Download Latin America Chapter 8

Latin America
Chapter 8
Objectives:
Section 1- The Land
1. Explain how geographers divide the large region known as Latin America.
2. Identify the factors that have shaped the formation of Latin America's Landforms.
3. Discuss how the Latin American landscape has influenced patterns of Human
settlement.
4. List the Natural Resources that make Latin America an economically important
Region.
A Vast Region
Latin America has a land Area of about 8 million square miles-nearly 16 % of the Earth's
land surface. The region shares a heritage of settlement by Europeans, especially those
from Spain and Portugal. Most of these settlers spoke Spanish or Portuguese-languages
based on Latin...the language of the Roman Empire, which gives the region it's name.
Latin America is divided into three areas-Middle America, the Caribbean, and South
America.
Middle America consists of Mexico and seven countries of Central America.....the stretch
of land that links the landmasses of North America and South America. The Caribbean
Islands, also known as the West Indies, fall into three groups-The Bahamas, the Greater
Antilles, and Lesser Antilles. The continent of South America is the largest land area of
Latin America. Among South Americas 13 countries, Brazil is largest in both land area
and population.
Mountains and Plateaus
The Rocky Mountains in North America extend to the tip of South America. The
Mountain Chain name changes as you move south. In Mexico they are the Sierra Madre;
in Central America, the Central Highlands; and in South America, the Andes. Much of
Latin America sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where plates of the Earth's crust
collided for billions of years.
Plate Boundary Types:
Subduction
The eastern margin is a convergent boundary subduction zone under the South American
Plate and the Andes Mountains, forming the Peru-Chile Trench. The southern side is a
divergent boundary with the Antarctic Plate, the Chile Rise, where seafloor spreading
permits magma to rise. The western side is a divergent boundary with the Pacific Plate,
forming the East Pacific Rise (mid-oceanic ridge). The northern side is a divergent
boundary with the Cocos Plate, the Galapagos Rise.
The subduction of the Nazca plate under southern Chile has a history of producing
massive earthquakes including the largest ever recorded on earth, the moment magnitude
9.5 1960 Valdivia earthquake.
East Pacific Rise (mid-Ocean Ridge)Divergent- tectonic plate boundary located
along the floor of the Pacific Ocean. It
separates the Pacific Plate to the west from
(north to south) the North American Plate,
the Rivera Plate, the Cocos Plate, the Nazca
Plate, and the Antarctic Plate. It runs from an
undefined point near Antarctica in the south
northward to its termination at the northern
end of the Gulf of California in the Salton
Sea basin in southern California.
Pacific
Plate
Subduction of heavier sea-plate
collides with a continental plateForms the Andes Mountains.
Massive Earth Quakes in Chile.
The Peru-Chile Trench, also known as the Atacama
Trench, is an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean, off
the coast of Peru and Chile. It reaches a maximum depth of
(26,460 ft) below sea level .
The trench is a result of the eastern edge of the Nazca Plate
being subducted under the South American Plate.
Plate accretion, involves the addition of material to a tectonic plate. When two tectonic plates
collide, one of the plates may slide under the other, a process known as subduction. The plate
which is being subducted (the plate going under), is floating on the asthenosphere and is pushed
up and against the other plate. Sediment on the ocean floor will often be scraped by the
subducting plate. This scraping causes the sediment to come off the subducted plate and form a
mass of material called the accretionary wedge, which attaches itself to the subducting plate (the
top plate). Volcanic island arcs or seamounts may collide with the continent, and as they are of
relatively light material (i.e. low density) they will often not be subducted, but are thrust into the
side of the continent, thereby adding to it.
The two main groups of the Lesser Antilles are the Windward Islands in the south and the Leeward Islands
in the north. The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships
arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds blow east to
west. The trans-Atlantic currents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought these
ships to the rough dividing line between the Windward and Leeward Islands.
The Leeward Antilles in the west form the third group. These consist of the Dutch ABC islands just off the
coast of Venezuela, plus a group of Venezuelan islands.
Leeward Islands:
Virgin Islands
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o St. Thomas (USA)
o St. John (USA)
o St. Croix (USA)
o Water Island (USA)
o Tortola (UK)
o Virgin Gorda (UK)
o Anegada (UK)
o Jost Van Dyke (UK)
Anguilla (UK)
Saint Martin/Sint Maarten (France/Neth.)
Saint-Barthélemy (Fr.)
Saba (Neth.)
Sint Eustatius (Neth.)
Saint Kitts (St. Kitts and Nevis)
Nevis (St. Kitts and Nevis)
Barbuda (Antigua and Barbuda)
Antigua (Antigua and Barbuda)
Redonda (Antigua and Barbuda)
Montserrat (UK)
Guadeloupe (Fr.) - the Guadeloupean archipelago is partially Leeward and partially Windward.
Dominica (Dominica)
Windward Islands:
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Martinique (Fr.)
