Download Central America

Central America
Central America
• 7 countries- Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El
Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama
• Isthmus that connects North America and South
America
• Volcanic mountains cover most of the seven
countries
• Climate
– Mountains- cool with rich soil, ideal for growing coffee
– Coast- tropical rainforest, hot with 100 inches of
rainfall a year
Caribbean
Caribbean
• Archipelago- chain of islands between Atlantic
Ocean and Caribbean Sea
• Coastal plains produce sugar cane
• Climate- mild in the winter and hot in the
summer
• Tourism year round is a main economic
activity of the region
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
• Central America and Caribbean were under water
millions of years ago
• Tectonic plate movements caused land to rise( islands),
mountains and volcanoes to form
• Continuous movement of the plates causes
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
• 1996 – Montserrat- volcanic eruption caused 2/3rds of
the population to flee their homes
• 2010- Haiti- 7.0 earthquake caused extensive damage,
Killed 200,000 people, 1 million people left homeless,
destroyed critical systems: no water, electricity,
transportation or medical care
Montserrat
1.3 Rainforest of Central America
Rainforest
• Importance
– Home to many plants and animals, including many
rare species
– Valuable economic resource: logging, farming and
tourism
• Destruction
– 1500s- most of Central America covered by rainforest
– 1900s- forest cleared by logging and farming
– 1990-2005- Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and El
Salvador lost 14-30 % of their rainforest
Reasons for Destruction
• Commercial farming
– Large areas cleared for plantations
– Large areas cleared for raising of cattle
• Logging
– Lumber needed for building
– Valuable wood like mahogany and rosewood
• Rural farmers
– Clear areas to farm, soil is not rich, so they farm more
land to get bigger crop
– Firewood for village