Middle American Realm Questions –Soviet Socialist Republics –Cotton Production in Kazakhstan Review Middle America –Overview –Natural hazards –Meso-American Culture Hearth –Mainland/Rimland Framework

Introduction to Middle America Defining the Realm –Mexico, Central America, Caribbean islands –North America –Latin America - Iberian Major Geographic Qualities –Fragmented - physically and politically –Diverse culturally, strong indigenous influence Asian, African, West European influence –Colonial legacy, developing countries

Regions Of Middle America Mexico Central America Greater Antilles Lesser Antilles

Middle America

Physical Geography Land Bridge Ocean Barrier Archipelago Natural Hazards –Earthquakes –Volcanoes –Hurricanes

Tectonic Plates

Distribution Of Earthquakes & Volcanoes

Popocatépetl

World Hurricane Tracks

Hurricane Development Typical Hurricane Life Cycle –Tropical disturbance→ Tropical depression→ –Tropical storm→ Hurricane (=typhoon=cyclone)→dissipation –Heat and moisture from warm water is the energy source –high relative humidities in the lower troposphere reduce evaporation in clouds and maximizes the latent heat released by precipitation.relative humiditiesevaporationcloudslatent heatprecipitation –Positive feedback process: low pressure, converging low level air, which rises convectively in the eyewall, (condensing to yield precipitation) further reduces air pressure, pulling in more humid air –Concentration of latent heat is critical to sustain the hurricane

Culture Hearth Origin of a cultural group: source of ideas, innovations, and ideologies that diffuse outward, creating a cultural landscape Hearths Aztecs Mayans

Mesoamerica Culture Hearths – Maya Civilization – lowland tropics 3000 Bp Classic Period Ad Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Yucatan Cotton exports, specialization – Aztec Civilization-Valley of Mexico ~ 6,000 feet AMSL Teotihuacán →Toltecs →Aztecs 1300 Ad Valley Of Mexico, Tenochtitlán (>100,000) –Mexico City