LATIN AMERICA UNIT VOCABULARY

LATIN AMERICA VOCABULARY GEOGRAPHY

Tierra Caliente Altitudes ranging to approx ft. above sea level with uniformly high tropical temperatures.

Tierra Templada Altitudes ranging from approx. 3000ft. to approx. 6000ft. above sea level featuring lower average temperatures than the Tierra Caliente.

Tierra Fria Higher elevations—between 6000ft. and approx ft. above sea level featuring much cooler average temperatures.

Andes Mountains South American mountain range that nearly spans the full length of the west coast of South America.

Amazon River A river in northern South America flowing east from the Peruvian Andes through northern Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. The largest river in the world in volume of water carried. Approx miles long.

Pampas The vast grassy plains of southern South America, especially in Argentina.

Trade Winds Any of the nearly constant easterly winds that dominate most of the tropics and subtropics throughout the world, blowing mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere, and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere.

Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles The Greater Antilles are the four largest islands in the northwestern portion of the Caribbean Sea and include Cuba, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. The Lesser Antilles include the smaller islands of the Caribbean - the Virgin Islands and the Windward Islands and Leeward Islands.

Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. By volume of water, it is also the largest lake in South America.

Angel Falls Named Angel Falls after Jimmy Angel, an American bush pilot and gold-hunting adventurer, who discovered it in The waters fall freely some 807 meters (2,648 feet) and reach the bottom of the valley as a misty spray that gathers into a small creek which eventually finds its way into the north-bound Churun River.

Angel Falls (as portrayed in the movie “Up”) Carl Frederickson does his best to keep a promise that he made to his beloved late wife. After her death he finally makes his way to “Paradise Falls” (as they called it in the film) with a number of interesting twist and turns along the way! “Up” was the #1 animated film of summer 2009!

West Indies The West Indies is a large group of islands that separate the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. They comprise three main island groups: Bahamas (north) Greater Antilles (central) Lesser Antilles (southeast) The Bahamas consist of over 3,000 individual islands and reefs. The Greater Antilles include the island countries of Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic (Hispaniola), and Puerto Rico. The Lesser Antilles are the much smaller islands to the southeast, and they are divided into two (2) groups, the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands.

Central and South America The Central America isthmus is bordered in the northwest by the country of Mexico, and in the southeast by the country of Colombia. In addition, it's bordered by the Caribbean Sea, Pacific Ocean, and numerous bays, gulfs and inlets. South America, the planet's 4th largest continent, includes (12) independent countries and (3) major territories; the Falkland Islands, Galapagos Islands and French Guiana.