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Granada (City and capital of the above)

city and capital of the above province, was the ancient metropolis of the Moors in Spain, and stands on the Genil, 120 miles from Seville. The town exhibits the form of a half-moon, its streets rising above each other, with a number of turrets and gilded cupolas, the whole crowned by the Alhambra, or palace of the ancient Moorish kings. It is built on two adjacent hills, and divided into four quarters. The Darro river runs between the two hills and traverses the town, after which it falls into the larger stream of the Genil, which flows outside the walls. The principal buildings are the cathedral, the archbishop's palace, the mansion occupied by the captain-general of the province, the university; but the grand ornament of Granada is the Alhambra, the wonder of Arabian architecture. Its remains sufficiently evince its original splendor. It commands a beautiful prospect; but a still finer is afforded by another Moorish palace, called the "Generalife," built on the opposite hill, and the retreat of the court during the heats of summer. Pop. about 78,000.

GRANADA (gra-nä'dä), a department and city of Nicaragua. The department, lying between the Pacific and Lakes Nicaragua and Managua has an area GRAND ARMY of nearly 2,600 square miles; is mostly a level savannah, but contains the volcano of Masaya and the Mombacho peak (4,500 feet). The city is on the N. W. side of Lake Nicaragua, and is connected with Managua by rail. Founded in 1522, it was formerly the chief town of the republic, but has suffered greatly from the civil wars. It is still an important trading center. Pop. about 17,100.

GRAN CHACO (grän chä'kō), an extensive central tract of South America, extending from the S. tropic to 29° S. lat., and bounded on the E. by the Paraguay and Paraná, and on the W. by the Argentine provinces of Santiago del Estero and Salta; area, about 180,000 square miles. The portion S. of the Pilcomayo belongs to Argentina, and the remaining third to Paraguay; but the possession of the upper section of the Pilcomayo is disputed by Bolivia. The country rises gradually from the Paraná toward the N. W. as far as 25° 40′ S. lat., when it dips to the valley of the San Francisco-part of a great depression extending through Bolivia nearly to the frontier of Peru, and subject to annual inundations. The Chaco is watered principally by two long, narrow, and tortuous streams, the Bermejo and the Pilcomayo, flowing S. E. in courses generally parallel, and about 180 miles distant from each other. The bed of the Bermejo oscillates backward and forward, and in 1870-1872 the river opened up a new channel (known as the Teuco) for nearly 200 miles. The most N. part of the Chaco is an extremely arid zone, but the banks of the upper Pilcomayo are fertile and its sands auriferous, while S. of the Bermejo the primeval forest extends into Salta. Much of the region is of modern alluvial formation, and exceedingly fertile. Since 1537, when the first explorer, Captain Juan de Ayolas, marched with 250 men into the wilderness from which none ever returned numerous expeditions have been sent out from the surrounding countries; but the savage tribes, swamps, lagoons, and floods defeated all early attempts to open up the country. In 1884 garrisons were established along the Bermejo, and since 1885 permanent settlements have been made.

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC, a patriotic organization in the United States composed of the National veterans of the Civil War. It was organized in Decatur, Ill., April 6, 1866, by Dr. B. F.

Stephenson, of Springfield, formerly surgeon of the 14th Illinois Infantry. The establishment of Post 1 in Decatur was soon followed by Post 2 in Springfield, and in a few months other posts sprang ! up in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, and other States. The first GRAND JUNCTION