Transcript From the Andes to the Amazon

PPT 9.3
Agriculture
People change their environment to grow food
The forest is burned to clear land for planting
crops:
1. The forest is cut down.
2. The debris is burned where it lies.
3. The ash is spread as fertilizer.
4. With no roots to hold the topsoil in
place erosion occurs.
5. When soil erodes sometimes
“desertification” occurs.
Desertification
People diverted water from streams to irrigate crops.
The Inca carved terraces out of mountainsides.
for farming - called terrace farming.
The Aztecs in Mexico even built up ingenious
floating gardens called Chinampas to adapt
agriculture to their swampy land.
The hard life of the subsistence farmer, and poverty
in rural (farming) areas led many people to move to
Urban (city) areas to find a better life.
Push and Pull Factors
Two factors lead people to migrate from rural areas to
urban areas. These are
Push Factors:
Pull Factors:
draw people to urban
force a person away from
areas for high paying jobs
rural areas because of
and good medical care.
poor schools.
Poor schools
High paying jobs
The reality of movement from rural farming to urban city
living is that people trade one type of poverty for another.
Urban Life
•Living in slums is a constant battle against poverty and
crime.
•Most people in South America moving from rural areas
to urban areas don’t get into good schools, have quality
healthcare, or high paying jobs, but must deal with
gangs and other criminals.
Gangs,
Drug dealers,
and other criminals.
Other people visit cities in South America on a less
permanent basis to engage in tourism.
Tourists bring money into an economy.
Tourism dollars stimulate
an
economy by creating
jobs.
Tourism causes stress
on the infrastructure of
countries, like roads and
sewers, and political
strife occurs when
differences between rich
tourists and poor locals
arise.
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