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El Monte

(Encyclopedia)El Monte ĕl mŏnˈtē [key], city (2020 pop. 109,450), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1912. A ...

South Pass

(Encyclopedia)South Pass, broad, level valley (alt. c.7,550 ft/2,301 m), SW Wyo., cutting across the Rocky Mts. It was used by trappers and explorers before Jedediah Smith inaugurated its use as a route for settler...

Klondike

(Encyclopedia)Klondike klŏnˈdīk [key], region of Yukon, NW Canada, just E of the Alaska border. It lies around Klondike River, a small stream that enters the Yukon River from the east at Dawson. The discovery in...

caravan

(Encyclopedia)caravan, group of travelers or merchants banded together and organized for mutual assistance and defense while traveling through unsettled or hostile country. Caravan trade is associated with the hist...

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...

Fort Leavenworth

(Encyclopedia)Fort Leavenworth lĕvˈənwûrthˌ [key], U.S. military post, 6,000 acres (2,430 hectares), on the Missouri River, NE Kans., NW of Leavenworth; est. 1827 by Col. Henry Leavenworth to protect travelers...

Applegate, Jesse

(Encyclopedia)Applegate, Jesse, 1811–88, American pioneer in Oregon, b. Kentucky. With his family he moved (1821) to Missouri, and there in 1843 he joined the Great Migration of more than 900 people over the Oreg...