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gaucho

(Encyclopedia)gaucho gouˈchō [key], cowboy of the Argentine and Uruguayan pampas (grasslands). The typical gaucho, a familiar figure in the 18th and 19th cent., was a daring, skillful horseman and plainsman. As f...

López, Vicente Fidel

(Encyclopedia)López, Vicente Fidel lōˈpās [key], 1815–1903, Argentine historian, journalist, and politician; son of Vicente López y Planes. A member of the group that opposed the dictatorship of Juan Manuel...

Flattery, Cape

(Encyclopedia)Flattery, Cape, NW Wash., at the entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait; discovered in 1778 by Capt. James Cook. A lighthouse and the reservation of the Makah people are on the cape, where cliffs rise 120 ft...

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail

(Encyclopedia)Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail: see National Parks and Monuments (table)national parks and monuments (table). ...

Oribe, Manuel

(Encyclopedia)Oribe, Manuel mänwĕlˈ ōrēˈbā [key], d. 1857, president of Uruguay (1834–38). After serving with José Gervasio Artigas, he became one of the Thirty-three Immortals who raised the standard of ...

Nicaragua Canal

(Encyclopedia)Nicaragua Canal, proposed waterway between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. One often considered route would be 172.8 mi (278 km) long and would generally follow the San Juan River, then go throug...

Vancouver Island

(Encyclopedia)Vancouver Island (1991 pop. 579,921), 12,408 sq mi (32,137 sq km), SW British Columbia, Canada, in the Pacific Ocean; largest island off W North America. It is c.285 mi (460 km) long and c.30 to 80 mi...

Byron, John

(Encyclopedia)Byron, John, 1723–86, British vice admiral and explorer. Sailing in 1740 with Admiral George Anson on a voyage around the world, he was shipwrecked off Chile. His Narrative of Great Distresses on th...

Fernández de Córdoba, Francisco, d. 1518?, Spanish explorer in Mexico

(Encyclopedia)Fernández de Córdoba, Francisco fränthēsˈkō fārnänˈdāth dā kōrˈdōbä [key], d. 1518?, Spanish explorer in Mexico. Sailing from Cuba on a slave hunt, he discovered Yucatán in 1517. He di...

Rogers, Woodes

(Encyclopedia)Rogers, Woodes, 1679?–1732, British privateer and colonial administrator. A romantic figure, Rogers plundered (1708–9) Spanish commerce in the Pacific and rescued Alexander Selkirk from the Juan F...