Saint Lucia (St. Lucia)
Saint Vincent (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
Grenadines (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
Barbados (Barbados is a Continental island found 100 miles (160 km) east of the Windward
chain)[2][3][4]
Grenada (Grenada)
Tobago
Trinidad (Sometimes considered part of the Windward Islands. They are the most southern islands
of the Caribbean region. Islands of Trinidad and Tobago[1][5][6]
Leeward Antilles – islands north of the Venezuelan coast (from west to east):
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Aruba (Neth.)
Curaçao (Neth.)
Bonaire (Neth.)
Los Roques Archipelago (Ven)
La Orchila (Ven)
La Tortuga (Ven)
La Blanquilla (Ven)
Margarita Island (Ven)
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Coche (Ven)
Cubagua (Ven)
The Federal Dependencies of Venezuela: encompass all of Venezuela's off shore islands in the Caribbean
Sea and the Gulf of Venezuela. These islands are sparsely populated - according to official sources only
3,000 people live there permanently, with another hundred from Margarita Island who live there seasonally
to engage in fishing. Local government is under the authority of the mayor of Caracas.
The federal dependencies are composed of 600 islands and smaller formations; many have an area of less
than 10,000 square meters’ and are essentially simple rocks. The largest island, La Tortuga, accounts for
almost half of the territory of the federal dependencies.
Principal Islands and Groups
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Aves Island (Isla de Aves)
Las Aves Archipelago (Archipiélago Las Aves)
Blanquilla Island (Isla La Blanquilla)
Los Frailes Islands (Islas los Frailes)
La Sola Island (Isla La Sola)
Patos Island (Isla de Patos)
Los Hermanos Archipelago (Islas Los Hermanos)
Los Monjes Archipelago (Archipiélago Los Monjes)
Orchila Island (Isla La Orchila)
Los Roques Archipelago (Archipiélago Los Roques)
Los Testigos Islands (Islas Los Testigos)
La Tortuga Island (Isla La Tortuga)
Island arcs are arc-shaped tectonic features / mountain belts which are partly below sea level, which is just
a specific geographic-topographic situation in which the mountain belt is partly submerged, and many of
these are composed of volcanoes, being thus volcanic island arcs. A subduction zone and its relation with
volcanism, one of the more common causes of the existence of (volcanic) island arcs.
Aleutian
Islands
United
States
Mariana
Islands
United
States
Antilles
North
Bering Sea American
Plate
Mariana
Philippine Sea
Trench
Plate
Puerto Rico Caribbean Caribbean
Trench
Sea
Plate
Aleutian
Trench
Pacific Plate
Pacific Plate
North American Plate,
South American Plate
These collisions have formed mountains and volcanoes and have caused tremendous
earthquakes.
Mountains and Plateaus Cont........
Despite obstacles, the mountains and plateaus of Latin America have been places of
Human Settlement for thousands of years. People wanting to escape the heat of the
lowland areas have been drawn to cooler mountain climates. They've also been attracted
by the mountains rich natural resources-water, volcanic soil, timber, and minerals.
Latin Americas rugged terrain has tended to block movement and trade and to isolate
regions and peoples. In recent decade’s radio, television, air transport, and the internet
have begun to break down old physical barriers.
Mountains of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean
MexicoSierra Madre Oriental-East
Sierra Madre Occidental-West
Meet near Mexico City to
form the sharp peaked
Sierra Madre del Sur (of the
South).
These ranges surround the densely populated Mexican Plateau Which covers much of
Central Mexico. In the Southern area, the mild climate, volcanic fertile soil, and adequate
rainfall have attracted settlers for thousands of years.
Farther South, the Central Highlands, a chain of volcanic mountains, rise like a backbone
across Central America. Many Caribbean Islands are also part of this mountain range,
which extends across the bed of the Caribbean Sea. The Islands are active volcanic peaks
that rise above sea level. Some of the volcanoes are still active, which can make living on
an island hazardous.
Andes of South America
Mountains located on western edge of South America 4, 500 Miles-The World's longest
mountain range, as well as one of the highest, with some peaks rising to more than
20, 000 feet above Sea level. The Andes consist of several ranges that run parallel to one
another called cordilleras.
In Peru and Bolivia, the Andes encircle a region called the Altiplano, which means "high
plain." In southern Argentina, hills and lower flat lands form the plateau of Patagonia.
Highlands of Brazil
Eastern South America is the region of plateaus and valleys. The Mato Grasso Plateau, a
sparsely populated plateau of forests and grasslands, spreads over much of Brazil and
across Bolivia and Peru.
East of the Mato Grasso Plateau lay the Brazilian highlands, a plateau so vast that it spans
several climate and vegetation zones. On the eastern edge of the Brazilian highlands, the
plateau plunges sharply to the Atlantic Ocean, forming a steep cliff or slope called an
escarpment.
Lowlands and Plains
Narrow coastal lowlands wind their way along the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean along
the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America.
One of the Longest strips of coastal plain lies along Brazil's Atlantic coast. Brazil's
coastal plain has been a major area of settlement and economic activity since the 1500's.
Inland areas of South America hold Vass grasslands: The llanos of Colombia and
Venezuela, and the Pampas of Argentina and Uruguay. Both plains areas provide grazing
lands for beef cattle.