Latin America and the Caribbean

Countries of Mexico and Central America

Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama

Countries of South America

Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay

Countries of the Caribbean

Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico (US)

Physical Features

Major Mountain ranges Andes Mountains Sierra Madre Mountains-Oriental and Occidental Rainforests Coastal Desert--Atacama Desert Amazon River Basin

 Tropical Grasslands--Pampas, Llanos Archipelagoes groups of related islands Reversed seasons south of the Equator Volcanoes and Earthquakes

 Vertical Zonation of Climates in Mexico Tierra Templada-temperate Tierra Fria-cold Tierra Caliente-hot

Economic Characteristics

diverse economies subsistence farming plantation agriculture slash and burn agriculture cash crops and food crops haciendas cattle ranches and gauchos

 deforestation destruction of the rainforests oil resources--Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico Heavy smog and pollution-Mexico City

 disparity of income distribution NAFTA member diverse mineral resources copper in Chile iron ore in Venezuela and Brazil

Cultural Characteristics

Indian civilizations--Aztec, Inca African traditions--slaves influences of European colonization--Spanish predominance of the Roman Catholic religion rigid social structureno movement

 Mestizos-European and Native location of settlements--coastal in South America Megacities with large squatter settlements rapid population growth out-migration

Cultural heritage

music--African influences, calypso, steel drum bands, reggae traditional dances Spanish and Portuguese languages

Cultural landscape

pyramids and cathedrals haciendas and ejidos (communal land) ruins at Machu Picchu ruins at Tikal

Latin America
From Mexico to Chile and Argentina

Mountain Ranges Sierra Madres Andes In Mexico 2nd highest 3 different range in the areas world. ORIENTAL Run from Chile OCCIDENTAL to Panama DEL SUR

Latin America
in Pictures

Squatter City in Brazil

Native American heritage

Mayan

Inca

Inca Chieftain

Steel Drums

Steel Drum Band

Cathedral in Mexico

Cathedral in Mexico

Macchu Picchu
in Peru

Macchu Picchu is an ancient city that the Inca claimed was the center of the earth.

Tikal
in Guatemala

ancient Mayan city

ceremonial and civic center Tikal is the "New York City" of the Maya, its skyscraper-like pyramids soaring up out of the jungle canopy.

Gauchos in Argentina

ANDES

Peaks in the ANDES

Looking up

Inca city of Machu Pichu

Sierra Madres

Sierra rocky cliffs

Green slopes

Looking across the range

Amazon River Basin Over 1000 tributaries feed the Amazon River. Drains an area almost the size of the USA. nd largest river in the Amazon 2 world. Drains 60 times more water then the Nile.

Amazon River Basin (dark green)

Amazon flowing through the rainforest.

Grasslands Pampas In Argentina Used for grazing and farming

Llanos In Venezuela Used for grazing and farming

Cattle on the Pampas

Shade trees on the llanos

A small pond on the llanos

Rainforests

Rainforests cover much of Latin America. Rain forests are near the equator. Amazon rainforest covers almost 2 million acres.

Water fall in the forest

Deserts

Atacama Desert Driest desert in the World. Sheltered from the rainforest by the Andes

Atacama

Archipelagoes (groups of islands)

Bahamas Hundreds of islands off the tip of Florida and to the North of Cuba Greater Antilles Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola

 Lesser Antilles Smaller islands to the South of Puerto Rico

Bahamas

Bahamas from space

The Beach

Warm Blue Water

FIN

Latin America--Test Review

What is the main language of Latin America?

Spanish What is the main religion of Latin America? Roman Catholic

 Name the major mountain ranges of Mexico? Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental
What is the most important and populous region of Mexico? Central Plateau

 What do Tierra Fria, Tierra Templada, and Tierra Caliente have in common? All are climate zones from the Latin American mountain regions
Ancient Mayan ruins can be found in which region of Mexico? Yucatan Peninsula

 Which native civilization was conquered by Cortez and the Spanish in Mexico? the Aztecs
What three cultures make-up Mexico? Ancient Indian, colonial Spanish and modern Mexican

 What is an EJIDOS? Farmland owned collectively by members of a rural community What is a HACIENDA? Large Spanish-owned estates of land, usually run as a farm or cattle ranch

 Who provided the labor on the Haciendas? Indians What is a mestizo? Person of mixed Spanish and native Indian ancestory What economic alliance is Mexico a member of? NAFTA

 What is an isthmus? A narrow strip of land with water on both sides What is the main economic activity of Central America? Agricultural

 What does an unequal distribution of wealth mean? Most money/resources controlled by a few

 What do Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) make up? Greater Antilles What group was originally brought to the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations? Africans

 What is an archipelago? Island group or island chain What is subsistence farming? Growing only enough for your use What are the tropical grasslands of South America called? Llanos and pampas

 What is the predominant climate in Latin America? Tropical climates Does Latin America have volcanoes and earthquakes? YES What do Ecuador, Venezuela and Mexico have in common? oil

 What is the main problem in Mexico City? Smog and pollution What mineral resources does Chile have? Copper

 What was the ancient South American native culture conquered by Spain? Incas

 Describe Latin Americas social structure. Rigid What 3 things do most Latin American cities have in common? Coastal, megacities, squatter settlements

 What is Macchu Picchu? Ancient Incan ruins What is the name of the ancient Mayan ruins in Guatemala? Tikal

 Name the major mountain range of South America? Andes When it is summer in the US, what season is it in Argentina? winter

 What is the largest economic activity in Argentinas patagonia region? Cattle ranching
What are Argentinas cattle ranchers called? gauchos