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ANDES MOUNTAINS
Part of a chain of mountains that run through North, Central and South America Rocky Mountains, Sierra Madres, and Andes
Mountains Cordillera: a system or group of parallel mountain
ranges
Act as a barrier to movement into the interior More settlement has occurred along the eastern and
northern coasts in South America
Even so, the Andes were the home to some of the most important civilizations in the hemisphere Inca in Peru
HIGHLANDS
Parts of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and Brazil Made up of mountainous or hilly sections of a country
Guiana Highlands: northeast section of South America
Brazilian Highlands: east coast of Brazil
PLAINS
Llanos: located in Colombia and Venezuela Grassy, treeless areas used for livestock grazing and farming
Cerrado: located in interior of Brazil Savannas with flat terrain and moderate rainfall that make them
suitable for farming
Pampas: located in northern Argentina and Uruguay Min products of pampas are cattle and wheat Gaucho culture developed in this region
ORINOCO RIVER
Winds through northern part of continent, mainly in Venezuela
Flows more than 1,500 miles to the Atlantic
Part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela
AMAZON RIVER
Flows 4,000 from west to east, to the Atlantic Ocean
Fed by over 1,000 tributaries, some of which are large rivers in themselves
Carries more water to the ocean than any other river in the world
PARANÁ RIVER
Origins in highlands of southern Brazil
Flows 3,000 miles south and west through Paraguay and Argentina, then turns east
RESOURCES OF SOUTH AMERICA
Among the world’s leaders in mining raw materials: Silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc These are mainly exported to other countries to
make goods
Colombia and Venezuela: oil reserves
Brazil: hydroelectric power, oil, natural gas
Peru: fishing industry
South America produces most of the world’s coffee Brazil alone produces 1/3 of the world’s coffee per
year
CLIMATE OF SOUTH AMERICA
Rainforests: dense forests made up of different species of trees that form a unique ecosystem. Climate is hot and rainy year round Largest: Amazon Rainforest, covers 2 million square
miles of South America, mostly in Brazil. Tropical Wet and Dry: Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina
Semiarid: Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina
Desert: Peru, Chile (Atacama), Argentina (Patagonia)
Humid Subtropical: Paraguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina
Mediterranean: Chile
Marine West Coast: Chile and Argentina
Highlands: Found in the mountains
SLASH AND BURN FARMING
Farmers cut trees, brush, and grasses and burn the debris to clear the field.
Use the ashes as fertilizer.
Farmers plant crops for a year or two
Fields often remain barren or are reclaimed by brush, grass, trees, and shrubs
TERRACED FARMING
An ancient technique for growing crops on hillsides or mountain slopes
Farmers cut step-like horizontal field into hillsides, which allows steep land to be cultivated for crops Used by Inca in Peru, and Aztecs in Mexico
URBANIZATION: THE MOVE TO CITIES
Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile are the most highly urbanized countries in South America
Push and pull factors are at work in moving peasants off the land and into cities
Rapidly Growing Cities: Sao Paulo, Brazil Rio de Janeiro Buenos Aires, Argentina Lima, Peru Bogotá, Colombia Santiago, Chile
THE INCA
Built a civilization that extended 2,500 miles from Ecuador to Argentina
Along western coast of South America in Andes Mountains
Francisco Pizarro invaded Incan Empire, killing many warriors and taking the emperor prisoner.
Spanish forced natives to work in mines and on farms
Quechua language of the Incas was overshadowed by Spanish, and native religion was replaced by Catholicism
INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS
Inspired by the American and French Revolutions, South American countries fought for their independence in the first half of the 19th century. Two great leaders: Simon Bolivar (Colombia,
Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia) and Jose de San Martin (Argentina, Chile, and Peru)
Argentina and Chile were the first to declare independence, because they are the farthest from Lima
Geography contributed to the failure of countries trying to unite for a common good
South America is largely populated around its edges – mountains and rain forests limit interactions Contributed to political instability and
underdevelopment
GOVERNMENTS OF SOUTH AMERICA
Oligarchy and military rule have characterized the government of many South American countries
Authoritarian rule has delayed democracy in the continent
Strong militaries, underdeveloped economies, and social class divisions still exist today
NATIVES AND PORTUGUESE CONQUEST
Treaty of Tordesillas: Spain and Portugal agreed to divide the continent of South America Portugal gained control over land that is present-day Brazil
Brazil originally home to 1-5 million natives when the first colonists arrived in 1500s.
Hoped to find gold and silver; cleared huge areas of forest to create sugar plantations. Forced natives to work on plantations, when they died they
were replaced with African slaves
Brazil was generally settled along coast because of forest in the interior of country
Brazil declared independence from Portugal in 1822, when thousands of Brazilians signed a petition, asking for Dom Pedro to rule Brazil as an independent nation
A NATIONAL CULTURE
Culture of Brazil is a mixture of native, African and Portuguese influences
Now only about 200,000 native people live in the depths of the Amazon rain forest
Brazil has become home to many immigrants from all over the world Has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan
∙ Language: Portuguese
∙ Religion: Catholicism – Brazil has largest Catholic religion in the world. 20% Protestant, and some practice religions that mix Catholic and African beliefs
∙ Brasilia: Capital of Brazil was moved inland to draw people into the interior of the country
AN ECONOMIC GIANT
Natural resources has helped make Brazil an industrial power: iron, bauxite, tin, manganese, gold, silver, titanium, chromite, tungsten, and quartz
Hydroelectric power: thousands of rivers flow through Brazil; power plants located along these rivers produce electricity
One of the most industrialized South American countries, with one of the largest steel plants in the region. Also, a leading manufacturer of automobiles
• Vast gap between the rich and poor• Rapid urbanization: 22% lived in cities in 1960, by 1995 75% lived in cities• Move to the interior: 80% live within 200 miles of the sea; government encourages
people to move to the interior to develop the natural resources and commercial agriculture on cerrado
BRAZILIAN LIFE TODAY
Carnival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkXXqGAydG0 Dance to samba music – a Brazilian dance with African
influences
Capoeira: martial art and dance developed in Brazil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APlxSpTZVPI
Brasilia is political capital, Sao Paulo is economic heart and largest city, and Rio de Janeiro is the cultural center
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