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Alcatraz
(al′kə traz′)
small island in San Francisco Bay: site of a federal prison (1934-63)
Origin: after Sp Isla de Alcatraces, Island of Pelicans
See Alcatraz in American Heritage Dictionary 4
A rocky island of western California in San Francisco Bay. It was a military prison from 1859 to 1933 and a federal prison until 1963. It is now a tourist attraction. The island has long been known as “the Rock.”
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