1. South America
Unit 5, Chapter 9

2. Introduction to South America

5. Questions pg. 235
Describe the migration of rural workers to urban areas in terms of both push and pull factors.
Push Factors:
Lack of job opportunities
Pull Factors:
Explosive growth offer job opportunities

6. How might the migration of workers from rural areas to large cities negatively impact rural areas?
It is the most educated people who tend to leave impoverished rural areas to find jobs in the city, thus further draining any hope of improvement

7. Food line

8. Physical Geography of South America
9.1

9. Landforms
The isthmus of Panama connects North America to South America. The sub region of South America spans 4700 miles from North to South, passing through the equator near its widest point of 3300 miles.
Play from 7:10-8:47

10. The Andes
They consist of cordilleras, parallel chains or ranges of mountains, that run parallel to one another
They are an extension of the Rocky Mountains
Because the cordilleras have established natural barriers indigenous people have developed as isolated groups
The Andes encircle the altiplano, this is Spanish for “high plane”, it is a region in Peru and Bolivia encircled by the Andes
People have settled in the Andean Highlands for thousands of years. The climate is cooler, the volcanic ash is good for the soil, and natural resources are concentrated here.

11. Patagonia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD_ dFyfOXIo
Southern Argentina
Because of the Andes it produces a rain shadow effect causing it to be dry and barren
It extends across the Andes into Southern Chile.
It boasts dramatic valleys, glaciers, and Fjords
It is a result of their location to the Ring of Fire

12. Eastern South America Defined by broad plateaus and valleys
The Amazon Basin drains into the Amazon River
Sparsely populated forests and grasslands that extend across Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru
Brazilian Highlands are father east and span several climates and vegetation zones. Warm climates and open spaces are good for raising livestock
The Eastern Highlands plunge to the Atlantic ocean forming escarpments, which is a steep cliff or slope between a higher and lower land surface. These present obstacles for development, therefore, most of Brazils population lives along the coast.

13. Continued.
South Americas inland grasslands, the llanos, fertile grasslands found inland in Columbia and Venezuela
The Pampas, grassy, treeless plains of Argentina and Uruguay
Know for its fertile soil it is considered one of the worlds leading breadbaskets.
Both of these provide grazing for cattle.

14. Waterways Amazon River Worlds 2nd longest river Flows about 4000 miles
Hundreds of rivers flow off of the Amazon River and makes the Amazon Basin, more than 2 million square miles
The Parana, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers
2nd largest river system in Latin America
Flows into the Rio de la Plata Estuary that flows into the Atlantic Ocean

15. Waterways continued Lakes Maracaibo in Venezuela
Lake Titicaca which is in Bolivia and Peru and is the worlds highest lake

16. Climates, Biomes, And Resources
Diverse climates make South America a region of astonishing contrasts. Steamy rain forests, arid deserts, grassy plains, and sandy beaches can all be found in this sub region. The dense, nearly impenetrable vegetation of South America’s tropical rain forests represent a tremendous resource and supports many communities.

17. Tropical wet and Tropical wet/dry
El Nino phenomenon, a fact or event of scientific interest that can be scientifically explained or described, affects climate in South America. El Nino creates unusually warm ocean conditions that causes a large amount of rain. It can have negative effects on coastal weather, fishing, and agriculture.
Tropical wet and Tropical wet/dry
These are the predominate, main or most common, climates of Eastern South America
It is home to the Amazon rainforest, the worlds largest rainforest.
It is mostly in Brazil, but extends to Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

18. Tropical wet continued
There are more species of plants and animals per square mile in the Amazon then anywhere else in the world
Covers 1/3 of South America
World’s wettest tropical plain
Heavy rainfall

19. Tropical Wet/Dry North-Central South America High temperatures
Heavy rainfall
Extended dry seasons
Large expanse of grasslands

20. Humid Sub Tropical Arid Southeastern South America
Winters short with cool, mild temperatures
Summers are long, hot and humid
Arid
Inland parts of Peru, Bolivia and Chili
Cold air and high elevations result in very little precipitation
Vegetation is adapted to low moisture conditions
Atacama Desert has places where rainfall has never been recorded

21. Natural Resources Leading producer of energy resources
Holds most of the oil reserves and has large amounts of gold
Peru has silver
Columbia has Emeralds
Chili worlds largest copper exporters

22. Human Geography of South America
7.2

23. History and Government
South Americas diverse population is the result of centuries of blending among hundreds of indigenous groups, Europeans, Africans, and Asians.
Incas
Skilled engineers
Temples
Fortresses
Roads
No written language, knowledge was passed through storytelling. The Incas used quipus, knotted chords of various lengths used to record financial records

24. Incas continued
Silver, gold and agriculture wealth attracted Spanish Conquistadores to Peru

25. European colonization
Spanish quickly moved through Peru and expanded into Columbia, Argentina, and Chili
Portuguese settled in Brazil
British, French, and Dutch also settled into the northern part of South America
By mid 1800’s most colonies had won their independence from Europe

