AMERICAInteresting facts of America’s

Geography

Oscar Alejandro Amado S. José Antonio Moreno C.Manuel Sebastián Ramirez M.

America

• Is the second largest mass of the earth, after Asia.

• It’s 8.3% of the whole earth surface.

• It’s the 28.4% of the emerged surface.

Let’s see some of the most interesting places that makes America’s geography unique.

Bodies of Water

Caribbean Sea

• Is one of the largest salt water seas having an area of about 2,754,000 km².

• The sea's deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, at 7,686 m (25,220 ft) below sea level.

• Is home to about 9% of the world's coral reefs covering about 20,000 square miles (52,000 km2), most of which are located off the Caribbean Islands and the Central American coast.

Lake Titicaca

• It’s located on the border of Peru and Bolivia and it’s at an altitude of 3,812 m above sea level

• It’s the largest lake in South America• It has an average surface temperature of 10

to 14 °C

Amazon River

• Is the largest river in the world with a total river flow greater than the next ten largest rivers combined, and the second longest river after the Nile river.

• It accounts for approximately one-fifth of the world's total river flow

• The Amazon River has over 3,000 recognized species of fish and that number is growing.

Gulf of Mexico

• It’s considered the 11th largest body of water in the world.

• It supports major American, Mexican and Cuban fishing industries

• Its continental shelf is quite wide at most points along the coast and is exploited for its oil, mainly in the western gulf and in the Bay of Campeche

Mountains and Peaks

Andes Mountain Range

• The Andes are the world's longest continental mountain range.

• The highest peak of the Andes is the Aconcagua rising to 6,962 m above sea level.

• About 30,000 species of vascular plants live in the Andes surpassing the diversity of any other biodiversity hotspot.

• It has more than 1000 species of amphibians, 600 of mammals, 1700 of birds, 600 of reptiles and more of 400 of fish.

The Patagonian

• Is a geographic region containing the southernmost portion of South America.

• It is a plateau with an area of more than 770,000 sq km

• Is a land of extremes: it’s possible to feel the lowest temperatures of the continent, and also 45ºC. Also there are places with high precipitation (Patagonian Andes) and places very dry in the central plateau.

Sierra Madre Mountains

• Are a system mountain of Mexico.• Have several mountain ranges: The Sierra Madre

Oriental, the Sierra Madre Occidental, and the Sierra Madre del Sur.

• Extends from northwest to southeast through Mexico from the U.S. border

• Have altitudes of 1,829-3,658 m, and have a deep, steep-sided canyons.

• Have a great wealth of minerals including iron ore, lead, silver, and gold.

Brazilian Highlands

• Are a coastal escarpment rising along 800 miles of shoreline.

• Located in Southern and Southeastern Brazil.• Are a major divide between the coastal strip and

the Interior Plateau.• The largest convenient cities are Porto Alegre,

Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, the latter of which is home to the famous rock peak Pao de Asucar (Sugar Loaf), located within Rio city limits.

Valleys, Plains and Basins

The Pampas

• Are a grassland biome.• Are flat, fertile plains that covers an area of 300,000 sq.

miles, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes Mountains. • It is found primarily in Argentina and extends into

Uruguay• These plains contain unique wildlife because of the

different terrains around it. Examples of wildlife includes the rhea, the badger, and the praire chicken.

• The climate is mild, with precipitation of 600 mm, making it appropriate for agriculture.

The Llanos: Orinoco Lowlands

• Is a vast tropical grassland plain situated at the east of the Andes in northwestern South America located in Colombia and Venezuela.

• The climate change of the Llanos is extreme: During the rainy season (May –October) there are floodings making the area unique for wildlife.

• The area slopes gradually away from the highland areas that surround it. The elevation above sea level in the llanos area never exceeds 200 meters.

Amazon Rainforest

• Is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America

• The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, and with minor amounts in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana

Biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest

• One in ten known species in the world live in the Amazon Rainforest.

• Is home to about 2.5 million insect species• Is home to tens of thousands of plants, and

some 2,000 birds and mammals• One in five of all the birds in the world live in

the rainforests of the Amazon

Acatama Desert

• Is a virtually rainless plateau in South America• Is the driest desert in the world.• Is virtually sterile because it is blocked from

moisture on both sides by the Andes mountains and by the Chilean Coast Range.

• It's approximately 100 miles wide and 625 miles long

• The landscape is totally barren and covered with small borax lakes, lava flow remnants and saline deposits.

Thanks for your attention!

References:

• http://www.pptpalooza.net/PPTs/GlobalStudies/LatinAmericanGeography.ppt• http://en.wikipedia.org/• http://www.argentour.com/en/patagonia/patagonia.php• http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Sierra_Madre_%28mountains%29.aspx