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Ecuador

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Ecuador ĕkˈwədôr [key] [Span., = equator], officially Republic of Ecuador, rep...

Quiché

(Encyclopedia)Quiché kēchāˈ [key], indigenous peoples of Mayan linguistic stock, in the western highlands of Guatemala; most important group of the ancient southern Maya. The largest of the contemporary native ...

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...

Uncompahgre

(Encyclopedia)Uncompahgre ŭnˌkəmpäˈgrē [key], river, c.75 mi (120 km) long, rising in the San Juan Mts., SW Colo., and flowing NW past Montrose to the Gunnison River at Delta. Its waters are used for irrigati...

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...

Acoma

(Encyclopedia)Acoma or Ácoma both: ăkˈəmə [key], pueblo, alt. c.7,000 ft (2,130 m), Valencia co., W central N.Mex.; founded c.1100–1250. This “sky city” atop a steep-s...