Bolivia

A Top Gear special

[image Wikipedia]

TODAY We are going to watch Top Gear …

Did you see the Christmas special?

OPENER Task 1 – clip 1 1:45

• Before you watch the clip – from You Tube

• You will be asked which countries surround Bolivia [in South America] – this is a memory task so don’t write anything down

• WHILST THE CLIP PLAYS

• Write down as many adjectives down that you can to describe the rainforest

Task 2 – Map and Paragraph

• Add the countries which surround Bolivia to your map

• Add the capital city and the equator

• [you will need an Atlas]

• TAKE CARE HERE AS:• Major cities are La Paz (administrative

capital), Sucre (capital), Santa Cruz de la Sierra (largest population), El Alto, Oruro and Cochabamba. [4th]

• Sata Cruz – 1.4M• El Alto 859K• La Paz 835K• Sucre 280K [5th largest]

• Source Wikipedia

What is this ghostly Shape?

CIA World Factbook

• Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon Bolivar, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and countercoups. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. (Source: CIA World FactBook)

Facts

• Land boundaries: total: 6,743 km border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km Coastline:0 km (landlocked)

• Terrain: rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin

• Elevation extremes: lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m

http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcbolivia.htm

THINK• Did you get the countries

right?• Did you notice that it is a

landlocked country – what does this mean?

• Any idea why?

• It also shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru – Lake Titicatta

Politics = Decision Making

• Chile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, offering instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas and other commodities

Source

Task 2 – Watch clip 2 [3HD] 1:15

• Now take the adjectives [describing words] you collected from the first clip and as you watch this clip add additional ideas.

• Write a paragraph to describe what the Tropical Rainforest looks like.

• As an explorer what items would you take with you if you were to visit – make a double FACTBOX leaving the second box empty

Clip 3 (6HD) – 4:55

How high is the Altiplano? – At what elevation did they turn around?

How would you describe the environment; make your own word cloud. http://www.wordle.net/

Why do you think this such a harsh environment?

As an explorer what items would you pack for the Atacama Desert? Add these to your FACTBOX

Lake Titicaca

• The highest point is 21 463.2546 feet

• When the Altiplano was uplifted from the ocean it was the largest mountain lake in the world. This has gradually died up to leave Lake Titicaca but leave behind massive salt deposits COPY

• The lake is famous for its reed boats used to sail to Easter Island

Selva

Sierra

Read the following and be ready to answer a question

• During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was called “Upper Peru” or “Charcas” and was under the authority of the Viceroy of Lima. Local government came from the Audiencia de Charcas located in Chuquisaca (La Plata--modern day Sucre). Bolivian silver mines produced much of the Spanish empire’s wealth. Potosi, site of the famed Cerro Rico--“Rich Mountain”--was, for many years, the largest city in the Western Hemisphere. As Spanish royal authority weakened during the Napoleonic wars, sentiment against colonial rule grew. Independence was proclaimed in 1809. Sixteen years of struggle followed before the establishment of the republic, named after Simon Bolivar, on August 6, 1825.

Independence did not bring stability. For nearly 60 years, short-lived, weak institutions and frequent coups characterized Bolivian politics. The War of the Pacific (1879-83) demonstrated Bolivia’s weakness when it was defeated by Chile. Chile took lands that contained rich nitrate fields and removed Bolivia’s access to the sea.

Question

Can you explain why Bolivia no longer has a coastline? – it is landlocked

Treat / Review

The final clip shows them reaching the Western Coast

Links – you tube

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlQ5vsfboQ0 Part 1

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqxU2XGFH5E Part 3

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuNdsLddgt4&feature=related Part 6

• {http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zdn5C_zbog&feature=related Part 7 if needed}

• Kilohercas has uploaded these search for Kilohercas top gear Bolivia – all are HD

Photocopy – trim and stick once complete [you do not need to recycle this sheet]