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Quechua
Quechua Kechua , or Quichua , linguistic family belonging to the Andean branch of the Andean-Equatorial stock of Native American languages (mainly in South America). Encompassing far more native speakers than any other aboriginal language group in the Americas, the languages of the Que...
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Mendoza
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," irrigated by the Mendoza River. It is an agricultural market and the center of a rich wine-producing re...
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Loa
Loa , longest river of Chile, 275 mi (443 km) long, flowing S from the Andes, N Chile, then W and N through the Atacama Desert, before turning W to the Pacific Ocean. It is not navigable but affords some water supply and hydroelectric power for copper and nitrate-mining communities in its vicinity. ...
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Augusto Bernardino Leguía
Augusto Bernardino Leguía , 1863-1932, president of Peru (1908-12, 1919-30). In his second administration Leguía promulgated a new constitution (1920), expanded and developed Lima, and considerably modernized his country, but increased the national debt and suppressed all opposition ha...
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Southern Cone Common Market
SOUTHERN CONE COMMON MARKET
[Southern Cone Common Market]
Latin American trade organization established in 1991 to increase economic cooperation among the countries of E South America; it is commonly known as Mercosur or Mercosul, from the Spanish and Portuguese names, respectively, for th...
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Atacama Desert
Atacama Desert , arid region, c.600 mi (970 km) long, N Chile, extending south from the border of Peru. The desert itself, c.2,000 ft (610 m) above sea level, is a series of dry salt basins flanked on the W by the Pacific coastal range, averaging c.2,500 ft (760 m) high, and on the E by the Andes. T...
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La Serena
La Serena , city (1990 est. pop. 105,600), capital of Coquimbo region, N central Chile, on the Elqui River. A commercial and agricultural center in a region of orchards and vineyards, it is a popular resort. La Serena was founded in 1543, destroyed by indigenous peoples in 1549, and sacked by the En...
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Colossus of Rhodes
Colossus of Rhodes , large statue of Helios, the sun god, destroyed by an earthquake in antiquity. Consider one of the Seven Wonders of the World by the ancients, it was built in part by Chares of Lindus (Rhodes) between 292 and 280 BC Its bronze was taken from the machines and tools left behind b...
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Chile
Chile , officially Republic of Chile, republic (2005 est. pop. 15,981,000), 292,256 sq mi (756,945 sq km), S South America, west of the continental divide of the Andes Mts. Chile is bordered by Peru on the north, Bolivia on the northeast, Argentina on the east, and the Pacific Ocean on the west and ...
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Bernardo O'Higgins
Bernardo O'Higgins , 1778-1842, South American revolutionary and ruler (1817-23) of Chile; illegitimate son of Ambrosio O'Higgins. He was chosen in 1813 to replace José Miguel Carrera as revolutionary leader. After the loss at Rancagua , O'Higgins fled with the remnant of his army to Argen...
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