Chapter 13 Countries of South America

Countries of South America They are grouped into 3 regions: The Northern Tropics Surname Guyana French Guiana Venezuela Columbia The Andean Countries Ecuador Peru Bolivia Chile The Southern Grassland Countries Paraguay Uruguay Argentina

The Northern Tropics – The Guianas Made up of Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana Tropical wet climate They share rain forest and narrow coastal plain Different human geography then the rest of South America Guyana – official language is English Suriname – official language is Dutch French Guiana – official language is French

The Guianas The ethnic composition varies between the three countries Guyana – The two major ethnic groups are African (descendent from slavery) and Asian (descendent from workers coming from China, India and Southeast Asia to work on plantations). Suriname – Over 50 percent of the population is descendent from Asian workers. 10% from African descent, and 30% are mulattoes (mixed African and other ancestry). The remaining population are indigenous French Guiana – Similar population to Suriname, but mulattoes are the larges ethnic group. There is also a higher population of European in French Guiana The economies of the three countries are similar Share natural resources Fishing for shrimp and other fish Farmers grow sugar cane and rice Miners extract bauxite – Guyana is one of the world’s larges exporters of bauxite

Venezuela Official language is Spanish Ethnicity is mestizo or European descent The northwest corner of Venezuela has the Andes mountains A lower range of mountains stretch across the rest of northern Venezuela Most of the people live in fertile mountain valleys Venezuela’s large cities have ranchos (small shacks) where almost 1/3 of the people live The southeastern part of Venezuela is the Guiana Highlands It covers nearly half of the country Here is where the world's highest waterfall (Angel Falls) is located (3200 feet) Between the two highland regions there is a large river called the Orinoco Along both sides of the river are wide tropical grasslands called the Llanos During the rainy season there is flooding and the rest of the year it is hot and dry

Venezuela The climate in Venezuela varies depending on the elevation (even though it is close to the equator) Farmers grow different crops at different elevations Coffee trees are suited for growing in the tierra templada climate zone (page 250) Oil is what brings Venezuela its wealth Four beds of “liquid gold” Each year they pump about 700 million barrels of oil out of the ground (in the top 10 oil producers in the world) Because Venezuela’s oil reserves are finite (won’t last forever), they have invested in a large share of its oil profits in other industries Developing bauxite and iron mines Building power plants Setting up factories This is all set up so there are jobs when the oil wells run dry

Colombia Borders the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea Has three physical regions: lowlands, mountains, and Llanos (grassy plains) 75% of the population live between the cordilleras of the Andes Bogota, the capital, is on a high plateau of the Andes Colombia’s largest crop is coffee The farmland is mostly owned by wealthy families who rent the land to tenant farmers Small farmers (campesinos) are barely able to grow enough food for their families because they try to grow coffee The country is at risk if the demand for coffee drops or if the coffee trees are destroyed Officials have encouraged the export of other products

Colombia Drug Trade Social Challenges Coffee is the major legal crop Marijuana and cocaine are made from the leaves of the coca plant It is illegally exported from Colombia It is estimated that smuggling illegal drugs brings twice as much money into Colombia a coffee does Those who control the drug trade have lots of power The government of Colombia and the U.S. are working together to stop the drug trade and the violence associated with it. Social Challenges Rough political history Gained independence from Spain in 1824 Disputes between the two major political parties has had violent results In the 1950’s about 200,000 people ere killed in a civil war Since 1958 the two parties have attempted to work together to develop the economy

The Andean Countries The Andes stretch for 4500 miles, from the Caribbean Sea to the southern tip of South America In some places the mountain range is nearly 500 miles wide The Andes have three distinct environments Coastal Plain Stretches the entire Pacific coast As thin as a foot and as thick as 100 miles wide Some areas are so dry, but it perfectly preserves things like textiles woven 100’s of years ago or even human mummies Highlands The plateaus reach as high as 6500-16000 feet - they are called altiplano or paramos depending on the country you are in At the highest the climate and vegetation is known as the Alpine Tundra Tropical Forests Inland, on the eastern slopes are the tropical forests These forested regions are called the selva The Amazon River basin begins in the selva Not many people live in this area

The Andean Countries The Andes offer areas of rich natural resources, the soil is suited for growing a variety of crops depending on the elevation Vertical Trade: people in the area live by vertical trade. People from villages at different elevations meet to trade their crops. Because people grow crops suited for their climate zone, at the market they can trade “up” or “down” The population of the area still has between 25-55% of the original Natives Some of these groups lived for centuries as high has 17000 feet These people have developed larger hearts and lungs This allows them to work and live on thin oxygen

Ecuador Name comes from Equator, because the Equator cuts across the country About ¼ of the population is Indigenous and speak Quechua These people subsistence farm 10% of the population are European decent – but have the most influence and wealth in the country About 50% of the population are mestizo, who speak Spanish and live in highland cities and towns The population is evenly distributed between the highlands and the coastal lowlands = but the tropical forest region to the east of the mountains is sparsely populated In the 60’s they discovered oil in the selva lowlands Petroleum is Ecuador's chief export ¾ of the production is controlled by a state-owned oil company

