Download - deercreekintermediate.org

Chapter 11, Section 1
LATIN AMERICA:
LAND AND WATER
Where is Latin America?
 Latin America includes all of the nations from
Mexico to the tip of South America.
 3 regions make up
Latin America:
- Mexico and Central America
(also called Middle America)
- The Caribbean
- South America
Mexico and Central America
Mexico and
Central America
stretch 2,500
miles from the
United States
border to South
America. This is
almost equal to
the width of the
United States
from Los Angeles
to New York City!
Plateau
 A plateau is a large raised area of mostly level land.
•Most of Mexico’s
people live in the central
plateau which lies
between two mountain
ranges.
-It can be difficult for
people to travel to
and from the central
plateau because of
the surrounding
mountains.
Mexico
 Mexico is the United
States’ southern neighbor.
 Capital: Mexico City
(one of the world’s largest
cities; 20,063, 000)
Isthmus
 An isthmus is a strip of land with water on both
sides that joins two larger bodies of land.
Part of Central
America, located
south of Mexico and
north of South
America, is known as
an isthmus.
 The Caribbean region of
Latin America is made up
of two types of islands.

Some of the smaller islands are
made up of coral, the
skeletons of tiny sea
animals.


The Bahamas
The larger islands are the tops
of huge underwater mountains.
Cuba
 Jamaica
 Hispaniola
 Puerto Rico

 Some of these mountains
were once volcanoes, and a
few are still active today.
The Caribbean
The Caribbean: Haiti
 Capital: Port-au-Prince
 Haiti lies on the western
third of the island of
Hispaniola. It is the only
nation in the Americas
formed as a result of a
successful revolt by
enslaved Africans. It is also
known as the poorest nation
in the Western Hemisphere,
especially after the 2010
earthquake.
 In 2010, an earthquake registering 7.0
magnitude, devastated much of this
country. At least 52 aftershocks were
recorded and their death toll went
over 220,000 people.
South America
Andes Mountains
 The Andes Mountains run
some 5,500 miles along the
western coast of South
America.
 Lake Titicaca, up in the
mountains, is the highest
lake in the world on which
ships can travel.
(12,500 feet above sea level)
 In some places the Andes
rise to heights of more than
20,000 feet! (about as high as twenty
100-story buildings)
pampas
 The pampas are a large region of flat grasslands
that stretches through Argentina and Uruguay.

The pampas are similar to the Great Plains of the U.S.
rain forest
 A rain forest is a dense evergreen forest that has
abundant rainfall throughout the year.
*The Amazon River Basin contains
the largest tropical rain forest in the
world. This rain forest covers more
than a third of the continent.
Peru
 Peru is a mountainous country that is home to many
species of animals, including the llama.
 Capital: Lima


clothing.
Llamas thrive in the mountains
and their wool is used for
clothing.
Brazil
 Brazil is the largest country in Latin America and is
the home of Sao Paulo, the fastest-growing city in
the world (population of 20,365, 000).
 Capital: Brasilia
 More than half of the
country is made up
of Amazon Rain
forest.
Chile
 Chile is a long, narrow country with a mountainous
landscape.
 In some parts of Chile, people still live as their
ancestors did.
 Capital: Santiago
Latin America’s Waterways
 Latin America has some of the longest and largest
bodies of water in the world.
 These waterways are important to the people of the
region and serve as natural highways in places where
it is hard to build roads.
Amazon River
 Latin America’s Amazon River is the second-longest
river in the world. (the Nile in Africa is the longest)
 It flows 4,000 miles from Peru across Brazil into the
Atlantic Ocean.
 It carries more water than any other river in the
world! About 20% of all fresh river water on Earth!
tributaries
 Tributaries are the rivers and streams that flow
into a larger river.

The Amazon gathers power from more than 1,000 tributaries
that spill into it.
Rio de la Plata
 The Rio de la Plata system is a waterway that
separates Argentina and Uruguay. There are three
rivers that form this system: The Parana, Paraguay,
and Uruguay rivers.
Iguazu Falls
These falls divide the
Iguazu River into
upper and lower
Iguazu. They stretch
into a horseshoe
shape along 2-miles
of border between
Argentina and Brazil,
and consist of 270
total waterfalls.