1. Chapter 5 Section 1: Geography
Central American and the Caribbean:
Geography and History
Chapter 5 Section 1: Geography

2. 1.1 Physical Geography

3. Agriculture and Tourism are valuable to the regions economy.
Central America
CA is an isthmus, a narrow strip connecting two large land areas.
A range of volcanoes goes across 7 countries in CA.
Volcanic soil is ideal for growing coffee.
The coastal plain, which are the lowlands next to the seacoast are valuable to the economy.
The tropical rain forests, heavily wooded forests that may receive more than 100 inches of rain per year are also valuable to the economy.
The Caribbean Islands
The islands curve in an archipelago or chain of islands between the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea.
Sugarcane is the leading crop.
The climate is mild in the winter and hot in the summer.
The area draws tourist year-round.

4. 1.2 Earthquakes and Volcanoes

5. CA and the Caribbean were underwater millions of years ago.
Tectonic Plate Movements
This region sits on the Caribbean Plate.
For millions of years this tectonic plate, a part of Earth’s crust, moved against other plates.
Causing land to rise.
Some of the Caribbean islands are just the tops of underwater mountains.
Plates crashing causes earthquake, or seismic activity and volcanic eruptions.
Impact of Earthquakes
2010, Haiti experienced its most destructive earthquake in more than 200 years, measuring 7.0.
Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince suffered extensive damage.
More than 200,000 people were killed.
Roughly 1 million were left homeless.
The earthquake also damaged crtical systems, extremely important services and supplies that a community needs.
Many were left without electricity, water.

6. The Importance of Rain Forests
CA rainforest have tall trees that grow in tropical areas with heavy rainfall.
A rain forest is an individual ecosystem, a place where plants and animals rely on the environment to survive.
The quetzal is the national symbol of Guatemala and it lives in the rainforest.
1.3 Rain Forests of Central America
The Future
Tourism, the travel industry, brings income to the region and provides jobs so rural people do not need to depend on farming.
Shade coffee needs trees to in order to grow and helps preserves the soil quality.
Rain Forest Destruction
From 1990 to 2005, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador lost 14 to 30 % of their rainforest land.
Mainly because of deforestation.
Forest are cleared for farmland and logging.
Rain forest soil is not fertile, or able to produce plentiful crops.
Zip Lining

7. 1.4 Saving Sea Turtles
Identifying the Problem
1980s, sea turtles population in Nicaragua has declined, and it was unusual because they had outlived dinosaurs.
Nat Geo Explorer Jose Urteaga searched for why they were becoming close to extinction, or dying out completely.
He found out that poachers, people who hunt or fish illegally, were stealing the eggs from beach nests.
Finding a Solution
Urteaga convinced poachers to sell the eggs to him so he could hatch them.
He taught poachers how to make a living in other ways like farming.
He even hired poachers to protect nests from other poachers.
He focused his message on young people.
By 2010 almost 90% of the turtle nests are protected.