There are 3 areas that make up Latin America: Caribbean Middle America South America

Middle America is made of seven countries of Central America and Mexico. Connects North and South America

The West Indies is also known as the Caribbean – It is made up of the Bahamas, the Greater and the Lesser Antilles. Volcanic islands.

13 countries of South America – Brazil is the largest in land and population.

Sierra Madre Occidental Occidental means western. These mountains are on the leeward side of Mexico and are dry – steppe climate

Sierra Madre Oriental Oriental means eastern. These mountains are on the windward side of Mexico and are covered with trees and other vegetation.

Sierra Madre del Sur del Sur means “of the South”. They are located at the southern border of the Valley / Plateau of Mexico

Andes Western side of South America. Second tallest mountains in the world. Longest chain of mountains in the world. Cordilleras – parallel mountain ranges.

Brazilian Highlands Located in Brazil. Dry. Along the Atlantic Coast – escarpment (chain of steep cliffs). Spans many climate and vegetation zones.

One of the most populated places in the world One of the most populated places in the world. Pollution is trapped by the surrounding mountains. Mexico City is located here. Plateau of Mexico

Llanos Grassy plain of Venezuela and Colombia. Llaneros (cowboys) ranch in this area. One of the world’s “bread-baskets”

Pampas Plains area of Argentina that is similar to the Great Plains of the USA. This is also a “bread-basket”

Atacama Desert Driest desert in the world. Located on the coast of the Pacific on the cold Peru Current. West of the Andes Mountains it is affected by the orographic effect. Located on the leeward side of the mountains. (Windward side is Argentina)

Peninsula in Mexico, juts into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Mostly a tropical rainforest climate. Yucatan Peninsula

Amazon Basin The world’s largest tropical rainforest. Drains part of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil. Known as selva in Brazil. Trees form a canopy. Trees soar to 130 feet in the top layer. Vegetation is so dense that sunlight rarely reaches the floor of the forest.

These islands off the western coast of Ecuador was made famous by Charles Darwin and his theory of natural selection. They have many unusual animals. Galapagos Island

Negro Amazon Madeira Marajo World’s largest river by volume, and the longest in Latin America. The Amazon is navigable for 2,300 miles upstream. Negro Amazon Madeira Marajo

Rio Grande Forms part of the border between the US and Mexico. In Latin America it is known as the Rio Bravo del Norte – “the wild river of the north”