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Magdalena

(Encyclopedia)Magdalena mägᵺälāˈnä [key], river, c.1,000 mi (1,600 km) long, rising in the Cordillera Central, SW Colombia and flowing N to the Caribbean Sea near Barranquilla. It flows in a fault-block vall...

Marañón

(Encyclopedia)Marañón, river, c.1,000 mi (1,600 km) long, rising in Lake Lauricaucha in the Cordillera Occidental, W central Peru. It flows generally NW, then E across the Andes to join the Ucayali River in NE Pe...

Mendoza

(Encyclopedia)Mendoza, city (1991 pop. 773,559), capital of Mendoza prov., W Argentina. With a backdrop of snowcapped mountains, Mendoza is surrounded by a fertile oasis, known as the “Garden of the Andes,” irr...

Sucre

(Encyclopedia)Sucre, city (1992 pop. 131,769), S central Bolivia, constitutional capital of Bolivia and capital of Chuquisaca dept. Since 1898, La Paz has been the administrative capital of Bolivia and the seat of ...

Castro, Cipriano

(Encyclopedia)Castro, Cipriano käsˈtrō [key], 1858?–1924, president of Venezuela (1901–8). In 1899 he usurped the government, overthrowing Andrade. Called the Lion of the Andes by his followers, he was a st...

Potosí

(Encyclopedia)Potosí pōtōsēˈ [key], city (1992 pop. 112,078), capital of Potosí dept., S Bolivia, at the foot of one of the world's richest ore mountains. In the cold, bleak, high Andes at an altitude of c.13...

flamingo

(Encyclopedia)flamingo, common name for a large pink or red wading bird, similar to the related heron, stork, and spoonbill but with a longer neck, webbed feet, and a unique down-bent bill. Flamingos are tropical b...

nasturtium

(Encyclopedia)nasturtium năstûrˈshəm [key], any plant of the genus Tropaeolum, tropical American herbs (usually climbing) native to mountainous areas of South and Central America. Several species are cultivated...

Mutis, José Celestino

(Encyclopedia)Mutis, José Celestino hōsāˈ thālĕstēˈnō mo͞oˈtēs [key], 1732–1808, Spanish naturalist and plant explorer. One of Linnaeus' first disciples in Spain, he went to South America and settled ...

South America

(Encyclopedia)CE5 South America, fourth largest continent (2015 est. pop. 416,436,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. It is divided political...