Download Latin America - Fort Bend ISD

Latin
America
Unit 3
Fact!
 The west coasts of Mexico, Central
America, and South America are part of a
geologically active rim called the Ring of
Fire.
 Great plates of the earth’s crust move
against each other along Latin America’s
western coasts, causing earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions.
Coffee, Columbia
• Rich volcanic
soil and mild
climate
conditions ideal
for coffee trees
• more than
300,000 small
family farms
• World famous
quality and
flavor
• Important
source of export
income
Llaneros, Venezuela
• Vaqueros - Hardworking cowhands
• Llanos - vast grasslands that stretch across
Colombia and Venezuela
The Llanos (Spanish for The Plains) - a vast
tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the
Andes in Colombia & Venezuela, in NW South
America.
- a region of
flooded grasslands
& savannas
Oil Rigs in Lake Maracaibo,Venezuela
• the black lifeblood of the economy
• the price of oil plunged in 1986 and again in 1990,
the country suffered serious financial setbacks
Andes Mountain, Peru
Andes Mountains
• world’s longest
mountain chain
above sea level
• collision of two
tectonic plates
forming
mountains 180
million years ago
• Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, mudslides,
glaciers and avalanches constantly change the
face of the Andes.
Market in
Huanca, Peru
• vendors sell time-honored
medicines - folk cures for
hexes, fevers, & other
ailments
• women peddle whatever
goods they can
• these highland people are
Quechua-speaking
descendants of the Inca
Machu Picchu, Peru
• Ancient city built by Incas
• 8,000 feet high
• May have been a spiritual or trading site or royal estate
of an Inca emperor
• Abandoned in
1534 at the fall of
the Inca Empire
Terraced Hillside of Machu Picchu
Terrace Agriculture
of the Incas
Temple
of the
Sun
Incan
Wall
•Master stone
makers
•Still a mystery as
to how the Inca
made such
perfect stones
Lake Titicaca, Peru
Road Building, Bolivia
• trading work
for food,
Indian women
lay a road
stone by stone
• most Bolivians
are Aymara
and Quechua
Indians or mestizos
•Most are extremely poor - landlocked Bolivia is in a
chronic state of poverty
Gran
Chaco
Deforestation in Gran Chaco
Hydroelectric dam on the Río Negro, near
Argentina. The torrential rains that follow the
region's long dry season make flood-control
works critical.
Brazil
Brazil
 Soccer is Brazil’s
national sport.
So passionate are
Brazilians about it
that they closed
businesses and
schools during the
Soccer World Cup or
national
competitions.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• the former
capital of Brazil
• boasts a lively
night clubs and
the world
famous Carnival
• 1960 the capital
moved 600 miles
inland to Brasilia
• part of its effort
to develop the interior of the country
• Brazilians—a mixture of Europeans, Africans, Indians,
and Asians—live within 200 miles of the Atlantic.
• delta
200 miles
wide
• begins
in the
Peruvian
Andes
• Empties
into the
Atlantic
Ocean
Amazon Delta, Peru
The Amazon River
Amazon River Facts!
South America’s mighty Amazon River
begins high in the Andes, less than 100
miles from the Pacific Ocean.
 The river flows nearly 4,000 miles to
empty into the Atlantic Ocean.
 Its length is about equal to the distance
from New York City to Rome, Italy!
The Amazon River
Amazon River Facts!
This immense river carries a huge amount of
water.
 Some scientists estimate that the Amazon
River alone funnels about 20% of all the
freshwater that flows over the earth.
 The Amazon discharges so much
freshwater at its mouth that it reduces the
salt content of Atlantic Ocean water for up
to 100 miles off shore!
Banks of the Rain Forest
in Columbia
Logging Trees in the
Rain Forest
Settlers in the Rainforest, Brazil
• a couple
constructs a
simple house
• Settlers clear
plots by burning
off vegetation
• great swaths have been destroyed to make room for
farmers, ranchers and miners
Deforestation of the
Rain Forest
Cotopaxi, Equador
World’s highest continually active volcano
Easter
Island
Lines of statues dot
the island all the
way around.
Easter Island
 Archaeological evidence indicates discovery of the island
by Polynesians at about 400 AD .
 Upon their arrival, an impressive and enigmatic culture
began to develop.
