Essentially a large rodent, the beaver and its hunt led to fortunes in the United States and Canada and to explorations throughout the Pacific Northwest. The economic power of fur was immense in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Conconully State Park in Washington derives its name from "konekol'p": a native word meaning "money hole," referring to the abundance of beaver in the area. The wealth, though, was mainly to be had by the large-scale fur traders like John Jacob Astor, America's first millionaire.