1. The Physical Geography of Latin America

2. Mexico Mountains dominate Mexico
Sierra Madre Occidental
Sierra Madre Oriental
Sierra Madre del Sur
Central Plateau: makes up more than half of the country’s area
Most of Mexico’s people live in the plateau region

3. The Panama Canal Human made waterway
Stretches across the Isthmus of Panama
Purpose is to shorten travel time between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean

4. The Caribbean The Caribbean is made up of two types of islands
Smaller islands are made up of coral (tiny sea animals that over hundreds of years meld together to create a rocklike substance)
Larger islands are the tops of huge underwater mountains

5. The Caribbean Breakdown
The Greater Antilles:
Larger islands (Cuba Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica)
The Lesser Antilles:
An archipelago: a group of islands
From the Virgin Islands down to Trinidad
The Bahamas
Another archipelago

6. South America Andes Mountains run along the western coast.
2nd highest mountain range in the world
World’s longest mountain system

7. South America Highlands are located in Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana
The Brazilian Highlands end in an escarpment
Steep cliff at the edge of a plateau with a lowland area below

8. South America
The Amazon River Basin contains the largest tropical rain forest in the world
This rainforest covers more than 1/3 of South America

9. South America
Pampas are flat grassland regions that are very similar to the Great Plains of the U.S.

10. South America Patagonia
Located in the southernmost part of Argentina and Chile
Made up of the Andes Mountains, plains, plateaus, and glaciers

12. South America from Space

13. Rivers and Lakes Amazon River second longest river in the world
Flows 4,000 miles from Peru across Brazil
Contains about 20% of all the fresh water on Earth
Collects more than 1,000 tributaries
Tributaries: the rivers and streams that flow into a larger river.

14. Rivers and Lakes
The Rio de la Plata is made up of the Parana, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers.
Form the 2nd largest river system in Latin America
The 3 rivers flow into an estuary
An area where river currents and ocean tides meet

15. Rivers and Lakes Venezuela has the Orinoco River and Lake Maracaibo
Lake Titicaca is located in the Andes mountains
Highest lake in the world