Download Physical Features - Burnet Middle School

Chapter 7, Section 1
(Pages 192–196)
Physical Features
Geographic factors influence where people settle. As you read, complete
the diagram below. Identify six key landforms in this region.
Landforms of
Latin America
Landforms
(pages 193–194)
1.
2.
3.
46
Chapter 7, Section 1
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
List the three groups
of islands in the
Caribbean and a
key fact about each.
Latin America is divided into three subregions, or smaller
areas—Middle America, the Caribbean, and South America.
Mexico and Central America make up Middle America. Central
America is an isthmus, or narrow piece of land that links two
larger areas of land. It links North and South America. Middle
America has active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes because
four tectonic plates meet there. Mountain ranges rise along
Mexico’s eastern and western coasts, and a high plateau lies
between them. Forested mountains also form a backbone
through Central America. Narrow, marshy lowlands are found
along the Pacific and Caribbean coastlines.
The Caribbean islands, also called the West Indies, are
divided into three groups. The Greater Antilles includes the
largest islands—Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica.
The Lesser Antilles is an archipelago, or chain of islands,
curving from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad. The third group,
the Bahamas, is another archipelago. Some Caribbean islands
are low-lying. Others, formed by volcanoes, have rugged mountains and fertile volcanic soil.
Landforms
(continued)
The 5,500-mile-long Andes ranges and the huge Amazon
Basin are major landforms in South America. The Brazilian
Highlands that border the Amazon Basin end in an escarpment,
or series of steep cliffs, that drop to the Atlantic coast. Tropical
grasslands called the Llanos cover eastern Colombia and
Venezuela. Another fertile plain called the Pampas stretches
through much of Argentina and Uruguay.
Waterways
(pages 194–195)
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Why is the Amazon
River important to
Latin America?
The longest river in Latin America is the Amazon. It begins
in the Andes and flows about 4,000 miles to the Atlantic Ocean.
Many tributaries, or smaller rivers, flow into the Amazon. The
Amazon is used for shipping, and people also rely on it for fish.
The Paraná, Paraguay, and Uruguay Rivers form the secondlargest river system in Latin America. These three rivers wind
through inland areas and then flow into an estuary, the place
where river currents meet ocean tides. This estuary—called the
Río de la Plata, or “River of Silver”—flows into the Atlantic
Ocean. The Orinoco River flows north through Venezuela into
the Caribbean Sea.
The largest lake in South America is Venezuela’s Lake
Maracaibo. Lake Titicaca is located 12,500 feet above sea level
high in the Andes between Bolivia and Peru. It is the world’s
highest navigable lake. Another key waterway in the region is
the Panama Canal. This human-made waterway across the
Isthmus of Panama provides a shorter route for ships traveling
between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
A Wealth of Natural Resources
What is gasohol,
and why does Brazil
produce it?
Chapter 7, Section 1
(pages 195–196)
Brazil is the largest country in Latin America and has the
most natural resources. Rain forests cover more than half of the
country and provide timber, rubber, palm oil, and Brazil nuts.
Mineral deposits in Brazil include bauxite, gold, tin, iron ore,
and manganese. Brazil does not have large oil reserves. To limit
dependence on imported oil, Brazil produces a fuel for cars
called gasohol, an alcohol made from sugarcane and gasoline.
Venezuela and Mexico produce enough oil and natural gas
to meet their needs and to export to other countries. Bolivia and
Ecuador also have oil and natural gas deposits. Other minerals
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A Wealth of Natural Resources
Underline the reasons Nicaragua and
Guatemala have difficulty mining gold.
Wrap -Up
(continued)
in the region include silver in Mexico and Peru. Venezuela has
rich iron ore deposits. Colombia mines emeralds, and Chile
exports copper.
The Caribbean islands have few mineral resources. Jamaica is
an exception. It has large deposits of bauxite, which is used to
make aluminum. Cuba mines nickel, and the Dominican Republic
mines gold and silver. Nicaragua and Guatemala in Central
America have rich gold deposits. However, political conflicts
and transportation difficulties make mining their gold difficult.
Answer these questions to check your understanding of the entire
section.
1. Explaining What is the significance of the Panama Canal?
2. Organizing Complete this chart by listing the country(ies) in which
the mineral resources are found.
Minerals
Country(ies)
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Bauxite
Copper
Emeralds
Gold
Iron ore
Manganese
Nickel
Silver
Tin
Descri pt
ptive
48
On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph describing some of
the challenges of living in an area with active volcanoes and frequent
earthquakes.
Chapter 7, Section 1