Mid Term Review Sheet for Latin America

Vocabulary

Island- land mass surrounded by water

• Caribbean Islands• Smaller islands are coral• Larger islands are tops of

mountains

El Nino- a warm ocean current that influences weather

• A warming of water in the eastern Pacific caused by weakening trade winds.

• When this happens is bring heavy rains to South America– What happens in west

Pacific

DEFINE: El Nino

Tributary- river or stream that flows into a main river

Over 1,000 tributaries feed the Amazon River

* Hot and rainy all the time

* more sunlight for a longer time

Pampas – large plain or grassland of flat land with few trees

Highlands –area of high, mountainous land;elevated landforms; mountains;

Vegetation- plant life of a region

• Tropical wet have tropical rain forest vegetation. An abundance of plants

• Arid climates have desert shrub vegetation or little or no vegetation

Climate – long term weather patterns

• In the Southern Hemisphere:

• Remember that SEASONS are REVERSED:desrever

•When it is winter in the USA...

…it is summer in South America (and southern

Africa & Australia &

Antarctica)

Regional map of Latin America

–Caribbean Is.–Mexico and Central

America–South America

Relative Location

• Western Hemisphere• Atlantic Ocean is east• Pacific Ocean is west• United States is north

ANDES MOUNTAINS

• Stretch along western edge of South America• More than 5,000 miles long• Longest mountain range in the world• Run north and south

Amazonian Rain Forest is the largest Rainforest in the world

• Large tropical rain forest in the basin of Northern south America

• 80 inches of rain yearly but up to 260 inches; even 430

• 80ºF (warm and humid) year round

• Cover more than 1/3 of the continent

• Contains the Amazon River which is the second longest river in the world

Amazon River Basin - covers 35 percent of South America. Rain forest covers most of basin. Rain Forest produces half of

the world’s oxygen

Amazon River - Second largest river in the world. Carrier more water than any other river. Begins in Peru empties into Atlantic Ocean

Atacama- the world’s driest desert

Peru and Chile

Atacama Desert

• A desert in Chile• The driest place on earth• The Andes Mts. Shield this

area from winds that carry moisture

• Some areas have never had a single drop of rain

Rainshadow

Desert –dry climate with little rain to support vegetationClimate is extreme: very hot during the day and very cold in the night

•

Highland climate – found in themountains and plateaus. The climate becoming colder with high

elevation

• Tropical wet climate - hot, humid, rainy season all year

• Brazil

• Humid subtropical– Hot wet summers and

cool winters• Argentina, Uruguay

Tropical and Humid Subtropical climate

Latin America is a land of extremes. Do you agree or disagree.

• Extreme hot climate– tropics

• Extreme cold– Highlands, Patagonia

• Extreme dry– desert

• Extreme wet/rainy– tropics

• Name the major mountain range of South America.

• What ocean is on the western border of Latin America?

What river, located in South America, is the 2nd longest river in the world?

True or False?

• Latin America has a large variety of climates

• What lake is situated high in the Andes Mountains and forms a border between Peru and Bolivia

Patagonia is a

• PLATEAU OR PLAIN?

• What is an isthmus? DRAW ONE

• What is an archipelago? DRAW

• What are the tropical grasslands of South America called?–Draw something you would see on it

• What is the predominant climate in Latin America?

• Does Latin America have volcanoes and earthquakes?

Small rivers that feed a larger one. The Amazon River has over 1,000 of these.

Why is the Amazon River so BIG?

A land form surrounded by water on 3 sides is a___

What is the name of the largest tropical rain forest in the world.

What is the name of the material which is made up of tiny sea animals and formed many small islands

of the caribbean?

What are the three regions of Latin America?

What is El nino?