Central America

Middle America

Latin America  Different cultural region from US and Canada  2 sub regions of Latin America: Middle America and South America  Latin people speak languages that descended from Latin Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French

Middle America  Consists of nations and islands that lie between the US and South America  Called a Land Bridge btw North America and South America Mexico Central America The West Indies

I. Mexico  Largest Spanish speaking population Pop. Exceeds all other middle America countries combined  Second largest city in the world

Map of Mexico  Points of Interest Baja California Sea of Cortes/ Gulf of California Yucatan Peninsula Mountains: Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental Chihuahuan Desert Copper Canyon

Cities in N. Mexico  Most people live in the South  A few Northern cities Tijuana and Juarez- large border towns Monterrey- ultra modern city, 150 miles south of border

Northern Mexico  Hot and dry climate  Desert and semiarid grasslands dominate  Irrigation allows some farming to exist  Cattle ranching is common American cowboys patterned their clothing, skills and gear after Mexican Vaqueros

Mexico City  Largest city in North America  Bad location: mountains trap pollution, active earthquake area, chain of volcanoes along s. edge of the city  Strong Roman Catholic culture Our Lady of the Guadalupe- most visited Catholic landmark besides the Vatican

Shrine of Our Lady of the Guadalupe

Trade Relations  NAFTA- North American Free Trade Agreement Between US, Canada and Mexico Signed in nd largest free trade zone, behind EU Controversial treaty for all 3 countries  CAFTA- Central American Free Trade Agreement In process– signed by US and 6 Central American countries

Aztecs  Ingenious builders  City: Tenochtitlan  Temple to the Sun God (Quetzalcoatl) where they performed human sacrifices  Conquered in 1519 by Cortes and neighboring tribes

Mayans  Ancient Mayan Indians built massive cities and pyramids in southern jungles of Mexico  Most famous because of written records  Had accurate calendars helped decipher their hieroglyphics  About 2 million descendants still live in Central America  Built Chichen Itza, most famous Mayan ruin Has more than 100 structures 75 ft high pyramid Temple of the Warriors

Chichen Itza

II. Central America  Isthmus- narrow land bridge- connects Mexico with South America  7 small countries in this region– all 7 would fit in Texas Guatemala Belize El Salvador Honduras Nicaragua Costa Rica Panama >Lands of the Maya

CA Countries  Guatemala- largest population and largest city in CA: Guatemala City  Belize- settled by the British, member of British commonwealth (like Canada) smallest population in Central America highest black population in CA- descendants of slaves brought to work on plantations home of the Belize Barrier Reef

CA Countries  El Salvador- famous for volcanoes (24+) San Salvador- large metropolitan area, only touches Pacific Ocean  Honduras- most people are peasants and live in one room bamboo homes called ranchos 90% mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish ancestry) “banana republic”: politically unstable country, dependent on limited agriculture

CA Countries  Nicaragua- Lake Nicaragua has world’s only freshwater sharks largest country in CA, stifled economy due to political divisions, fell to communism in 1979 and finally became free in 1989  Costa Rica- “rich coast”, highest per capita GDP in CA coffee and bananas- biggest exports Best education, sanitation, health care and public services of any CA country 95% of landowners are direct descendants of early Spanish settlers— still farming the same, efficient way

CA Countries  Panama- ○ most developed of CA countries, ○ 2 nd highest per capita GDP due to Panama Canal and related jobs, ○ “Crossroads of the World”, ○ US had control of the canal until 1999  Panama Canal – (video)

III. West Indies  Columbus discovered islands in 1492, landing in the Bahamas first and then Cuba and Hispaniola- thought he was in India  Between Florida and the N. coast of South America are about 1000 islands  Combined these make up the West Indies 3 Groups ○ Bahamas ○ Greater Antilles ○ Lesser Antilles

The Bahamas  Formed from coral rather than volcanic lava  No mountains, no good soil but high standard of living  Spanish didn’t think they were important, British founded a colony  Now independent member of British Commonwealth  Fishing was the main industry in past, now tourism thrives  Capital: Nassau on the island of New Providence

Greater Antilles  Made up of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico  Islands are the crest of an underwater mountain range  Spanish settled these areas and produced mainly sugar cane  Most people on Jamaica and Hispaniola are descendants of slaves brought to the plantations  The people of Cuba and Puerto Rico are predominantly of Spanish heritage

Cuba  Slightly larger than Tennessee  Largest and most populous in West Indies  US still controls Guantanamo Bay- naval base  Fell to Fidel Castro in 1950, first communist government in Western Hemisphere  Havana: capital city

Hispaniola Haiti and the Dominican Republic  Two countries occupy the island of Hispaniola  Haiti- western half, poorest country in Western Hemisphere, voodoo beliefs create problems, speak Creole  Dominican Republic- eastern side, blend of customs of Africa and Spain

Jamaica  Spanish colony for 150 yrs, then British conquered  95% of pop. Today are descendants of slaves brought in to work on sugar plantations  Religion: Roman Catholic, Protestant and Rastafarian  Independent in 1962

Puerto Rico  Commonwealth of the United States since 1951  U.S. citizens with most of the privileges of other Americans (cannot vote in Presidential elections)  Some support for becoming the 51 st state  Manufacturing is main source of income

Lesser Antilles  Form the Eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea  Two outlying, independent countries in the Lesser Antilles: Trinidad and Tobago Barbados  In the North Includes: Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Independent countries: St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda  In the South Suffer from hurricanes Martinique, St. Lucia, Grenada

Haiti’s Earthquake 80% of the population in Haiti is living under the poverty line. Most Haitians live on less than $2 a day. The quake struck on January 12, 2010 at 4:53 p.m. The 7.0 magnitude quake's epicenter hit just 10 miles west of Porte-au-Prince and its 2 million inhabitants

Haiti’s Earthquake Before After