chaparral

name

1. A neighbourhood in south-east Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
2. A census-designated place in Doña Ana County and Otero County, New Mexico, United States.
3. A town and municipality in Tolima department, Colombia.

noun

Etymology: From Spanish chaparral, from chaparro (“evergreen oak”) + -al, from Basque txaparro, from txapar, from sapar.

1. A region of shrubs, typically dry in the summer and rainy in the winter. The coast of the Mediterranean is such a region.

   “It was quite dark when, after an arduous climb, the sheriff made his tortuous way through the chaparral to the point where Anthony Garland should be stationed.”

   “Have you ever been south of Monterey? / Barrancas carve the coastline / And the chaparral flows to the sea / 'Neath waves of golden sunshine”

2. The foliage of creosote bush, Larrea divaricata, when used as a medicinal herb.