Transcript File
Chapter 9:The Physical Geography of Latin America Where does the name Latin America come from? • The two most widely spoken languages in the region (Spanish and Portuguese) come from Latin. Latin America includes… Mexico The islands of the Caribbean The countries of Central/ Middle America …and ALL of South America Tierra del Fuego is the southernmost tip of Latin America 66.5 N As you can see, much of Latin America lies within the TROPICS …and the stretch of latitude extends almost all the way to the Antarctic Circle Latin America’s BROAD range of latitude means that there is MUCH diversity in landforms, vegetation, and climate types. The longest mountain system in the world is found in Latin America. The Andes Mountains stretch about 5,000 miles along the west coast of South America. The Andes are a part of a HUGE mountain system stretching for about 7,000 miles down the west coasts of North America and South America. The Rockies Sierra Madre Pacific Ocean The Andes Plates of the Earth’s Crust Himalayas This is part of the Pacific RING OF FIRE Andes **Remember that tectonic movement is what creates mountains. Two examples are… Tectonic Activity which formed the Andes Mountains When an ocean plate collides with a continental plate, the heavier ocean plate dives beneath the lighter continental plate…SUBDUCTION. The Andes Mountains have… • 1. …affected settlement patterns in South Americaheaviest populations in coastal areas #2. … caused humans to find farming methods that ADAPT to the mountain slopes. TERRACED FARMING. Human-Environment Interaction • 3. …blocked travel into the interior of South America from the Pacific Coast Mountains provide a natural barrier along the Pacific Coast Pacific Ocean Tierra Helada- “frozen earth”- only some grazing in this zone for short periods of time in a year Tierra Fria- “cold earth”- crops like potatoes and apples Tierra Templada- “temperate earth”most people live in this zone. Cotton, corn, coffee grown. Tierra Caliente-”hot earth” (rice, bananas,cacao) Vertical Climate Zones of the Andes This is the highest peak in the entire Western Hemisphere Rio Grande Since the countries of Central America and the Caribbean are in close proximity to water/ coastal areas, those countries are less dependent on rivers than the countries of South America are. Important Rivers of Latin America Orinoco River **The Amazon River System Parana’ and other rivers of southern South America source: The Andes carries more water to the ocean than the next 7 rivers COMBINED flows west to east for about 4,000 miles The Amazon flows through the world’s largest rain forest fed by over 1,000 TRIBUTARIES mouth: Atlantic Ocean discharges more than 7 million cubic feet of water per SECOND This is all of the land that is drained by the Amazon River System…it is close to the same size as the continental United States The Amazon DENSE rain forest vegetation supported by the tropical climate in the Amazon region Layers of the Rain Forest Rain forests such as the Amazon Rain Forest are the MOST complex ecosystems on Earth. Scientists have counted more than 2,500 varieties of trees in the Amazon Rain Forest. The Amazon Rain Forest covers over 2 million square miles. Examples of diversity of wildlife in the rain forest… anaconda jaguar ocelot catches a small anaconda piranha Here is a method of getting scientists and/ or tourists into the depths of the rain forest The World’s Rain Forests Notice the VARIETY of climates throughout Latin America because of the BROAD WIDTH of latitude that is covered. that climates are not only affected by latitude. They may also be affected by… • elevation/ altitude (such as the Andes region and Mexico City).The higher the elevation, the cooler the temperatures. • proximity (closeness) to coastal areas that are affected by ocean currents. The following slides will show A FEW of the KEY resources found in Latin America: MEXICO and VENEZUELA are the top oil producers in Latin America Oil and natural gas Precious Gemstones 90% of the world’s emeralds come from COLOMBIA COPPER strip mined in the Atacama Desert in Chile. COAL TIMBER from the exotic trees of the rain forest Water which produces electricity- HYDROELECTRICITY Itaipu Dam in Brazil More KEY landforms you need to know… Some other KEY landforms you need to know… CERRADO- plains of Brazil CERRADO GAUCHOS are the cowboys of the Pampas Pampas Argentina is known for its beef exporting and leather goods Pampas of Argentina Llanos mostly treeless, grassy plains found in parts of Colombia and Venezuela **these plains are most like the Great Plains region of the United States More key vocabulary/ concepts you need to know… slash- and- burn agriculture trees are cut and burned to clear land for farming one of the reasons for the steady shrinking of the rain forests worldwide The World’s Shrinking Rain Forests Middle/Central America An issue facing our current region of study…mostly in Central and South America **REMEMBER: push and pull factors Although agriculture is a main way of life throughout much of Latin America, the modern trend is for the people in this DEVELOPING part of the world to move from RURAL to URBAN areas in search of jobs. Tourism is a GROWTH INDUSTRY in Latin America A growth industry is one that is growing rapidly and providing significant income to a region. Tourism can have both positive and negative effects on the region… Positive impact of tourism 1. tourists spend $ in the region 2. hotels, restaurants, etc… provide jobs for locals negative impact of tourism 1. pollution 2. income gap between wealthy tourists and less welloff locals can cause hostility/ resentment 3. Local gov’ts can accumulate big debts by borrowing $ to build tourist facilities Hurricanes often disrupt tourism in the region and it can take months for resorts to get back in business following the severe storms. Storms can have an economic impact on the region: cost to rebuild INFRASTRUCTURE; lack of income when tourism is disrupted.