Blue Mountains Plateau region, part of the Great Dividing Range, southeastern Australia. Located in New South Wales, the region rises to about 3,600 ft (1,100 m). Once used as a retreat by wealthy Sydney resi¬ dents, it is now accessible by good roads and is a popular tourist area; the Blue Mountains area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. The city of Blue Mountains (pop., 2004 est.: 77,011) was incorpo¬ rated in 1947.
Blue Mountains Mountain range, eastern Jamaica. It extends from north of Kingston eastward 30 mi (50 km) to the Caribbean Sea. Its high¬ est point is Blue Mountain Peak, at 7,388 ft (2,252 m). It experiences heavy rain and widely divergent temperatures. Blue Mountain coffee is famous for its excellent quality.
Blue Nile See Nile River
Blue Ridge or Blue Ridge Mountains Section of the Appalachian Mountains, eastern U.S. The range extends southward from Carlisle, Pa., through parts of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to Mt. Oglethorpe in Georgia. The highest peaks are in the Black Moun¬ tains of North Carolina; the average elevation is 2,000-4,000 ft (600- 1,200 m). The scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, established in 1936 and administered by the National Park Service, runs 469 mi (755 km) along the crest.
blue whale Mottled, blue-gray baleen whale ( Balaenoptera musculus), also called sulfur-bottom whale because of the yellowish diatoms on some individuals. The largest of all animals, the blue whale reaches a maxi¬ mum length of about 100 ft (30 m) and a maximum weight of 150 tons (136,000 kg). It is found alone or in small groups in all oceans. In sum¬ mer it feeds on krill in polar waters, and in winter it moves toward the equator to breed. It was once the most important of the commercially hunted baleen whales, and its populations were greatly reduced. Listed as an endangered species, it is now protected.
Bluebeard or Gilles de Rais \zhel-do-'ra\ or Gilles de Retz (b.
Sept./Oct. 1404, Champtoce, Fr.—d. Oct. 26, 1440, Nantes) Baron and marshal of France renowned for his cruelty. His name was later connected with the story “Bluebeard” by Charles Perrault. He fought several battles at the side of St. Joan of Arc and was made marshal of France (1429).
JOHN H. GERARD FROM THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHES-EB INC.
Back in Brittany he led a dissipated life and eventually turned to alchemy and satanism. Accused of abducting and murdering more than 140 chil¬ dren, he was tried by ecclesiastical and civil courts. Condemned for her¬ esy, he confessed, repented, and died bravely at the gallows; his body was burned. Skeptics have noted irregu¬ larities in the trials and the interest of others in his ruin. The fairy-tale Bluebeard takes a wife, who, curious about the one room of the castle to which he denies her the key, discov¬ ers there the skeletons of her prede¬ cessors.
bluebell Any plant of the genus Endymion , in the lily family, native to Eurasia. Bluebell, or wild hyacinth (E. nonscriptus ), and Spanish blue¬ bell ( E. hispanicus ), bearing clusters of bell-shaped blue flowers, are cul¬ tivated as garden ornamentals; some authorities place them in the related genus Scilla of the same family. Many other plants are commonly known as bluebells, including spe¬ cies of the genera Campanula, Eus- toma, Polemonium , and Clematis. In the U.S. the name bluebell is usually reserved for Mertensia virginica.
blueberry Any of several shrubs, native to North America, of the genus Vaccinium in the heath family. They are prized for their sweet edible fruits, a source of vitamin C and iron. Blueberries grow only in highly acidic and well-drained but moist soils. The highbush blueberry (V. corymbosum ), economically and ornamentally the most important species, is in the U.S. cultivated pri¬ marily in Maine, New Jersey, south¬ western Michigan, and eastern North Carolina.
bluebird Any of three North American bird species (songbird genus Sialia ) of the chat-thrush group. The eastern bluebird ( S. sia- lis), which is 5.5 in. (14 cm) long, and the western bluebird (S. mexi- cana) are red-breasted forms found east and west of the Rockies, respec¬ tively. The mountain bluebird ( S . currucoides ), also found in the West, is all blue. Bluebirds arrive from the south in earliest spring. They live in open country and woodlands and nest in holes in trees or in fence posts and bird boxes.
Bluebeard, illustration by Gustave Dore
COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, J.R. FREEMAN & CO., LTD.
Wild hyacinth (Endymion nonscriptus)
M.T. TANTON-THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS
Blueberry.
GRANT HEILMAN—EB INC.
bluebonnet Any of several flow¬ ering plants, including the Texas bluebonnet ( Lupinus subcarnosus ), a North American annual legume native to the plains of Texas. About 1 ft (0.3 m) tall, it bears silky-haired com¬ pound leaves and clusters of purplish blue flowers marked in the centre with white or yellow. In the spring it covers immense areas in southern and western Texas like a blue carpet. It is one of the most popular wild- flowers of Texas. In Scotland the name is given to the bluebottle ( Cen- taurea cyanus ) and to the blue scabious, or devil’s bit {Succisapratensis).
Western bluebird (Sialia mexicana)
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
bluefish ► Blyton I 237
bluefish Swift-moving food and game fish ( Pomatomus saltatrix ) found throughout warm and tropical regions of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. It lives in schools and is a voracious predator of smaller animals, espe¬ cially other fishes. It is slender and has a forked tail and a large mouth with strong, pointed teeth. It is blue or greenish and grows to a length of about 4 ft (1.2 m) and a weight of 25 lbs (11.5 kg).
bluegill Popular game fish ( Lepomis macrochirus) and one of the best- known sunfishes throughout its original range, the freshwater habitats of the central and southern U.S. It has been introduced throughout the west¬ ern U.S. and in other parts of the world. Bluegills are usually bluish or greenish and have a characteristic dark flap at the rear of the gill cover. Among the smallest of the food and game fishes, they normally are only 6-9 in. (15-23 cm) long and weigh less than 0.5 lbs (0.25 kg). Bluegills are known as highly spirited fighters on the end of a fishing line.
bluegrass Any of many slender annual and perennial lawn, pasture, and forage GRASSes of the genus Poa, in the family Poaceae, or Gramineae. About 250 species are found in temperate and cool climates, more than 50 in the U.S. Most have small spikelets lacking bristles and arranged in open clusters. The narrow leaf blades have boat-shaped tips. With its blue-green leaves, Kentucky bluegrass (P. pratensis), the best-known U.S. species, is a popular lawn and pasture grass in the northern states and is common in open areas and along roadsides. Texas bluegrass (P. arach- nifera), mutton grass (P. fendleriana), and plains bluegrass (P arida ) are important western forage grasses. Annual bluegrass (P. annua), a small, light green species, is considered a pest in lawns.
bluegrass In music, a country-music style that emerged after World War II. It is a direct descendant of the string-band music played by groups such as the Carter Family. Bluegrass is distinguished from its predecessors by its more syncopated rhythm, its high-pitched tenor (lead) vocals, its tight harmonies, its driving rhythms, and a strong influence of jazz and blues. A very prominent place is given to the banjo, always played in the unique three-finger style developed by Earl Scruggs (see Lester Flatt). Mandolin and fiddle are generally featured, and traditional square-dance tunes, religious songs, and ballads furnish much of the repertory. Blue¬ grass was originated by and got its name from Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys. From the late 1940s on, it continued to grow in popularity; from the 1970s an influx of younger musicians brought some influence from rock music.