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Regions of Latin AmericaRegions of Latin AmericaMexico
Central America
Caribbean
South America
Brazil
Mountains and HighlandsMountains and Highlands
• The Andes Mountains-– The Andes are a 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
• There are many volcanic peaks throughout the Andes.
Andes CharacteristicsAndes Characteristics• Many volcanoes
• The longest mountain range in the world, nearly 5,000 mile long.
• Creates a barrier between the coastal cities on the west coast and the interior of the continent.
HighlandsHighlands
• The other mountainous regions in Latin America include the following:
• The Guiana Highlands
• The Brazilian Highlands
The Plains of Latin AmericaThe Plains of Latin America There are vast plains regions in Latin America
well suited for agriculture
Llanos: Colombia and Venezuela
Pampas: Argentina and Uruguay
Amazon River Basin: Brazil
The Amazon River and Other Major The Amazon River and Other Major River SystemsRiver Systems
• South America has three major River Systems:
Amazon River: Brazil
Orinoco River: Venezuela and Colombia
Paraná River: Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina
The Mighty AmazonThe Mighty Amazon
• Amazon : Flows 4,000 from west to east and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Source is the Andes Mountains close to the Pacific Ocean.
The Orinoco RiverThe Orinoco River
• The Orinoco River flows mainly through Venezuela and Colombia. It creates part of the border between the two countries.
The ParanThe Paraná Riverá River
• 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 a very important estuary in South America.
Islands of the CaribbeanIslands of the Caribbean
• Three Main Island Groups make up the West Indies:
The Bahamas
The Greater Antilles
The Lesser Antilles
The BahamasThe Bahamas
• The Bahamas are made up of hundreds of islands off of the southern tip of Florida. Nassau is the capital and largest city in the Bahamas.
The Greater AntillesThe Greater Antilles
• The Greater Antilles is made up of the largest islands in the Caribbean including Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico.
The Lesser AntillesThe Lesser Antilles
• The Lesser Antilles includes the smaller islands in the region southeast of Puerto Rico. They are divided into two groups- the Leeward island and the Windward islands.
Climate and VegetationClimate and Vegetation
Tropical WetRain forest (Brazil)
Tropical Wet and DryLlanos and Pampas (Venezuela and Argentina)
Semiarid Patagonia- Argentina
DesertAtacama Desert-
Chile
Mid-Latitude ClimatesMid-Latitude ClimatesHumid SubtropicalParaguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina
Mediterranean West coast of Chile
Marine West Coast Southern Chile, eastern Argentina
Highlands
Vertical Climate ZonesVertical Climate Zones
About 15,000 ft Terra 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)
Human-Environment InteractionHuman-Environment Interaction
Agriculture:
Slash-and-burn technique used to clear the land for farmland in the Amazon River basin.
Human-Environment InteractionHuman-Environment Interaction
• Agriculture: Terraced Farming is an ancient technique introduced by the Inca for growing crops on the side of a mountain. This reduces soil erosion.
UrbanizationUrbanization
• Push and Pull factors: People in Latin America are moving from rural areas into urban areas in search of better opportunities. This has created many problems such as the development of slums in the big cities.
Push FactorsPush Factors• Push factors:
reasons why people feel forced to move away from rural areas examples: Poverty, poor medical care, poor educational opportunities, low-paying jobs
Pull FactorsPull Factors
• Pull factors: reasons why people are drawn to live in the cities. Examples: Possibilities for work, education, medical care.
Rapidly Growing CitiesRapidly Growing Cities
City Population (2000)
• Mexico City, Mexico 99,639,000• Buenos Aires, Argentina 37,048,000• Lima, Peru 27,136,000• Sao Paulo, Brazil 16,800,000• Santiago, Chile 15,211,000• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 11,029,300
Urban SprawlUrban Sprawl• Unemployment
• Crime
• Illegal Drug trafficking
• Slums
• Pollution
• Sanitation
• Shortages of clean drinking water and housing
TourismTourism
• Advantages:– Creation of new
jobs– Reduction of the
income gap between rich and poor
TourismTourism• Disadvantages:
– Congestion– Pollution– Strain on local
resources– Resentment and
hostility– Large public debt due to
building tourist facilities