Latin America & the Caribbean

Sierra Madre Mountains--Oriental and Occidental Rainforests 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 structure—no movement

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

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

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

From Mexico to Chile and Argentina Latin America From Mexico to Chile and Argentina

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

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. Amazon 2nd largest river in the world. Drains 60 times more water then the Nile.

Amazon River Basin (dark green)

Grasslands Llanos In Venezuela Used for grazing and farming Pampas In Argentina Used for grazing and farming

Cattle on the Pampas

Shade trees on the llanos

A small pond on the llanos

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

Water fall in the forest

Driest desert in the World. Sheltered from the rainforest by the Andes 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 America’s 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 Argentina’s patagonia region? Cattle ranching What are Argentina’s cattle ranchers called? gauchos