Latin America chapter 8

Latin America 8 million square miles 16% of earth’s surface Common European heritage (Spain and Portugal)

Divisions of Latin America Middle America= Mexico and 7 central American countries Caribbean Island, also called West Indies = the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the Lesser Antilles South America = 13 countries below central America; Brazil is the largest

Sierra Madre Occidental Latin American Mountains Sierra Madre Occidental Sierra Madre Oriental Sierra Madre del Sur Mexican Plateau Mato Grasso Plateau Andes Mts. Brazilian Highlands

Mexican Plateau Between Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental Densely populated Includes Mexico City

Andes Mountains-the backbone of South America 4,500 miles long; longest in world Cordilleras (kawr-duhl-yehr-uhs) parallel mountain ranges Altiplano-high plane formed by Andes’ peaks in Peru and Bolivia Patagonia- hills and lower flatlands in southern Argentina altiplano Patagonia

Altiplano-high plateau

Patagonia-plateau of southern Argentina

Brazilian Highlands Located in Eastern Brazil So vast that it has several climate and vegetation zones Plunges to Atlantic Ocean along eastern border in escarpment, steep cliff or slope

Escarpment-steep cliff or slope Along Atlantic coast of Brazil

Mato Grosso Plateau Located in Brazil Sparsely populated area of forests and grasslands

Lowlands and Plains Longest strip of coastal plain lies in Brazil along Atlantic coast Major area of settlement and economic activity Llanos- grasslands of Colombia and Venezuela Pampas- grasslands of Argentina and Uruguay, major breadbasket of the world, wheat and corn grown there

llaneros Ranchers in the llanos on large estates that employ cowhands

gauchos Ranchers in the pampas Known for growing both small and large crops

Water Systems Most Latin American water systems are in South America, except for the Rio Grande Rio Grande forms border between Mexico and the United States

Amazon River Longest river in the western hemisphere Carries ten times more water than the Mississippi River Hundreds of smaller rivers join the Amazon to form the Amazon River Basin Navigable up to 2,300 miles from the mouth

Parana, Paraguay, Uruguay Rivers 2nd largest river system in Latin Am. Provide hydroelectric power for Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay Flow into estuary called, Rio de la Plata, or “River of Silver”

Lakes Lake Titicaca- world’s highest navigable lake; in the Andes of Bolivia and Peru; 12,500 feet above sea level Lake Maracaibo- Venezuela; S. America’s largest lake; very important oil reserves found around lake Lake Nicaragua- largest lake in Central America

Lake Titicaca

Lake Maracaibo Pollution, like leaking oil, leads to dead fish and polluted drinking water.

Lake Maracaibo

Natural Resources Farmland Oil-Venezuela and Mexico Gold-Venezuela and Brazil Silver- Mexico and Peru Emeralds- Colombia

Section 2 Climate and Vegetation