Guadalquivir \,gwa-d 3 l-ki-'vir\ River Arabic Wadi al-Kabir
Vwa-de-.al-ko-'bhA ancient Baetis River, southern Spain. Rising in the mountains of Jaen province, it flows west 408 mi (657 km) to empty into the Gulf of Cadiz. Spain’s second longest river, its natural environment is one of the most varied in Europe, containing representatives of half of the continent’s plant species and nearly all those of the North African region. Its fauna also includes a great variety of European and North African spe¬ cies.
Guadalupe X.gwa-tha-'lii-paA English Ygwa-dd-,lup\ City (pop., 2000: 669,842), central Nuevo Leon state, northeastern Mexico. It lies about 670 ft (200 m) above sea level on the Santa Catarina River just east of Monter¬ rey. It serves as the commercial centre of an agricultural area.
Guadalupe Hidalgo V.gwa-d^-'ii-pa-e-'thal-goV Treaty of (Feb. 2, 1848) Treaty between the U.S. and Mexico that ended the Mexican War, named for the Mexico City neighbourhood where it was signed. It drew the U.S.-Mexico boundary at the Rio Grande and the Gila River. For $15 million the U.S. received more than 525,000 sq mi (1.36 million sq km) of land and agreed to settle the more than $3 million in claims made by U.S. citizens against Mexico. By leaving Mexicans unsure of their coun¬ try’s future and reopening the question of the expansion of slavery in the vast territory ceded to the U.S., the treaty was a factor in the civil wars that followed in both countries.
Guadalupe V.gwa-do-'lii-paV Mountains National Park National park, western Texas, U.S. Established in 1972, it occupies an area of 86,416 acres (34,998 hectares) east of El Paso. It is centred on two peaks: Guadalupe Peak, which reaches 8,751 ft (2,667 m), and El Capitan, which rises to 8,078 ft (2,462 m). The park is an area of great geologic interest, with a major Permian limestone fossil reef.
Guadeloupe Ygwa-do-Jup, .gwa-do-'liipN Overseas department of France (pop., 2005 est.: 448,000), eastern West Indies. Consisting of the
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810 i Guadiana ► guanine
islands of Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre and several smaller islands, its land area is 658 sq mi (1,705 sq km). The capital is Basse-Terre city (founded 1643); the largest urban area, chief port, and economic hub is Pointe-a-Pitre on Grande-Terre. Saint-Barthelemy and the northern two- thirds of Saint-Martin are dependencies, lying 150 mi (240 km) northwest. Forests and tree crops such as coffee abound on the mountains of Basse- Terre, while sugarcane is cultivated on the generally low-lying Grande- Terre. The Carib Indians held off the Spanish and French for a number of years before the islands became part of France in 1674. The British occu¬ pied Guadeloupe for short periods in the 18th—19th century; the islands became officially French in 1816. In 1946 they were made a department of France. Tourism has benefited the economy in recent decades.
Guadiana \,gwa-de-'a-n3\ River River, Spain and Portugal. One of the longest in the Iberian Peninsula, it flows 483 mi (778 km) through south-central Spain and southeastern Portugal, forming parts of the coun¬ tries’ borders, to the Gulf of Cadiz. Its headwaters rise in the mountains of Spain’s Cuenca province; west of Daimiel they form marshy lakes, known as Ojos del Guadiana (“Eyes of the Guadiana”), a noted wildfowl sanctuary. As the river continues west, it cuts a series of gorges through the Toledo Mountains, now the site of several dams that provide hydro¬ electric power.
Guainia, Rio See Rio Negro
Guam \'gwam\ Island (pop., 2005 est.: 170,000), largest and southern¬ most of the Mariana Islands, Micronesia, western Pacific Ocean. Guam is an unincorporated U.S. territory; its capital is Agana. With an area of 217 sq mi (561 sq km), it is divided into a northern plateau and a southern chain of volcanic hills. The indigenous population is Chamorro, Malayo- Indonesian with a considerable admixture of Spanish, Filipino, and Mexi¬ can ancestry. They speak Chamorro in addition to English, both official languages. Possibly visited by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, Guam was formally claimed by Spain in 1565 and remained Spanish until it was ceded to the U.S. in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. During World War II the Japanese occupied the island (1941-44). It subsequently became a major U.S. air and naval base. In 1950 it was made a U.S. ter¬ ritory and placed under the Department of the Interior. The military bases and tourism are the island’s economic mainstays.
Guan Hanqing Vgwan-'han-'chiqV or Kuan Han-ch'ing (b. 1241?, Dadu, China—d. 1320?, China) Chinese dramatist. He belonged to a writ¬ ers’ guild that provided plays for performing groups. His plays often dealt with everyday events and sympathetically portrayed women of low social standing. He wrote over 60 plays, 14 of which survive, including Injus¬ tice to Dou E, Butterfly Dream, and Saving a Prostitute. Guan is often considered the greatest playwright of the Chinese classical theatre.
Guan Yu Vgwan-'yu\ or Kuan Yu or Guan Di (d. 219) Military hero of the Three Kingdoms era (3rd century ad) who started his career as the bodyguard of Liu Bei, the founder of one of the three kingdoms. He was captured and executed but his fame and popularity continued to grow. China’s rulers conferred ever greater titles on him until in 1594 he was canonized as Guan Di, god of war and protector of China. Thousands of temples were constructed in his honor. His cult spread to Korea in the 17th century, where it was believed that he saved the country from Japa¬ nese invasion.
guanaco \gwo-'na-ko\ Slender-bodied South American lamoid ( Lama guanacoe; see alpaca). The guanaco has long legs and neck, a short tail, and large, pointed ears. It lives in small bands of females, usually led by a male, and grazes on grass and other plants, ranging from the snow line to sea level throughout the Andes Mountains from Peru and Bolivia to Tierra del Fuego. The adult stands 43 in. (110 cm) tall at the shoulder and is pale brown above and white below, with a grayish head. The downy fibre covering the young is valued for textiles, and guanaco pelts are used by the fur industry.
Guanajuato \,gwa-na-'hwa-to\ State (pop., 2000: 4,663,032), central Mexico. It covers 11,773 sq mi (30,491 sq km), and its capital is Gua¬ najuato city. It lies on the interior plateau. The north is mountainous, while the south, consisting of fertile plains, is largely devoted to agriculture. The state is drained by several rivers, including the Lerma. The first Spanish settlement was at San Miguel de Allende (1542). During colo¬ nial times it was an important silver-mining area. The region became a state in 1824. Mining (silver, gold, tin, lead, and opals) remains the prin¬ cipal economic activity.
Guanajuato City (pop., 2000: 74,874), capital of Guanajuato state, Mexico. It lies about 6,700 ft (2,000 m) above sea level. Founded in 1554, it is an outstanding example of a Spanish colonial city. One of the great¬ est silver-mining centres of the 16th century, the city’s wealth was mani¬ fest in its richly endowed churches, several of which date to the 17th century. In 1810 it was the first major city to fall to the independence leader Miguel Hidalgo. It later declined until increased tourist trade and federal support of mining and agriculture in the 1930s brought recovery. It is the site of the University of Guanajuato (1945).