of Mehemet Ali, viceroy of Egypt (1841). The Powers were once more divided by the desire of Russia to partition among the Powers the Turkish domain in Europe. There resulted the Crimean War (1854), in which France and England, together with Sardinia, went to the rescue of Turkey. The Powers met again at the Peace of Paris (1856), when the Black Sea was closed to vessels of war and the integrity of the Turkish empire guaranteed. Again, the Powers were divided when France assisted Italy in its successful effort to gain freedom from Austria. Italy became an independent kingdom in 1866. The Austro-Prussian, the Franco-German and the Russo-Turkish war were followed by the Congress at Berlin, June 13-July 13, 1878, when the map of Europe was arranged very much as it is now, the partition of the Balkan States and their freedom from Turkey being then brought about. This was the last important meeting of the Great Powers of Europe. The attempt to come to agreement with regard to the affairs of Egypt (1885) was unsuccessful. With the opening of the first Hague conference (1899) the idea of controlling the policy of Europe by six Powers (for Italy had now to be considered) gave way to the idea of a world-wide unity of action, in which net only the United States but Japan and China should take part.
Great Salt Lake, in Utah, is over 80 miles long and from 20 to 32 wide, and is the outlet of the Bear, Ogden, Jordan and Weber Rivers. It lies at the base of the Wahsatch Mountains, 4,200 feet above the sea-level, and is very shallow. It has no outlet, except by evaporation of its waters, and contains a large quantity of salt — about 15 per cent. — in which no fishes thrive. Great Salt Lake or, as it has been called, Lake Bonneville was first mentioned by a Franciscan friar, Escalanta, in 1776, but was not explored until 1843, by Frémont. There are well-marked shore lines on the mountains around, reaching 1,000 feet higher than the present level, which show that the lake was once vastly larger. See H. H. Bancroft's Utah.
Great Slave Lake, in the southern part of the District of Mackenzie, Canada, is an immense inland sea (area 11,821 square miles). It is navigable throughout its whole length and breadth. At its western end the Mackenzie River which flows into the Arctic Ocean (one of the eight largest rivers in the world) has its starting point. The southern shore of the lake has good agricultural prospects.
Great Slave River, in the province of Alberta (Canada), is 300 miles long, flows into Great Slave Lake, and is noted for its abundance of fish.
Great Sodus. A settlement in Wayne County, New York, on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, where a large quantity of American military stores was seized by Canadian and British forces on June 19, 1813.
Grebe (grēb), a kind of waterbird, is peculiar for its semi-webbed feet and legs set very far back in such a way as to be better adapted for swimming than for walking on shore. There are more than 20 species, one or another of which is to be found in any quarter of the high seas. The downy feathers of grebes are in demand for ladies' muffs and other articles of winter dress. In America grebes are often popularly called hell-divers. The horned grebe, to be recognised by a ruff of rusty-black feathers upon the head, is common both to America and Europe. The European variety, known as the great crested grebe, grows to a length of over two feet.
Greece is the most easterly of the three southern peninsulas of Europe, extending into the Mediterranean. Its states or provinces are divided from each other by its mountain ranges and peaks, which have associated with them many very interesting and entertaining stories. The range on the north, which separates Greece from the continent of Europe, is a continuation of the Balkans. From this several chains extend in a somewhat southerly direction, dividing Macedonia from Illyria and Epirus from Thessaly. The eastern boundary is marked by the sea and mountains from the Balkan system, among them being Olympus, 9,750 feet high (upon which were supposed to dwell the gods of ancient mythology), Ossa, Mavro, Vuni and Pelion. That part of the range which marks the eastern boundary of Thessaly extends beyond the mainland and forms the islands of Eubœa, Andros, Tinos, Mykonos, Naxia and Amurgos. The “island” of Pelops, called the Peloponnesus but bearing the modern name of the Morea, is connected with the mainland by the narrow isthmus of Corinth. The islands have mountain systems of their own, among the higher peaks being Aroania (7,724 feet) and Taygetus (7,904 feet).
Transportation. The rivers, from the size and nature of the country, are of little importance, and flow generally south or west. The largest are the Aous, Achelous, Peneus and Haliacmon. In October, 1903, the canal (four miles in length) across the Isthmus of Corinth was opened for traffic.
