wahoo Vwa-.hiA Species ( Acanthocybium solanderi) of swift-moving, powerful, predaceous food and game fish found worldwide, especially in the tropics. A slim, streamlined fish, it has sharp-toothed, beaklike jaws and a tapered body ending in a crescent-shaped tail. Gray-blue above and paler below, it is marked with a series of vertical bars and, like the related tunas, has a row of small finlets behind the dorsal and anal fins. It may grow to 6 ft (1.8 m) long and weigh more than 120 lb (55 kg).
Waigeo \w!-'ga-o\ Island, northeastern Moluccas, Indonesia. Located off northwestern New Guinea, it is part of Papua (Irian Jaya) province. Waigeo is 80 mi (130 km) long and 30 mi (48 km) wide. Its rocky and generally steep coastline is almost bisected by a narrow inlet of the Damp- ier Strait; its central areas are mountainous, rising to 3,300 ft (1,000 m), and are heavily forested. Islanders raise cattle and export tortoiseshell and fish.
Waikato River \w!-'ka-to\ River, North Island, New Zealand. Rising on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu as the Tongariro River, it flows north through Lake Taupo, then northwest to enter the Tasman Sea. The nation’s longest river, it is 264 mi (425 km) long and is a major source of hydro¬ electric power. It was the scene of several skirmishes between the British and the Waikato tribes in 1863-65.
Waikiki \ ,wl-k9-'ke\ Resort area, southern coast of Oahu island, Hawaii, U.S. Located in the southeastern section of Honolulu, near Diamond Head, its famous beach is lined with luxury hotels; it has water-sports facilities as well as an aquarium, a zoo, gardens, and the International Market Place. Waikiki is also the site of Fort DeRussy, a military recre¬ ation area.
Wailing Wall See Western Wall
Wailuku Valley See Iao Valley
Waimakariri Wl-.ma-ko-'rir-ey River River, east-central South Island, New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps and flows 100 mi (160 km) southeast to Pegasus Bay of the Pacific Ocean. The river’s delta consti¬ tutes a major portion of the Banks Peninsula and part of the Canterbury Plains.
Wairau River \'wl-,rau\ River, northern South Island, New Zealand. It rises in the Spenser Mountains and flows for 105 mi (169 km) to enter Cloudy Bay of Cook Strait. In 1843 it was the site of the Wairau Affray, a battle between the New Zealand Co. and local Maori chiefs.
Waite, Morrison (Remick) (b. Nov. 29, 1816, Lyme, Conn., U.S.—d. March 23, 1888, Washington, D.C.) U.S. jurist. The son of a justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, he practiced law in Toledo, Ohio; in his most notable case, he prosecuted the Alabama claims. In 1874 he was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States by Pres. Ulysses S. Grant; he served on the court until his death. In U.S. v. Cruikshank , Waite stated that, despite its apparently plain language, the Fifteenth Amendment had not conferred a federal right of suffrage on African Americans, because “the right to vote comes from the states.” In his most famous opinion, Munn v. Illinois (1877), he upheld legislation fixing maximum rates chargeable by grain elevators and railroads, declar-
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Waitemata Harbour ► Waldheim I 2021
ing that a business or private property “affected with a public interest” was subject to governmental regulation.
Waitemata V.wi-to-'ma-toX Harbour Harbour, northern North Island, New Zealand. The harbour for Auckland, the Waitemata opens into Hau- raki Gulf through Stanley Bay. Its shore has many lesser embayments; several tidal rivers empty into the western part.
waiting-line theory See queuing theory
Waitz, Grete orig. Grete Andersen (b. Oct. 1, 1953, Oslo, Nor.) Norwegian marathon runner. She set world records in the 3,000-m event (1975, 1976) and became the world women’s marathon champion in 1983. She won the women’s silver medal in the marathon at the 1984 Olympic Games. She won the New York marathon nine times in the years 1978-88 and was the first woman to finish that race in under 2.5 hours.
wakan \wa-'kan\ Among some American Indian tribes, a spiritual power of supernatural origin belonging to some natural objects, people, horses, and celestial and terrestrial phenomena. Wakan can be conceived of as weak or strong powers; the weak can be ignored but the strong must be placated. Wakan beings are the immortal supernatural powers who bestow wakan; they too may be weak or strong, but are all believed to enjoy music and smoke from pipes. Poisonous plants and reptiles can contain wakan, as can intoxicating drinks. The concept of wakan is simi¬ lar to that of MANA.
Wakatipu \,wa-k3-'te-pu\ Lake Lake, south-central South Island, New Zealand. The S-shaped lake measures 48 mi (77 km) by 3 mi (5 km) and has an area of 113 sq mi (293 sq km) and a maximum depth of 1,240 ft (378 m). It receives the Dart, Rees, Greenstone, and Von rivers and emp¬ ties by the Kawarau River, a tributary of the Clutha River.
Wake Island Atoll, central Pacific Ocean. An unincorporated territory of the U.S., Wake Island comprises three low-lying coral islets (Wilkes, Peale, and Wake) that surround a lagoon and occupy a total land area of 2.5 sq mi (6.5 sq km). The atoll was claimed by the U.S. in 1899. In 1935 it became a stopover for transpacific commercial flights. The U.S. Navy began construction of an air and submarine base in 1939, which was half- completed when Wake was attacked and occupied by Japanese forces in December 1941. After the Japanese surrendered (1945), Wake was admin¬ istered by the U.S. Air Force. Commercial flights resumed, but by 1974 Wake was being used as an emergency stopover. It is also the site of weather research stations. There is no indigenous population on the island, but there is a small contingent of civilian workers.
Wakefield City and metropolitan borough (pop., 2001: 315,173), southeastern portion of the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England. Originally part of a royal manor, it became a baronial holding after 1086. It was the scene of the Wars of the Roses at which Richard, duke of York, was captured and beheaded by Lancas¬ trians. In the 15th century the Wakefield Plays, one of the collections of English miracle plays, were presented there. The town was attacked and taken by the Parliamentarian general Baron Fairfax in 1643 during the English Civil Wars. Known as a textile centre since the 16th century, Wake¬ field specializes in wool and synthetic knitting yams.
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon (b. March 20, 1796, London, Eng.—d. May 16, 1862, Wellington, N.Z.) British colonizer of South Australia and New Zealand. After viewing the problems of the penal system, including the forcible removal of convicts to British colonies, he wrote A Letter from Sydney (1829) and proposed colonization by the sale of small land- holdings to ordinary citizens. He influenced the founding of South Aus¬ tralia as a nonconvict settlement. As organizer and manager of the New Zealand Company (1838-58), he sent colonists to settle New Zealand and forced the British government to recognize the colony. As an adviser to the earl of Durham, he influenced the report that led to the union of Upper and Lower Canada. He founded a Church of England settlement at Can¬ terbury, N.Z. (1847).
Waksman, Selman (Abraham) (b. July 22, 1888, Priluka, Ukraine, Russian Empire—d. Aug. 16, 1973, Hyannis, Mass., U.S.) Ukrainian-born U.S. biochemist. He became a U.S. citizen in 1916 and spent most of his career at Rutgers University. After the discovery of penicillin, he played a major role in initiating a calculated, systematic search for antibiotics (a term he coined in 1941) among microorganisms. His 1943 discovery of streptomycin, the first specific agent effective in the treatment of tuberculosis, brought him a 1952 Nobel Prize. Waksman