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Mendocino, Cape

(Encyclopedia)Mendocino, Cape mĕndəsēˈnō [key], westernmost point of California, c.200 mi (320 km) N of San Francisco in Humboldt co. It was discovered and named in 1543 in honor of Antonio de Mendoza by Barto...

Shafter, William Rufus

(Encyclopedia)Shafter, William Rufus, 1835–1906, American general, b. Galesburg, Mich. He served in the Union army during the Civil War and in 1867 joined the regular army, rising to become brigadier general (189...

Parícutin

(Encyclopedia)Parícutin pärēˈko͞otēn [key], active volcano, c.8,200 ft (2,500 m) high, Michoacán state, W central Mexico. In one of the most spectacular eruptions of modern times, Parícutin burst forth from...

Asunción

(Encyclopedia)Asunción äso͞onsyōˈn [key], city, S Paraguay, capital of Paraguay, on the Paraguay River. It is the principal port and chief industrial and cultural center of Paragua...

Escorial

(Encyclopedia)Escorial ĕskyo͝orˈēəl [key], monastery and palace, in New Castile, central Spain, near Madrid. One of the finest edifices in Europe, it was built (1563–84) as the monastery of San Lorenzo del E...

caudillo

(Encyclopedia)caudillo kôdēlˈyō Span. kouᵺēˈyō [key], [Span.,= military strongman], type of South American political leader that arose with the 19th-century wars of independence. The first caudillos were o...

Nootka Sound

(Encyclopedia)Nootka Sound, inlet of the Pacific Ocean and natural harbor on the west coast of Vancouver Island, SW British Columbia, Canada, lying between the mainland and Nootka Island (206 sq mi/534 sq km). The ...

Moret y Prendergast, Segismundo

(Encyclopedia)Moret y Prendergast, Segismundo sāhēsmo͞onˈdō mōrāˈ ē prāndārgästˈ [key], 1838–1913, Spanish statesman. In 1863 he was elected to the Cortes, and as colonial minister in the cabinet of ...

Mármol, José

(Encyclopedia)Mármol, José hōsāˈ märˈmôl [key], 1817–71, Argentine writer of the romantic school. His invectives against Juan Manuel de Rosas earned him the nickname “the poetic hangman of Rosas.” He ...

Río Grande del Norte National Monument

(Encyclopedia)Río Grande del Norte National Monument, 242,500 acres (98,140 hectares), N central N.Mex, on the Taos Plateau between the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo mts.; est. 2013. The monument consists of an 80...