Download World Geography Chapter 17

World Geography
Chapter 17
1. World Geography
page 1
Chapter 17
2. An isthmus is a narrow piece of land that connects two larger areas of
land.
3. Indigenous are native people.
4. One hundred million years ago, South America broke off of Africa and
drifted west until it hit the Pacific Plate. This formed the Andes Mountains
and still causes earthquakes and volcanoes.
5. Erosion of the Andes formed two large plains. The Pampas are in
Argentina and the Llanos are in Colombia and Venezuela.
6. The Caribbean plate drifted and formed the Caribbean Islands.
7. Central America and Mexico were formed when small plates attached to
the North American and Caribbean plates.
8. The Greater Antilles are the islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and
Jamaica.
9. The Lesser Antilles are volcanic islands of the Caribbean.
10. Central America is an isthmus that connects two large land masses.
11. The Amazon rainforest is the largest humid tropical region of the world.
Rain falls nearly everyday.
12. The Atacama desert in Chile is one of the driest areas of the world. No
rain in the last 400 years.
13. Many South American cities are located on mountain slopes because of
its mild cool climate. These locations are densely populated.
14. The Amazon River is the large river system in Brazil. The Amazon is 4000
miles long.
15. The Orinoco River is in Venezuela and Colombia.
16. The Paraguay, Parana, Rio de la Plata is the river system of Paraguay,
Argentina and Uruguay.
17. Columbus arrived at the Bahama Islands southeast of Florida. He called
the indigenous or native people Indians.
World Geography
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18. The Olmecs were an early culture in Southeastern Mexico from 1200 BC
to 400 BC.
19. The Mayas were from 200 BC until 900 AD. They were in the Yucatan
Peninsula, Guatemala, and Honduras. They built Temples and Pyramids.
20. The Aztecs were in Mexico at the time of Columbus. Tenochtitlan was
their capital city. The Spanish and Cortes conquered them in the 1500’s.
21. The Incas were in the Andes Mountains of Peru and Chile at the time of
Columbus. The Spanish and Pizarro conquered them in the 1500’s.
22. European diseases killed over half of the Native Americans.
23. In 1500, the Western Hemisphere was split between Spain and Portugal.
Portugal got Brazil and Spain the rest.
24. Indigo was a plantation crop that produces a blue dye. Other plantations
grew sugar cane and bananas.
25. Mestizos are people with both Native American and European ancestry.
26. Mulattos are descendents of African and European ancestry.
27. The US used the Monroe Doctrine to protect Central and South America.
28. Hydroelectricity and petroleum are two natural resources that produce
energy for Latin America.
29. Mexico and Venezuela have the largest Latin American oil reserves.
30. Latin America practices both subsistence agriculture and commercial
agriculture or agribusiness, which uses the latest farming technology.
31. Cacao is a small tree that produces cocoa beans that are used to make
chocolate.
32. Haciendas are large family owned farms.
33. Most of Latin American industries are located in the capital cities.
34. Most Latin American Industries are labor intensive or they require a large
workforce.
35. Latin America’s population is growing rapidly.
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36. Shantytowns are large slums surrounding cities that migrant workers use
for homes.
37. Most Latin American nations have democratic governments.
38. Land reform is breaking up the large land estates so farmers can own and
work their own fields.
39. Latin America has independent governments but they are dependent on
foreign investment and control.
40. Illegal drugs in Latin America are a very profitable business, which causes
the US to spend money controlling the trafficking of these drugs.
41. OAS is the Organization of American States. The OAS started in 1948 to
maintain peace and security in the Western Hemisphere.