Latin America and the Caribbean

Vocabulary  Cordilleragaucho  Altiplanoestuary  Escarpmentllano  Pampacanopy  Tierra calientearchipelago  Tierra friadoldrums  Tierra templadaEl Nino

Countries of Mexico and Central America  Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama  **Latin America is about 3 times the size of the USA.

Countries of South America  Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay

Countries of the Caribbean  Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico (US)

Physical Features  Major Mountain ranges  Andes Mountains  Sierra Madre Mountains-- Oriental and Occidental  Rainforests  Atacama Desert (world’s driest desert

 Archipelagoes groups of related islands  Lesser Antilles: smaller islands south of Puerto Rico  Greater Antilles: Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Dom.Rep. Haiti  Bahamas: 100s of islands off the tip of FL & north of Cuba  Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Amazon River Basin  Over 1000 tributaries feed the Amazon River.  Drains an area almost the size of the USA.  Amazon is the largest river in the world.  Drains 60 times more water then the Nile.

Water systems  Water systems, especially the rivers of South America, are key to human activity in the region.  Amazon River  Orinoco River  Paraguay River  Uruguay River

Climate & vegetation  Much of Latin America lies between the Tropic of Cancer & Tropic of Capricorn as a result of that most areas have some form of tropical climate with lush vegetation  Mountain ranges & wind patterns create a variety of climates & vegetation.  Reversed seasons south of the equator

Doldrums  Between 5° north & 5° south lies the doldrums; stillness of air masses not blowing in any directions.  Also known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone  Historically known as the “Horse Latitudes”

Natural vegetation  Consists mostly of rain forests & grasslands  Pampas to the south-Argentina  Llanos to the north-Venezuela  Used for grazing livestock & farming

Elevation & climate  Latin America’s varied climates are more affected by elevation than by distance from the equator.  3 vertical climate zones  Tierra Templada-temperate  Tierra Fria-cold  Tierra Caliente-hot

Cultural vocabulary-LA  Ethnocentrism dialect  Patoissyncretism  Columbian Exchange indigenous  Glyph chinampas  Campesino futbol  Jai alai desalination  Ejidos megacity  Primate city shantytowns  Viceroy caudillo

Cultural Characteristics  Indian civilizations--Aztec, Inca, Mayan  African traditions--slaves  influences of European colonization-- Spanish  predominance of the Roman Catholic religion  rigid social structure—no movement

 Colonial economies  Most Latin America countries will gain independence by the mid 1800s  Era of dictatorships  caudillos

 Mestizos-European and Native  location of settlements--coastal in South America (peripheral settlements)  Megacities with large squatter settlements  rapid population growth & rapid urbanization leads to lack of housing, jobs, stresses resources within cities…shantytowns  out-migration causes lost of well educated & skilled workers who could help solve region’s problems)

Cultural heritage  music--African influences, calypso, steel drum bands, reggae  traditional dances  Spanish and Portuguese languages

Cultural landscape  pyramids and cathedrals  haciendas and ejidos (communal land)  ruins at Machu Picchu  ruins at Tikal

Latin America in Pictures

Squatter City in Brazil

Native American heritage

Mayan

Inca

Inca Chieftain

Steel Drums

Steel Drum Band

Cathedral in Mexico

Macchu Picchu in Peru

Macchu Picchu is an ancient city that the Inca claimed was the center of the earth.

Tikal in Guatemala

 ancient Mayan city  ceremonial and civic center  Tikal is the "New York City" of the Maya, its skyscraper-like pyramids soaring up out of the jungle canopy.

Gauchos in Argentina

ANDES

Peaks in the ANDES

Looking up

Inca city of Machu Pichu

Sierra Madres

Sierra rocky cliffs

Green slopes

Looking across the range

Amazon River Basin (dark green)

Amazon flowing through the rainforest.

Cattle on the Pampas

Shade trees on the llanos

A small pond on the llanos

Water fall in the forest

Atacama

Bahamas

Bahamas from space

The Beach

Warm Blue Water

FIN

Latin America--Test Review  What is the main language of Latin America?  Spanish  What is the main religion of Latin America?  Roman Catholic

 Name the major mountain ranges of Mexico?  Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental  What is the most important and populous region of Mexico?  Central Plateau

 What do Tierra Fria, Tierra Templada, and Tierra Caliente have in common?  All are climate zones from the Latin American mountain regions

What three native civilizations began in Latin America?  Mayan, Aztec, Incan  Ancient Mayan ruins can be found in which region of Mexico?  Yucatan Peninsula

 Which native civilization was conquered by Cortez and the Spanish in Mexico?  the Aztecs  What three cultures make-up Mexico?  Ancient Indian, colonial Spanish and modern Mexican

 What is an EJIDOS?  Farmland owned collectively by members of a rural community  What is a HACIENDA?  Large Spanish-owned estates of land, usually run as a farm or cattle ranch

 Who provided the labor on the Haciendas?  Indians  What is a mestizo?  Person of mixed Spanish and native Indian ancestory  What economic alliance is Mexico a member of?  NAFTA

 What is an isthmus?  A narrow strip of land with water on both sides  What is the main economic activity of Central America?  Agricultural

 What does an unequal distribution of wealth mean?  Most money/resources controlled by a few  Factors causing this…

 Social  Political  Economic  Physical geography of the region

 What do Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) make up?  Greater Antilles  What group was originally brought to the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations?  Africans

 What is an archipelago?  Island group or island chain  What is subsistence farming?  Growing only enough for your use  What are the tropical grasslands of South America called?  Llanos and pampas

 What is the predominant climate in Latin America?  Tropical climates  Does Latin America have volcanoes and earthquakes?  YES  What do Ecuador, Venezuela and Mexico have in common?  oil

 What is the main problem in Mexico City?  Smog and pollution  What mineral resources does Chile have?  Copper

 What was the ancient South American native culture conquered by Spain?  Incas

 Describe Latin America’s social structure.  Rigid  What 3 things do most Latin American cities have in common?  Coastal, megacities, squatter settlements

 What is Macchu Picchu?  Ancient Incan ruins  What is the name of the ancient Mayan ruins in Guatemala?  Tikal

 Name the major mountain range of South America? Mexico?  Andes / Sierra Madres  When it is summer in the US, what season is it in Argentina?  winter

 What is the largest economic activity in Argentina’s patagonia region?  Cattle ranching  What are Argentina’s cattle ranchers called?  gauchos

Why is out-migration a problem for this region?  Losing people well educated, skilled workers who could help solve region’s problems.

What are the effect of rapid urbanization & population growth?  Lack of housing, jobs; stresses resources within the cities, lack of infrastructures  Development of shantytowns, squatter settlements.