1. Latin America

2. Why Latin America?
Because most of the people in the region speak either Spanish or Portuguese, which are languages derived from Latin, the region is called Latin America

3. Latin America is about 3 times the size of the United States
3 Parts to Latin America
Latin America spans about 8 million square miles
It takes up about 16 percent of the Earth’s land surface
It is made up of:
Middle America
Mexico
7 Central American Countries
Caribbean Islands
Also called the West Indies
Divided into 3 parts
Greater Antilles
Lesser Antilles
Bahamas
South America
Latin America is about 3 times the size of the United States

5. Mountains and Plateaus
Most distinctive aspect of Latin America is that mountains stretch from the northern part of the region, all the way to the south
Mountains are all called something different, despite the fact that it is the same chain
In Mexico, they are the Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre Oriental, and Sierra Madre del Sur
In Central America they are referred to as the Central Highlands
In South America they are the Andes
Mountains have made it difficult for trade and transportation and has led to isolation
Television, radio, air transport, and the internet have helped end this problem

7. Pacific Ring of Fire
Latin America is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire
This has caused the formation of mountains and volcanoes over billions of years
The landscape continues to change because of this

8. Mexico and Central America
Sierra Madres span the east and west coast of Mexico and met in the south
Mexican Plateau, located in the middle of the country between the two ranges, is home to most of Mexico’s population
Central Highlands across Central America stretch into the Caribbean
Most of the islands of the Caribbean are part of the mountain chain (the islands are the peaks of the mountains rising up out of the water)
Some of the islands are actually active volcanoes, making living their dangerous

10. Andes Andes are the world’s longest mountain chain
The stretch 4,500 miles across South America
The Andes consist of several chains that run parallel to each other
When several mountain chains run parallel to one another it is called cordilleras
The Andes encircle the altiplano in Peru and Bolivia (it means “High Plain”)
In Argentina, the Andes fall off into the Patagonia, which is a region of hills and lower flatlands

12. Highlands of Brazil
Mato Grosso Plateau, is a sparsely populated area of forests and grasslands
It spreads across most of Brazil, into Peru and Bolivia
East of the Mato Grosso Plateau are the Brazilian Highlands
It spans several climate regions and vegetation zones
East of the Brazilian Highlands, the plateau drops sharply to the Atlantic, forming a steep cliff or slope called an escarpment

14. Lowlands and Plains
Narrow coastal lowlands are located throughout Latin America
Inland areas of South America have vast areas of grasslands
In Colombia and Venezuela it is called the llanos
In Argentina and Uruguay it is the Pampas
Both areas provide for grazing of cattle
Cowhands manage the herds – called llaneros in the llanos and gauchos in the Pampas
Because of its fertile soil, the Pampas is also considered one of the world’s “breadbaskets” – producing a lot of wheat and corn

16. Rivers
Rivers are very important because they provide transportation to an area that is relatively isolated
Most of the major rivers are found in South America with the exception of the Rio Grande, called Rio Bravo del Norte (“Wild River of the North”)
Amazon is the longest river in the Western Hemisphere
Amazon Basin in Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, and Columbia is the mass network of rivers draining into the Amazon on its way to the Atlantic

17. Lakes There are very few lakes in Latin America
Lake Titicaca between Bolivia and Peru, sits high up in the Andes
It is the highest navigable lake in the world
Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is considered the largest lake in Latin America, even though it technically isn’t a lake
It is home to vast amounts of oil fields that provide much of the world’s oil
The largest lake in Central America is Lake Nicaragua

18. Natural Resources Latin America has the following natural resources:
Minerals
Oil
Natural Gas
Emeralds
Tin
Copper
Bauxite (main component of aluminum)
Gold
Silver
Forestry
Agriculture
Water
Not all of Latin America’s countries have access to these types of natural resources and as a result, tensions are high in some places because people don’t share!
One major issue facing the region is that because of isolation, political and social unrest, many of the regions natural resources remain untapped