26. Independence
South American Countries struggle with many issues, including, violence, wide gap between rich and poor, unemployment and protecting the rights of the indigenous people.
Post-colonial period was politically and economically unstable
Power remained in the hands of the wealthy and elite, despite written constitution
Dictatorships have given way to democratically elected governments, but there is strong political corruption

27. Population Patterns
4th largest continent, home to nearly 400 million people
Population rate is starting to slow down
Most people live near coastal areas and along major rivers of the continent.
Most countries have low, population densities. Ecuador is the highest with 132 people per sq. mile
80% of the people live in Urban areas
Countries across the region are experiencing brain drain or the loss of highly educated and skilled workers to other countries. Most people are leaving South America for North America and Europe

28. Society and Culture Today
South America is ethnically diverse
350 indigenous groups
Argentina is 97% European
Chili exhibits architecture, cuisine, and traditions influenced by Germans
In Guyana, ½ the population is South Asian descent
Peru has a high Chinese population
Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch and English are all spoken
Most people in South America are bilingual

29. Religion Majority of people are Roman Catholic Protestant Hindu
Buddhism
Shinto
Islam
Judaism
Eastern Orthodox Christianity

30. Education Most countries support public education through high school
Literacy rates are on the rise
Public Universities
However, most children leave school to help support their family
South America has an uneven development between countries. Uneven Developments means conditions in which some places do not have benefit as much as others from social and economic development.

31. Family and Status of Women
In upper and middle class a nuclear family system is in place
In poorer families the extended family is part of the family nucleus
The elevation of women’s rights have grown as countries have established more stable governments and economies

32. Resources and Industry
Ranching is widespread, covering a wide area; prevalent, in the grasslands of the South
Herding llamas and alpacas occur in the high Andean regions
Fishing occurs in major lakes, rivers, and along coastlines
Agriculture dominates much of east-central Brazil, and Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. South America’s main contributions to global trade includes grains, soybeans, coffee, coca, citrus, cattle, sugarcane, tobacco and cotton
The coca plant thrives in Bolivia and Peru and is popular among the local working class for its effects as a legal stimulant and appetite suppressant. The coca plant also makes cocaine

33. Economic Integration
The increased global demand for raw natural resources and manufacturing have had an impact on the overall economic growth in the regions countries
Investments have begun to flow more freely from one country to another. For example, Columbia has taken advantage of its more stable economy by promoting free trade agreements with other countries.
Columbia implemented, to carry out or accomplish by concrete measures, the U.S.-Columbia Free Trade Agreement in 2012.

34. People and their Environment
9.3

35. Managing Resources
South America is home to some of the largest reserves of forest and agricultural resources in the world.
Deforestation. Rain forests harbor at least half of all plant and animal species on Earth. Almost 20% of the Amazonian rain forest has already been destroyed. Atlantic Forest, one of the Earth’s richest rainforest is the most threatened and covers less than 10% of its original area.
Desertification’s primary cause is not drought but rather the mismanagement of land by human activities such as overgrazing of livestock and deforestation.
Pollution

36. Managing Resources continued
Soil erosion has diminished the ability to produce food and vegetation
Volcanic soils and the oxisois, a thick, weathered soil of the humid tropics that is largely depleted of fertility and nutrients, are especially vulnerable to erosion.
You also have monoculture, the cultivation or growth of a single crop over a wide area for a consecutive number of years, that depletes the soil of its nutrients.

37. Human Impact
Large scale economic production and urban growth have created multiple forms of environmental pollution.
Favelas are disconnected from services established by city. This is a problematic as sources of sewage and unrestricted residential growth
Illegal mining has further damaged the natural land and water features. The price of gold has doubled in value since 2007, Peru is the gold capital of the world, so countries that have a high impoverished majority population and do not have effective regulatory procedures in the government encourage illegal mining.
Rapid deforestation has resulted in rapid migration, makeshift housing, and industrial scale mining operations. Because miners use mercury and other toxic compounds to separate gold from the ore, high levels of mercury and cyanide pollution in rivers have been reported.

38. Addressing the Issues
Addressing issues related to human impact on the natural environment is important not only for protecting regional biodiversity, but also for preserving the livelihood of human populations.
South American countries that recognize the impact of deforestation are passing laws to protect their lands. For example, Paraguay has passed the Zero Deforestation Law in It prohibits forested areas from being converted to landscapes for other uses in the eastern region of Paraguay.
Farmers are starting to implement management strategies to slow the process of soil erosion. For example, cover crops, which are plants that cover topsoil after crops have been harvested, prevent soil erosion from water and wind

39. Addressing the Issues continued
Steps are being taken to reduce air pollution at the local level by establishing regulations to cut out green house gases
2010 Argentina and Uruguay formed a joint effort to monitor pollution along the Uruguay river.