Augusta, or Agosta, a fortified seaport of Sicily, 11 miles N. of Syracuse by rail. Pop. 12,210. Near it, in 1676, the French under Duquesne gained a great naval victory over a Spanish and Dutch fleet under De Ruyter.

Augusta

Augusta (1), the capital of Maine, U.S., on the Kennebec, 63 miles NNE. of Portland by rail. A dam, 17 feet high, affords considerable water-power; there are several cotton and other mills; and in 1886 a new system of waterworks was introduced. Augusta contains a U.S. arsenal; and at Togus, 4 miles distant, is one of the national institutions for disabled soldiers. Pop. (1880) 8665; (1900) 11,683. (2) The third city of Georgia, U.S., on the Savannah River, 231 miles from its mouth, but only 132 from Savannah by rail. It is the head of steamboat navigation on the river, which is here spanned by three bridges, connecting the town with Hamburg, S.C., and which is crossed by a stone dam, 1720 feet in length, from which a canal, 8 miles long and 150 feet wide, supplies water both for domestic use and for the cotton and other mills. Augusta is the seat of the Medical College of Georgia (1832). Pop. (1860) 12,493; (1880) 21,891; (1900) 39,540.