Transcript South America

Regions
of
Latin
America
The Caribbean
Central
America
South
America
Latin America’s Resources
(Middle America)
• Latin America has a wide variety of natural
resources
• Mexico is rich in minerals like silver, gold,
copper, coal, & iron ore
• Mexico also has large amounts of oil and
natural gas located near the Gulf of Mexico
• Almost ¼ of Mexico is covered in trees that
can be made into lumber and paper products
• The people of Central America grow
important products like coffee, cotton, sugar
cane & bananas that they sell to the world
• This region is also well know for the fish &
shellfish they catch along with using the
waters of the area to produce hydroelectricity
Oil Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico
Resources: The Caribbean
• The Caribbean has good soil
and climate just like Central
America
• They are able to grow crops
such as sugar cane, coffee,
bananas, cacao, citrus fruits,
and other things that can’t be
grown in cooler climates
• The Caribbean has minerals as
well such as bauxite in
Jamaica, which is used to make
aluminum, nickel in Cuba &
the Dominican Republic, and
oil in Trinidad
Minerals of the Amazon Region
Amethyst
Quartz
Diamonds
Bauxite
Resources: South America
• Just like Mexico, South America
is rich in minerals
• It has gold, tin, copper, oil, iron,
and bauxite to name a few
• The people of the region do a
great deal of farming and fishing
as well
• Forests cover more than ½ of the
area and provide coconuts for
eating & hardwood like rosewood
and mahogany for furniture
building
Agriculture and Fishing
Resources: South America- continued
• The forests of the Amazon have
so much variety that we really
don’t know all that exists within
the area, but some of the plants
are used to make medicines and
are very important
• Tuna, shrimp, anchovies and other
fish are harvested from the ocean
and fresh waters
• The rich soil and great climate
allow for the production of coffee
in Brazil & Columbia, wheat in
Argentina, and sugar cane, cotton,
and rice in other places
Rubber Industry
Economy - issues
• Unfortunately not all of the resources
are spread evenly throughout the
region
• Another problem is created when
places rely on just one resource and
become a one-resource economy
(examples – Chile w/ copper, other
countries reliant on just one crop like
coffee, bananas, sugar, etc…)
• The weather of this region can be
very challenging with hurricanes, El
Niño, or droughts destroying crops,
fishing habitats, or even homes of the
people in the region
Latin America Begins to Diversify
• Latin Americans have been burned in
the past by relying too much on just one
crop or resource
• They have learned from this and are
now much more diversified
• For example, Venezuela does not rely
on just oil anymore, they now have
factories and farms and mine bauxite
and iron too
• Brazil does not just rely on agriculture,
it has built up its industries to produce
chemicals, machinery and steel. It also
grows cotton and cotton weaving is a
growing industry there.
Latin America Begins to Diversify
• El Salvador used to rely on
the coffee crop alone, but
now grows cotton, sugar,
corn and other crops too
• Trinidad grows a wider
variety of crops than in the
past too
• Overall the governments of
Latin America are working
hard to prevent the disasters
brought on by a one-crop
economy for the future
Eco-Tourism