Ch. 9-1: Physical Geography of Latin America Objective: Identify important landforms and resources of Latin America

Regions of Latin America Mexico Central America Caribbean South America

Mountains and Highlands The Andes Mountains- part of the mountain range that runs through a portion of North, Central and South America. United States- The Rocky Mountains Central America- The Sierra Madres South America- the Andes

Andes Mountains - Peru Patagonia – Southern Andes

Many volcanoes The longest mountain range in the world, nearly 5,000 miles long. Creates a barrier between the coastal cities on the west coast and the interior of the continent.

Highlands The Guiana Highlands The Brazilian Highlands

The Plains of Latin America - Well suited for agriculture Llanos: Colombia and Venezuela Pampas: Argentina and Uruguay Amazon River Basin: Brazil

The Pampas: Argentina

The Amazon River and Other Major River Systems Brazil Orinoco River: Venezuela and Colombia Paraná River: Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina

The Mighty Amazon Amazon : Flows 4,000 miles from west to east and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Source is the Andes Mountains close to the Pacific Ocean.

The Orinoco River Flows mainly through Venezuela and Colombia. It creates part of the border between the two countries.

The Paraná River begins in the Brazilian Highlands and flows southward through Paraguay and Argentina. It meets with several other rivers to create the Rio de la Plata

Islands of the Caribbean Three Main Island Groups make up the West Indies: The Bahamas The Greater Antilles The Lesser Antilles

The Bahamas Made up of hundreds of islands off of the southern tip of Florida.

The Greater Antilles Made up of the largest islands in the Caribbean including Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico.

The Lesser Antilles Includes the smaller islands in the region southeast of Puerto Rico.

Agricultural Products Resources Gold Silver Oil Natural gas Hydroelectric power Copper Timber Agricultural Products

Ch. 9-2: Climate and Vegetation Objective: Identify Latin American climate and vegetation patterns and their impact on the daily life of the people

Climate and Vegetation Tropical Wet Rain forest (Brazil) Tropical Wet and Dry Llanos and Pampas (Venezuela and Argentina) Semiarid Patagonia- Argentina Desert Atacama Desert-Chile

Mid-Latitude Climates Humid Subtropical Paraguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina Mediterranean West coast of Chile Marine West Coast Southern Chile, eastern Argentina Highlands

Vertical Climate Zones About 15,000 ft Tierra Helada (Mountain Tundra) Tree Line 10,000-12,000 ft Tierra Fria (Cloud Forest) 6,000 -6,500 ft Tierra Templada (Wet forest) 2,500- 3,000 ft Tierra Caliente (Dry Forest and swamp)

Ch. 9-3: Human-Environment Interaction Objective: Explain the impact of agricultural techniques on the physical environment.

Agriculture Slash-and-burn technique used to clear the land for farmland in the Amazon River basin.

Slash and burn- Panama

\ Slash and burn agriculture in Peru

Terraced Farming is an ancient technique introduced by the Inca for growing crops on the side of a mountain. This reduces soil erosion.

Terraced farming - Peru

Urbanization Push and Pull factors: People are moving from rural to urban areas in search of better opportunities.

Push Factors Push factors: reasons people move away from rural areas Ex: Poverty, poor medical care, poor educational opportunities, low-paying jobs

Pull Factors Pull factors: reasons people are drawn to the cities. Ex: Possibilities for work, education, medical care.

Urban Sprawl Unemployment Crime Illegal Drug trafficking Slums Pollution Sanitation Shortages of clean drinking water and housing

Tourism Advantages: Creation of new jobs Reduction of the income gap between rich and poor

Tourism Disadvantages: Congestion Pollution Strain on local resources Resentment and hostility Large public debt due to building tourist facilities

5 Minute Writing Humans interact with the environment in different ways. We depend, modify, and adapt to our specific environment. Identify how Latin Americans have depended, modified, and adapted to their physical world.