South America

South America 4th largest continent in the world

Most of the continent is in the “tropics”

Coastline along the Atlantic, Pacific and Caribbean Sea

Is it South of America?

Physical Features

Three Physical RegionsAndes Mountains

Plains

Lowlands and Plateaus of Brazil

Andes Mountains

From Tierra del Fuego to Venezuela4,500 miles longInhabitants are mostly native;

isolated villages

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0xsccVQO7U

Plains Foothills of the Andes to

the Atlantic Ocean

Argentina & Paraguay

Rich loess soil covers the ground

Among the best farmland in the world

Lowlands & Plateaus of Brazil

Amazon River flows through this huge area of mostly flat land.

Wide coastal plain to the Atlantic

Site of Colonial European Sugar Plantations

Indigenous Persons

-In the Pre-Columbian age, continent dominated by native people

- Inca Empire: Andes region from 1438-1533 9-14 million people

Highly developed and distinct

Cities, road systems, terrace farming

European Colonization

1494: Spain and Portugal agree to divide the continent

By mid 1500s, European colonies established

What were the goals of these early colonists?

Spanish and Portuguese settlers intermarried with natives, forming a Mestizo class

European settlers brought disease and forced labor to SA

By mid-1800s, most of South America had won independence

Government

South America a battlefield during the Cold War

Today, most governments lean left

Socialist leaders in: Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwNmYaaindU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDaSJ23DRjs

Religion

Roman Catholic dominates region

Other Religions

Protestant: French Guiana

Christianity, Hinduism, Islam: Guyana & Suriname

Animism and Shamanism exist in the Andes

Languages Spanish &

Portuguese dominate

Other languages: English, Hindi, Dutch, French, Italian & German

Native languages also exist

Economy of South America

Venezuela Dependent on oil production

75% exports are oil, most to the US and Canada

Member of OPEC

10% of workforce farmers (bananas, coffee, corn, oranges, rice, livestock

Colombia

Relies on agricultural products

Number one export: Coffee

Cotton, sugar, livestock

Cocaine 80% of the world’s supply

Employs about 200,000 people with annual revenues of $2.2 billion

Peru

Rugged land has led to a struggling economy

1/3 of population farming

Leading producer of asparagus

Copper, lead, silver from the mountains

Bolivia Leading export: natural gas

½ of population farming

Producer of quinoa, a week that produces a small, edible grain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7uvygMiwfo

http://www.channelone.com/video/the-year-of-quinoa/#ooid=xdHVnODraD2EoGjlDZc9GHfAa8q7TVk

Ecuador

Major export: petroleum

World’s largest supplier of balsa wood

Most Ecuadorians are farmers

Argentina

Service economies

Manufacturing near Buenos Aires

Pampas: important to agriculture

Patagonia: Petroleum

Chile

Only 3% of land farmable

Copper mining & fishing

Brazil

Largest economy in South America

Abundance of natural resources & good farmland

Fast-moving Amazon river creates hydroelectricity

1/5 of workers in agriculture

2nd only to US in agricultural exports

½ of workers in service industries