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Caribbean South America
Physical Features
• The Andes Mountains extend up the west
coast of South America and are split into 3
regions called cordilleras.
– Central Range- a volcanic area which allows
extremely fertile soil. Excellent for growing coffee
plants
– The Oriental Cordillera (Eastern Range) extends to
the and borders Venezuela
– The Cordillera de Merida (Western Range)
• The Northern part of the Andes is an active
volcanic region with many earthquakes
• On the eastern part of the Andes, the mountains
plunge into lowlands
• The Amazon rainforest is in the southeastern
corner of Columbia and borders Brazil.
• The Orinoco is the largest river in South America.
• Along the eastern coastlines there are many
swamps and saltwater grasses.
Climate and Ecosytems
• Because its located on the equator, the
climate in northern South America is hot.
Their northern climate varies between tropical
wet and tropical wet and dry
• Because the climate varies so do the
ecosystems
– The Pacific coast of Columbia have lush rainforests
– The Llanos are grasslands and wetlands that have
many different plants and animals
Settlement
• There are many ports set up along the coast of
Caribbean South America which have prospered
because of trade, fertile soil, and cooler temperatures
– Settlers avoided the inlands because of diseases carried by
insects
• Venezuela is one of South America’s most urban
societies.
• Many people live on the coastline of the Caribbean
South America because of unhealthy living conditions
farther inland.
Resources
• Many crops are grown and exported from the
coastal regions of Guyana
– Sugarcane, bananas, rice, molasses, shrimp
• Venezuela is not suitable for farming, however
oil is very important to their economy.
• Columbia grow sugarcane, cocoa beans,
oilseed and tobacco at low elevations
– Columbia used terraced farming to grow barley,
wheat, and potatoes
Diversity
• The Caribbean region of South America is extremely
diverse.
• Unlike other regions of South America, there are not
many Native Americans in the Caribbean because
many died from diseases when the European came.
• Many Native Americans married Europeans and their
descendents are called mestizos
• Native Americans also intermarried with African
Americans
• In Guyana and Suriname, many people descended from
workers who migrated from India and Indonesia
(Javanese)
• The northern coast of South America has strong ties
with the Caribbean and follow many traditions such as
Carnival.