Gulf of St. Lawrence
- proper noun
- Many fishing villages are scattered along the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Examples
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Icebergs occasionally drift down into the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the spring months.
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The Gulf of St. Lawrence is known for its rich marine biodiversity.
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The Gulf of St. Lawrence is home to a wide variety of marine life, including whales and seals.
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Many tourists visit the Gulf of St. Lawrence every summer.
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Oceanographers often conduct research on the diverse marine life found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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The fishing industry relies heavily on the rich resources of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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Many tourists visit the beautiful shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the summer months.
Synonyms
A large inlet of the Atlantic Ocean next to eastern Canada
Surface Forms
Morphology
gulf + of + St. + Lawrence
This is a compositional place name: 'gulf' (a large inlet) + 'of' + 'St. Lawrence' (a proper name, here the river), so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer it denotes the inlet associated with the St. Lawrence River. The 'Gulf of X' pattern is a common, cross-linguistic geographic naming pattern, making the meaning readily derivable for B1 learners.
Etymology
Gulf of St. Lawrence comes from the word gulf, which means 'a large sea bay', and from the St. Lawrence River that flows into it. So the image of a big river opening into the ocean explains why it means the 'inlet' of the Atlantic by southeastern Canada.