chaparral

[shap-uh-ral, chap-]

noun

Southwestern U.S.

1. a dense growth of shrubs or small trees.

chaparral

/ ˌtʃæpəˈræl, ˌʃæp- /

noun

1. (in the southwestern US) a dense growth of shrubs and trees, esp evergreen oaks

Word History and Origins

Origin of chaparral¹

1835–45, < Spanish, equivalent to chaparr ( o ) evergreen oak (< Basque tshapar ) + -al collective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of chaparral¹

C19: from Spanish, from chaparra evergreen oak

Example Sentences

Villanueva also said that L.A. has chaparral that goes 15 to 25 feet down into the ground, but that the depth reached by the department’s thermal imaging cameras is only a foot.

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According to the ATF special agent, a firebrand became lodged within dense chaparral and then smoldered and burned within the roots of the vegetation.

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Left alone, chaparral typically burns every 30 to 130 years, historically due to lightning strikes.

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Villanueva downplayed the effectiveness of the thermal imaging cameras, noting that some chaparral in the city extends 15 to 25 feet underground, while the depth of the department’s cameras is only a foot.

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Visitors will encounter pollinator gardens alive with butterflies and hummingbirds, color-themed landscapes, and cascading water features, all designed to reflect the beauty of Southern California’s environment with scents of rosemary, jasmine and chaparral.

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Related Words

• forest 
• wasteland 
• wood