Peru Peru was the heart of the huge Inca Empire – that fell to the Spanish in the early 1500’s About 45% of the population is indigenous and speak Quechua or Aymara Most live by subsistence farming or herding llamas and alpacas There are many native ruins left from the Inca Empire Most other Peruvians are mestizo and live in urban areas Most work in low wage jobs for factories that produce fish meal for animal feed or on plantations Poverty is widespread in Peru There is a small portion of the population that are European descent, but control most of the country's wealth and are the leaders in the government There are many Asian immigrants that moved to Peru In the 90’s the President was a Peruvian of Japanese ancestry (Alberto Fujimori )

Bolivia Bolivia is landlocked, and does not have any coastal ports Lake Titicaca is the world’s highest navigable lake Recently, a large temple was discovered submerged in the lake, adding to its mystery and fascination. According to Incan history, after a great flood, the god Viracocha arose from Lake Titicaca to create the world. He commanded the sun (Inti), moon (Mama Kilya) and stars to rise, then went to Tiahuanaco to create the first human beings, Mallku Kapac and Mama Ocllo. These first humans, the "Inca Adam and Eve," were formed from stone and brought to life by Viracocha, who commanded them to go out and populate the world. Thus Lake Titicaca is the birthplace of the Incas, whose spirits return to their origin in the lake upon death. Bolivia has many minerals including tin, they are the have Western Hemisphere's largest tin reserve The best ores have been removed Most of the people are indigenous and subsistence farm in the highlands Bolivia’s climate varies with the altitude from humid and tropical to cold and semiarid

Chile Chile means “end of the land” The country is about 2700 miles long, but only about 100 miles wide 2/3 of the people are mestizo Nearly ¼ of the people are European descent (mostly Spanish, British and German) Very few indigenous people The Atacama Desert is in the north and uninhabited ¾ of the people in the area live in the Central Valley It is a region of fertile river basins – between the Andes and the coastal ranges Chile’s summer season comes during the Northern Hemisphere’s winter – the products find good markets in the U.S. and Europe during this time Santiago – the capital – has a very high unemployment and many crowded communities Many people in Chile live below the poverty line

Southern Grassland Countries The countries boundaries in this area are formed by the Rio de la Plata system The Plata is an Estuary – a broad river mouth formed where a flooded river valley meets the sea The four rivers in the system are: the Uruguay, the Pilcomayo, the Paraguay, and the Parana This system allows an inexpensive way for people to ship goods The Andes are in the western part of Argentina They include the four highest mountains in the Western Hemisphere on of which is Mount Aconcagua (22831 feet) Gradually they give way to the piedmont (or foothills) region The tropical lowlands is called the Gran Chaco is a hot interior lowland region of savanna and dense shrub that covers part of Paraguay and Argentina The pampas of Argentina Uruguay stretch for hundreds of miles. This area used to be a grazing area for cows, now it produces 80% of Argentina’s grain and 70% of the meat The Patagonia area is desolate, dry, cold and foggy. It is well suited for raising sheep and has rich deposits of oil and bauxite

Paraguay Paraguay is landlocked, but the Plata river system provides an outlet to the sea Almost all of the population lives in the highlands Half of the people live in urban areas Most are mestizos who speak Guarani (local Indigenous language) as well as Spanish The economy is based on agriculture Paraguay was ruled by military dictator until 1989 He was replaced by a new military leader who tried to be more responsive to peoples needs In the 1990’s the people held their first democratic elections

Uruguay From the Indian word “river of painted bird” The name comes from the tropical birds in the area Much of the area is rolling grasslands the country’s economy is based on raising livestock, processing meat, and making products such as wool and leather 75% of the land is devoted to livestock grazing and 10% to raising grains to feed cattle and sheep Uruguay does not produce fuel and very little consumer goods They have to import all of those items, which is very expensive Most are European descent a (Italian and Spanish) There is a large middle class in the country and there are very few slums Uruguay has a unstable political history In 1973, the military took power for 12 years Since 1985 there has been free elections People have demonstrations to show their desire for freedom of press and other rights

Argentina Most of Argentina’s population is European descent (Italian and Spanish) More than 80% of the people live in cities Buenos Aires is Latin America’s wealthiest city and Argentina is the wealthiest nation The wealth is unevenly distributed Because the city is busy and filled with many factories and business, the air pollution is very bad The city has many poor people Argentina from the 1940’s-1983 was rule by military dictators Best known was Juan Domingo Peron – president from 1946-1955 He wanted to develop Argentina’s industry and distribute the wealth more evenly His wife was seen as a heroine for the poor (Eva) Most of the other dictators used the government power to help the wealthy All censored the newspapers and closed universities and even imprisoned opponents Conditions were very bad in the 1970’s – people were kidnapped by the military and never seen again – this period was called “the dirty wars” Every Thursday a group of women would march in front of the presidential palace and carry picture of missing family members In 1981 Argentina lost a war with Great Britain over the Falkland Island The military agreed to allow open elections Since then the government has tried to cut spending and improve the country

Practice Counties in South America … http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/South_America_Geography.htm

Places to know for the test…. Andes Mountain Range Straight of Magellan Rio de la Plata Guiana Highlands Llanos Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean