LATIN AMERICAPhysical Geography

VOCABULARY

Land and Water

Plateau – A large raised area of mostly level land

Isthmus – A strip of land with water on both sides that connects two larger bodies of land

Coral – The skeletons of tiny sea animals that form together making a rock like substance

Pampas – The flat grassland regions of Argentina and Uruguay

Tributary – Rivers and streams that flow into a larger river

REGIONS

There are three regions that make up Latin America:

1. Mexico/Central America 2. The Caribbean 3. South America

Why is it called Latin America?

CARIBBEAN ISLANDS

•Over 7,000 islands- archipelago

•Divided into three island groups made of coral islands and the tops of underwater mountains. •Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico are examples.

CENTRAL AMERICA An isthmus cut in half by mountains. On

either side is the coastal plains.

The land is fertile volcanic soil so farming is big for these people.

Panama Canal•Built through the Isthmus of Panama to allow ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Mexican Cat Diagram

The Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre Occidental are the Mountain Ranges in Mexico…between lies the Mexican Plateau which is where most of the population lives (19 million people live in Mexico City)…why?

SOUTH AMERICA

The Andes are the second highest and longest mountain range.

East of the Andes is the rolling highlands and the Pampas. These features frame the largest tropical rain forest in the world…The Amazon

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

The second longest river in the world is in South America…the Amazon flows 4000 mi. It contains about 20% of all the fresh river water on the Earth from over 1000 tributaries.

Other systems: Lake Titicaca is the highest lake in the world and lies high in the Andes Mountains.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Climate and Vegetation

El NiÑo – A warm water current that occasionally flows in the Pacific off the coast of South America.

Elevation – The height of land above sea level.

CLIMATE The climate of Latin America is vast.

Everything from 80” of rain in the rain forest to the Atacama Desert in Chile and the Sonora Desert in Mexico.

The Caribbean has a great climate yet during June to November is hurricane season.

What factors affect climate? How does elevation affect climate?

The southern part of Argentina has an arid climate…the region is called Patagonia.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Hydroelectricity – Using the power of rushing water to generate electricity.

Many Latin American countries rely upon only one crop or resource for their income. This causes problems if the price for that commodity drops. The country and their people suffer. That is why many of the countries are trying to diversify their industry to keep this from happening and to prosper.

NATURAL RESOURCES Mexico and Central America –

Precious Metals -Silver, gold, copper, etc. Agricultural Products- coffee, cotton, sugar cane,

and bananas.

The Caribbean – Agricultural Products- Sugar cane, coffee,

bananas, cacao, citrus fruits. Bauxite from Jamaica Nickel from Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

South America – Many of the same minerals and oil from

Venezuela. Trees and medicines from the rain forest and fish

from the waters. Farming-wheat in Argentina