The Physical Geography of Latin America
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
Central America Central America is an isthmus Isthmus: a narrow strip of land that has water on both sides and joins two larger bodies of land. Narrow plains run along the coasts Between the plains are mountains More then a dozen (12) of these mountains are active volcanoes
The Panama Canal Human made waterway Stretches across the Isthmus of Panama Purpose is to shorten travel time between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean
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
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
South America Andes Mountains run along the western coast. 2nd highest mountain range in the world World’s longest mountain system
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
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
South America Pampas are flat grassland regions that are very similar to the Great Plains of the U.S. Located in Argentina and Uruguay
South America Patagonia Located in the southernmost part of Argentina and Chile Made up of the Andes Mountains, plains, plateaus, and glaciers
South America from Space
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.
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
Rivers and Lakes Venezuela has the Orinoco River and Lake Maracaibo Lake Titicaca is located in the Andes mountains Highest lake in the world