|
Orinoco
Orinoco , river of Venezuela, estimated to be from 1,500 to 1,700 mi (2,410-2,735 km) long. Rising near Mt. Delgado Chalbaud in the Guiana Highlands, S Venezuela, the Orinoco flows in a wide arc through tropical rain forests and savannas (llanos), forming part of the Venezuela-Colombia border, and e...
Read more
|
|
Ciudad Bolívar
Ciudad Bolívar , city (1990 pop. 225,340), capital of Bolívar state, E Venezuela, an inland port on the Orinoco River. It is the commercial center of the eastern llanos, the Orinoco basin, and the Guiana Highlands . Wood products and leather are produced, and hides, cattle, and gold a...
Read more
|
|
llanos
llanos , Spanish American term for prairies, specifically those of the Orinoco River basin of N South America, in Venezuela and E Colombia. The llanos of the Orinoco are a vast, hot region of rolling savanna broken by low-lying mesas, scrub forest, and scattered palms. Elevation above sea level neve...
Read more
|
|
Sierra Nevada de Mérida
Sierra Nevada de Mérida , mountain range, NW Venezuela, a spur of the Andes extending c.200 mi (320 km) NE from the Colombian border to the Caribbean coastal range. From 30 to 50 mi (48-80 km) wide, it rises between the Orinoco llanos and Maracaibo lowlands to perpetually snowcapped peaks. Pi...
Read more
|
|
Spanish Main
Spanish Main mainland of Spanish America, particularly the coast of South America from the isthmus of Panama to the mouth of the Orinoco River. Spanish treasure fleets, sailing home from the New World, passed through the Caribbean N of the Main and were attacked by English buccaneers raiding from t...
Read more
|
|
Valencia
Valencia , city (1990 pop. 903,621), capital of Carabobo state, N Venezuela. It is Venezuela's fourth largest city and one of its major industrial centers. Products include motor vehicles, chemicals, textiles, cattle feed, and consumer goods. Lying in a leading agricultural region, the city is a mar...
Read more
|
|
Brazil nut
Brazil nut common name for the Lecythidaceae, a family of tropical trees. It includes the anchovy pear ( Grias cauliflora ), a West Indian species with edible fruit used for pickles, and several lumber trees of South America, e.g., the cannon-ball tree ( Couroupita guianensis ), some species of Ba...
Read more
|
|
crocodile
crocodile large, carnivorous reptile of the order Crocodilia, found in tropical and subtropical regions. Crocodiles live in swamps or on river banks and catch their prey in the water. They have flattened bodies and tails, short legs, and powerful jaws. The eyes, ears, and nostrils are located nea...
Read more
|
|
Lope de Aguirre
Lope de Aguirre , c.1510-1561, Spanish rebel and adventurer in colonial South America. He was often involved in violence and sedition before joining (1560) the expedition of Pedro de Ursúa down the Marañón and the Amazon. He was one of the men who overthrew and killed Ursú...
Read more
|
|
Sir Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh , 1554?-1618, English soldier, explorer, courtier, and man of letters.
Early Life
As a youth Raleigh served (1569) as a volunteer in the Huguenot army in France. In 1572 he was listed as an undergraduate at Oxford, where he may have studied before going to France, and hi...
Read more
|