Transcript Latin America Physical Geography

09-04-2013 Wednesday B-day
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Turn-in: parent info sheet,
markers/pencils
On your desk: North America notes,
Regions notes, Understanding Maps
worksheet, pen/cil
Warm-up: EESP with CNN student
news
This Saturday :
study skills boot camp
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Are you going??
(are your parents making you go?)
I have 6 invitations for small group
sessions…. Let me know today if you
are interested.
Agenda
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Today:
Open-notes quiz
Notes over Latin America
Map/atlas work with partner
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HW= MAP TEST next class!!!
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HW= MAP TEST
next class!!!
Read over Latin America
physical geography (no
quiz)- but will be on Test
next Friday
Latin America
Physical Geography
Region Overview
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Reaches from Rio Grande
River to Tierra del Fuego
at the tip of South
America – about 7,000
miles!
Includes part of North
America, all of Central
and South America, and
the Caribbean
Borders the Atlantic and
Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of
Mexico, and the
Caribbean Sea.
The largest country,
Brazil, is larger than the
contiguous US
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What physical
features stand
out?
How do you
think these
physical
features affect
settlements
patterns?
How do you
think these
physical
features affect
economic
activity?
Mountains and Highlands
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Andes Mountains:
• Part of the mountain chain that runs
through South, Central and North America
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Rockies in US
Sierra Madre in Mexico
Andes in South America
• Many active volcanoes in the region
• Serve as a barrier to movement into the
interior
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Settlement is concentrated on the eastern and
Northern coasts
• Home to the Inca civilization in Peru
Mountains and Highlands, continued
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Highlands: mountainous or hilly
sections of a country.
• Guiana Highlands
• Brazilian Highlands
Plains
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Llanos
of Colombia and Venezuela
• Grassy, treeless areas used for livestock grazing
and farming.
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Plains of Amazon River Basin
• Cerrado
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Savannas with flat terrain and moderate rainfall that
make them suitable for farming*
Pampas of Argentina and Uruguay
• Areas of grassland and rich soil; main products
are cattle and wheat grain
• Culture of the region centers around the gaucho
Colombian Llanos
Plains of the Amazon River Basin
Atacama Desert
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Known as the driest
place on earth- parts
of the desert haven’t
ever had recorded
rainfall.
Some locations in the
Atacama do receive a
marine fog.
Parts of the desert
reach very high
altitudes because it
backs up into the
Andes Mtns.
Although a desert,
average temperatures
in the Atacama range
between 32-77
degrees Fahrenheit.
Marine fog in
Atacama Desert
The Amazon
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Flows about 4,000 miles from west
to east – originates in the Andes and
empties into the Atlantic Ocean
Fed by over 1,000 tributaries
Carries more water to an ocean than
any other river in the world
Other rivers
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Orinoco:
• Winds through the northern part of the continent,
mainly in Venezuela
• Flows more than 1,500 miles
• Flows through interior lands home to the few
remaining Native American peoples, like the
Yanomamo
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Parana River
• Travels 3,000 miles through Paraguay and
Argentina
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Iguazu River
• Contains Iguazu Falls – 2nd largest falls in the
world, after falls at Lake Victoria in Africa
Orinoco River
Parana River
Iguazu Falls
Devil’s Throat – 2,300
ft. cliff marking the
border between
Argentina and Brazil
Major Islands of the Caribbean
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3 major groups:
• Bahamas
• Greater Antilles – Cuba, Jamaica,
Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican
Republic), and Puerto Rico
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*Think greater=bigger…these are the bigger
islands
• Lesser Antilles…these are the smaller
islands
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These 3 groups were collectively
known as the West Indies
The Bahamas
Greater Antilles
Lesser Antilles
HW= MAP TEST
next class!!!
Read over Latin America
physical geography (no
quiz)- but will be on Test
next Friday