 In addition to the statues, the islanders possessed the
Rongorongo script; the only written language in Oceania.
Easter Island has
become a metaphor for
ecological disaster.
 The population of Easter Island reached its peak at
perhaps more than 10,000, far exceeding the
capabilities of the small island's ecosystem.
 Resources became scarce, and the once lush palm
forests were destroyed - cleared for agriculture and
moving the massive stones.
 Thereafter, a thriving and advanced social order
began to decline into bloody civil war and,
evidently, cannibalism!
 Eventually, all of the statues standing along the coast
were torn down by the islanders themselves.
 All of the statues now erected around the island are
the result of recent archaeological efforts.
Atacama Desert, Chile
Copper Mine in
Atacama Desert, Chile
Atacama Desert, Chile
• open pit copper mining
• The driest place on earth
• mineral rich—copper, silver, gold and sodium nitrate
Strait of Magellan, Chile
• winds through Chile - the world’s longest and
skinniest country
• connecting the South Atlantic and the South Pacific
Oceans
• Indians
share the land
w/ sheep,
which
outnumber
the people by
50 to 1
Buenos Aires, Argentina
• captial of
Argentiana
• 11 million
people
• 1/3 of the
country’s pop.
• 95% of the
Argentinians
are descendents
of Europeans mostly Spanish
and Italian
Military in Argentina
•Presidential Guard
waits while the
president attends
the Independence
Day mass
• heavy hand of the
military has been
influential in
gov’t affairs
• Military Junta (a gov’t led by a committee of military leaders) ruled
from 1976 to 1983 earned a reputation for violence & ruthlessness-more than 10,000 people disappeared and were feared dead
• 1983 election broke the hold of the military
Patagonia, Argentina
• remote are and
partially unexplored
• very harsh climate
• fertile Gauchos on the Pampas
grasslands
Argentina
across the
center of
Argentina
• Gauchos
(cowboys) drive
more than 15
million head of
cattle a year to
the slaughter
house
• South
America’s top
beef producer
The Pampas
(Quechua, meaning "plain")
- fertile lowlands,
covering almost 300,000
square miles, that include
most of Uruguay, the
Argentine provinces of
Buenos Aires, La Pampa,
Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and
Córdoba, and the
southernmost Brazilian
State, Rio Grande do Sul.
View of the northern Pampas grain belt
Patagonia
- has the largest concentration of
prehistoric small farms on the American
continents
- densely populated in prehistoric periods
-hand impressions are calculated to be
dated around 550 BC
Patagonia
- has the largest concentration of prehistoric
small farms on the American continents
- densely populated in prehistoric periods
-hand impressions are calculated to be dated
around 550 B.C.
-The size of the hands resembles that of a 13
year old boy, but considering they were
probably smaller in size, it is speculated that
they could be a few years older, and marked
their advancement into manhood by stamping
their hands on the walls of this sacred cave
Patagonia
Argentina
 Most of Argentina’s people are of
Spanish or Italian ancestry.
 Native Americans – the original
inhabitants – make up only a small
part of the country’s population.
Angel Falls, Venezuela
World’s
tallest
waterfall
Map of Mexico
Mexico City
One of the
world’s most
populous cities!
MEXICO CITY
(not including the metroplex):
8.8 mil (2008) - 573 sq mi
15,410 ppl per sq mi
HOUSTON
(not including the metroplex):
2.2 mil (2008) - 602 sq mi
3,828 ppl per sq mi
Mayan Civilization
Mayan Building
Mayan City
Mayan
Calendar
Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico
Chiapas, South Mexico
Home to Zapatista revolutionaries
Active
Volcano
Popocatepetl, Mexico
Since 1994 there has been restricted access because seismic
activity has been recorded
Costa
Rica
Costa Rica
 Costa Ricans have no army because
they despise militarism.
In school, Costa Rican children learn
that armies are created to oppress
people.
Military forces, however, may be
organized for national defense if
necessary.
Arenal, Costa Rica
Last erupted 1968, then again in 2005, Arenal is one of the
most active volcanoes in the world.
Arenal Volcano
Costa Rica
Panama
Canal
• opened in
1914 and
controlled
by USA
Panama Canal
• 15,000 ships
per year
• 24 hrs/day
• grain is the
most popular
commodity
shipped
• Handed over to Panama midnight 12.31.99