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Atitlán

(Encyclopedia)Atitlán ätētlänˈ [key], volcanic lake, 53 sq mi (137 sq km), 17 mi (27.3 km) long and 11 mi (17.7 km) wide, SW Guatemala. One of the most magnificent lakes of Central America, it is set among lof...

Motagua

(Encyclopedia)Motagua mōtäˈgwä [key], river, c.250 mi (400 km) long, rising in S central Guatemala and flowing NE to the Gulf of Honduras. The longest river within Guatemala, it waters a valley where hemp and b...

Colom Caballeros, Álvaro

(Encyclopedia)Colom Caballeros, Álvaro, 1951–, Guatemalan political leader, president of Guatemala (2008–12), b. Guatemala City. An industrial engineer, he became a textile entrepreneur. Entering politics in t...

Osage, indigenous people of North America

(Encyclopedia)Osage ōˈsāj, ōsājˈ [key], indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Siouan branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In prehistoric time...

Pacaya

(Encyclopedia)Pacaya, volcanic massif, 8,373 ft (2,552 m) high, S central Guatemala, 19 mi (30 km) S of Guatemala City, on the southern edge of the ancient caldera that contains Lake Amatitlán. One of the world's ...

San José, town, Guatemala

(Encyclopedia)San José, town (1994 est. pop. 14,170), SW Guatemala, on the Pacific Ocean. It is a rail terminus and a major Pacific port of Guatemala. ...

Santa María, volcano, Guatemala

(Encyclopedia)Santa María sänˈtä märēˈä [key], active volcano, 12,375 ft (3,772 m) high, SW Guatemala, in the Sierra Madre near the city of Quetzaltenango. Its eruption in 1902 was one of the largest of the...

Estrada Cabrera, Manuel

(Encyclopedia)Estrada Cabrera, Manuel mänwĕlˈ esträˈᵺä käbrāˈrä [key], 1857–1924, president of Guatemala (1898–1920). He ruled as an absolute dictator, and there were several revolutionary movements...

Keith, Minor Cooper

(Encyclopedia)Keith, Minor Cooper, 1848–1929, American magnate, a founder of the United Fruit Company, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. In the face of incredible hardships he built (1871–90) a railroad from the port of Limón...

Chichicastenango

(Encyclopedia)Chichicastenango chēˌchēkästānängˈgō [key], town, SW Guatemala. In the heart of the highlands, Chichicastenango was a trading town in ancient times. It became the spiritual center of the Quich...