The Geography & History of Latin America

1. Important Physical Features Mountains throughout the region Andes Mountains in South America Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico Volcanoes on the Caribbean Islands Amazon Rainforest in South America Largest tropical rainforest in the world Amazon River in South America 2nd longest in the world Atacama Desert in Chile Driest place on earth Angel Falls in South America World’s tallest waterfall

2. Important Cultural Features Christ the Redeemer Statue Rio de Janiero, Brazil

Important cultural features Machu Picchu In Peru

Important cultural features Chichen Itza In Mexico

Important Cultural Features Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas Panama Canal in Panama Soccer Spanish language Portuguese language Roman Catholic Christian religion Olympic Stadium in Rio

3. Parts of Latin America 4 parts Mexico Central America Caribbean Islands South America

More important facts #4: 2 main languages Spanish & Portuguese #5: Where did Latin America get its name? Spanish & Portuguese come from the Latin language (which is now considered a “dead” language.) #6: The main religion practices in Latin America? Roman Catholic Christianity #7: Largest country in population AND land area? Brazil #8-10: Look at your Latin America maps

History 12. 3 civilizations that impacted history of Latin America: Mayans Aztecs Incas 13. Who were the first Europeans to conquer Latin America? Spanish & Portuguese 14. In what decade did the Spanish and Portuguese come to Latin America to establish colonies? 1500s

History 15. What was the name of the man who led the Spanish in conquering the Aztecs? Hernan Cortes 16. 2 reasons why the Europeans were successful in conquering the native Latin Americans: They had more advanced weapons. They brought over diseases that killed off large portions of natives.

History 17. Changes that Europeans made to Latin American culture (write 3): 1. Native religions to Roman Catholic religion 2. Native languages to Spanish/Portuguese 3. Modern tools for farming (ex: axes) 4. New foods (ex: olives, rice, coffee) 5. New animals (ex: horses, chickens, cows)

History 18. True or False: Most Latin American countries are independent of Spain and Portugal today. True! BUT, there is still a lot of Spanish/Portuguese influence on the culture of Latin America.