Latin America

Countries of Latin America• Mexico• Belize• Guatemala• El Salvador• Honduras• Nicaragua• Costa Rica• Panama• Colombia• Venezuela• Guyana• Suriname• Ecuador• Peru• St. Kitts and Nevis• St. Lucia• St. Vincent and the Grenadines

• Bolivia• Brazil• Paraguay• Argentina• Chile• Uruguay• Cuba• Haiti• Dominican Republic• Jamaica• Antigua and Barbuda• Bahamas• Barbados• Dominica• Grenada• Trinidad and Tobago

UNDERGROUND RIVER SYSTEMS - CENTRAL AMERICA

MAYAN UNDERWORLD

CENOTES

The Benefits of the Panama Canal

Geographic Characteristics

• Tierra del Fuego – southern most point of Latin

America• 7,000 miles long• Thousands of rivers• Galapagos Islands (part of Ecuador)

Machu Picchu – Ancient Incan civilization in Peru.

Highlands• Andes Mountains – mountain range that runs

through the western part of North, Central and South America.

• The Andes are the: 2nd highest mountain range in the world.• The Andes extend approximately 5,000 miles in

length.

• Guiana Highlands – located in NE South America (mostly in Venezuela)• Brazilian Highlands – located along east coast of Brazil

Sierra Madres

Sier

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Occ

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Sierra Madre Oriental

Sie

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Sierra Madre Mountains

Sierra Madres

Andes Mountains

Andes Mountains

INCAS TERRACE FARMING

Guiana Highlands

Brazilian Highlands

Pico da Neblina – highest peak in Brazil, standing at 9,882 feet.

Plains Regions• Llanos – Grassy, treeless areas used for

livestock and farming which is located in :

Colombia and Venezuela• Cerrado – Plains that are great for farming

located in the interior of the continent.

Mainly found in Brazil. It is very undeveloped.• Pampas – Areas of grassland and rich soil found

in: Argentina and Uruguay.

The gaucho culture originated here.

Llanos of Venezuela

Pampas of Argentina

Cerrado in Brazil

Rivers• Orinoco River – Flows about 1,500 miles,

mainly through Venezuela in the north of South America. Drains the interior lands making homelands for the few Native American peoples remaining.

• Amazon River – Flows about 4,000 miles west to east, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

It is fed by over 1,000 tributaries, and has the largest discharge rate in the world

• Paraná River – Flows about 3,000 miles south and west through Paraguay and Argentina, then turns eastward.

Orinoco River 1,500 miles

Amazon River 4,000 miles

Paran

a River

3,000 miles

Amazon River

Orinoco River

Paraná River

Islands of Latin America

• Greater Antilles – larger islands of the Caribbean. Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti & Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico

• Lesser Antilles – smaller islands in the region located southeast of Puerto Rico

• Bahamas – hundreds of islands off the southern tip of Florida and north of Cuba

• All of the islands listed above are known collectively as the West Indies

• Discovered by Christopher Columbus in the 1490’s

Bahamas Greater Antilles + Lesser Antilles

Natural Resources

Natural Resources

• Gold, silver, iron, copper, bauxite, tin, lead, nickel are all abundant in Latin America.

• South America is among the world’s leaders in the mining of raw materials.

• Oil, coal, natural gas, uranium and hydroelectric power are all plentiful in Latin America as well.

• Venezuela and Mexico have major oil reserves.

• Brazil is rich in hydroelectric power due to the number of rivers and waterfalls.

• Trinidad has vast reserves of natural gas

Climate and Vegetation

Varied climate with numerous climate regions:• Tropical Wet – Rain forests are dense forests

made up of different species of trees. They form their own ecosystem. The largest forest is the Amazon rain forest. Rain forests can contain more than 2,500 varieties of trees…including the Brazil Nut Tree…which grows up to 150 feet high.

• Tropical Wet and Dry – Primarily in South America…support savannas. Found in Brazil, Colombia and Argentina (Grasslands / Plains)

• Semiarid – Generally dry, with a little rain. Found in Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina

• Desert – Northern Mexico and the coasts of Peru. • Atacama Desert – northern Chile• Patagonia – southern Argentina

Brazil Nut Tree

Atacama Desert

Rainforests

• More than half of the rainforest is located in Brazil

• At the end of the : 20th century - (1900s)

Nearly 50 million acres of rain forest worldwide was destroyed.

Rain Forest Destruction

Climate Zones

• Mid-Latitude Climate Zones• Humid Subtropical - rainy winters and hot, humid

summers. Paraguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil, southern Bolivia and northern Argentina. Varied vegetation.

• Mediterranean – hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. Part of Chile along the west coast. Mainly chaparral vegetation.

• Marine West Coast – cool, rainy winters, and mild, rainy summers. Southern Chile and Argentina have this climate. Forest vegetation.

Angel Falls, Venezuela

Human-Environment Interaction

• Slash-and-Burn – Technique of clearing fields for use by cutting down trees, and burning the land for use as farming or livestock.

• Terraced Farming – Ancient technique of growing crops on hillsides or mountain slopes.

Urbanization

People are steadily moving towards the cities to improve their lives.

• Push factors – poor medical care, poor education, low-paying jobs, ownership of land by a few rich people

• Pull factors – higher-paying jobs, better schools, better medical care

• Several cities in South America rank among the world’s largest in population, and they are rapidly growing.

• (2) Mexico City – 18,131,000• (4) São Paulo - 17,711,000• (10) Buenos Aires – 12,431,000• (19) Rio de Janeiro – 10,556,000• (26) Lima – 7,443,000• (30) Bogotá - 6,834,000• (42) Santiago – 5,261,000

Latin America City Growth

Mexico City

Rio de Janeiro

Major problems arise in these Latin American cities such as:

1. High levels of air pollution

2. Shortage of drinkable water

3. Poor infrastructure

Tourism

• Millions of people each year visit Latin American resorts.

• Luxurious cruise ships anchor in the Caribbean.

• Resorts offer many activities for locals to have job opportunities.

• Gaps in rich tourists and local poor

• Countries incur debt by building resorts/airports/harbors