Latin America
At a Glance
•Land area 7,885,082 sq mls•Population = 453,000,000•Population density = 58/per square mile•Urban population = 70%•Largest city = Mexico City •Population under 15/over 65 = 36%/5%
•Land area 9,631,420 sq mls•Population = 298,444,215•Population density = 78/per square mile• Urban population = 77%•Largest city = New York City•Population under 15/over 65 = 20%/12.5%
Latin America United States of America
Latin America• a region that was influenced by
Spanish/Portuguese settlers• 1/6 of world’s land surface• Runs for 5,500 miles• From Rio Grande to Cape Horn • In between have
– Mexico– 7 countries of Central America– 13 island nations– 12 countries of South America
• Lies between Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
Map of Latin America
Geographical features
• Mountains• Plains• Rivers• Rain Forests • Deserts
Mountains• Dominate much of Latin America• One chain called La Cordillera• In Mexico split and are called
– Sierra Madre Occidental – Sierra Madre Oriental– Sierra Madre del Sur
• South America– The Andes
• 4000 miles/Longest continuous mts chain in the world/back bone of
South America
In Peru
In Argentina
Copper Canyon in Mexico
Problems Mts. cause
– Block communication– Travel is difficult– Loyalties and ties with
region rather then to nation
– Mts are young and still developing = volcanic eruptions/earthquakes/avalanche Earthquake in Mexico City - 1985
Plains
• Coast and inland plains• Two of the most important
– Pampas of Argentina – Llanos of Colombia and Venezuela
Argentine Pampas• Spread almost 500 miles north to the Salado del
Norte River and south to the Colorado River• In the east the Pampas are hot, west they are dry• Domain of the gaucho = person who works with
cattle– Late 1800s way of life disappeared
• One of the breadbaskets of the world– Cereals/cattle/pigs
Llanos of Colombia and Venezuela
• From the delta of the Orinoco River in Venezuela westward into southern Colombia
• Made up of level areas, rolling plains and low mesas (broad flat elevated areas)
• Cattle major economic activity
Rivers
• Five major river systems– Magdalena in
Colombia– Orinoco in Venezuela– Amazon in Brazil– Sao Francisco in
Brazil– Rio de la Plata in
Argentina
Rain Forest
• Mostly near the Equator• Stay green all year-round• Rainy and hot• More kinds of trees and animals than any
other area of the world• Largest/oldest = Amazon Basin
– Covers 1/3 of South America
Deserts• Patagonian and Monte
deserts of Argentina• Atacama Desert in Chile
– One of the driest in the world– No vegetation grows– People in towns have never
seen rain
Patagonian Desert
Atacama DesertAtacama Desert
Antiplano of Southern Peru
Santiago Mayan Women
Igauza Falls, Argentina
Walking Palm Tree, Costa Rico’s Rain Forest
Rain Forest Parrot
Brazilian Rain Forest
Volcano in Ecuador
Andres Mountains, Chile