| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,508,081,390 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
isthmus |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.07 sec. |
|
isthmus (ĭs`məs), narrow neck of land connecting two larger land areas. Since it commands the only land route between two large areas and is on two seas, an isthmus has great strategical and commercial importance and is a favorable situation for a city. In modern times many isthmuses have been cut through by canals to eliminate the necessity of land transport. The most important isthmuses are the Isthmus of Panama, connecting Central and South America, and the Isthmus of Suez, joining Asia and Africa. Canals were dug through both of these. The Isthmus of Corinth between the Morea peninsula and central Greece also has a canal. isthmus 1. a narrow strip of land connecting two relatively large land areas 2. Anatomy a. a narrow band of tissue connecting two larger parts of a structure b. a narrow passage connecting two cavities How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in classic literature | |
|---|---|---|
"I need not tell you, sir," said Ned Land, "that the Red Sea is as much closed as the Gulf, as the Isthmus of Suez is not yet cut; and, if it was, a boat as mysterious as ours would not risk itself in a canal cut with sluices. So that when I shall hereafter detail to you all the specialities and concentrations of potency everywhere lurking in this expansive monster; when I shall show you some of his more inconsiderable braining feats; I trust you will have renounced all ignorant incredulity, and be ready to abide by this; that though the Sperm Whale stove a passage through the Isthmus of Darien, and mixed the Atlantic with the Pacific, you would not elevate one hair of your eye-brow. On the west, however, rise the Rocky Mountains, that immense range which, commencing at the Straights of Magellan, follows the western coast of Southern America under the name of the Andes or the Cordilleras, until it crosses the Isthmus of Panama, and runs up the whole of North America to the very borders of the Polar Sea. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Browser extension |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|