Download Latin America

Latin America
Physical Geography
**Our Test is on Monday 4/29, this is
different than what the Geographer
says**
The Landscape

Defining the realm

Latin America:


Mexico:


North America
Central America
Caribbean
South America

The most substantial
landmass.
Central America:


Includes Middle and South
America.
Narrowing strip of land to
40 miles wide in Panama.
Caribbean islands.
Major geographic qualities
of Middle America


Fragmented - physically
and politically.
Culturally diverse :


Less Latin (European) than
South America.
Importance of preColumbian and African
cultures.
Regions of Middle America
Atlantic Ocean
Lesser Antilles
Mexico
Greater Antilles
Cuba
Jamaica
Belize
Pacific Ocean
Guatemala
El Salvador
Puerto Rico
Haiti Dominican Republic
Caribbean Sea
Honduras
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Central America
Panama
Major Physical Features

Land bridge


A link (isthmus)
between two major
continental masses.
A shortcut between
two major oceans.
Archipelago

About 7000 islands.
Greater Antilles:

Isthmus of Panama




Lesser Antilles:


The four large islands; Cuba,
Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and
Jamaica.
Numerous small islands; Bahamas,
Martinique, etc.
Natural hazards



Earthquakes.
Volcanoes.
Hurricanes.
Natural Bad Times

Hurricanes




Violent tropical storms.
Form during the summer
and early fall.
About 96 tropical cyclones
are reported annually.
Spiral shape and curved
paths:




Formed 5 degrees north
and south of the equator.
In the north, storms follow
clockwise paths.
In the south, storms follow a
counterclockwise path.
Heat is the critical factor in
the formation of tropical
storms
World Hurricane Tracks
Volcanoes

In Mexico

Paricutin


Began in 1943, only volcano
observed at creation
Montserrat:



Major volcanic eruption in
1995; ongoing to 2010.
Evacuation of 7,000 out of the
10,500 population.
More than half the island now
inhabitable
Parícutin 1943
Tectonic Plates in Middle
America
North American Plate
Caribbean
Plate
Pacific Plate
Cocos
Plate
!(!(
!(
!(
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Regions of Mexico
!(
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San Diego
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Mexicali
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Phoenix
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Montgomery
Dallas
Jackson
El Paso
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Baton Rouge
Mexamerica
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Hermosillo
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La Paz
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Atlanta
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Chihuahua
Saltillo
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Culiacan
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Austin
San Antonio !(
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Houston
Mobile
New Orleans
Galveston
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Monterrey
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Durango
Club Mex
Ciudad Victoria
New Spain
Mazatlan
Zacatecas
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Tepic
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Aguascalientes
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Tampico
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Guadalajara
Colima
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Tallahassee
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Metromex
Toluca
Merida
Queretaro
Morelia
Campeche
Pachuca
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Cuernavaca Mexico
!(
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Jalapa
Chetumal
City!( Veracruz
Chilpancingo De Los Bravo
Oaxaca
Acapulco
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Club Mex
Villahermosa
South
Mexico
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Tuxtla Gutierrez
La Ceiba
San Pedro Sula
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Quezaltenango Guatemala Tegucigalpa
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Escuintla
Santa Ana
Choluteca
San!( Miguel
The Regions of Mexico

Mexamerica





Extends north of the
Rio Grande into Texas,
New Mexico, Arizona,
and California.
Northern half of
Mexico.
The most integrated
with the US
economically and
culturally.
Source of most
migration to the US.
Largely a dry land of
great ranches.
The Regions of Mexico

New Spain




Mexico's breadbasket and its historic
colonial hearth.
Region of old cities and tradition.
Most conservative and traditionally
Catholic region.
Metromex

Mexico City and its surrounding
area.




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One of the world's largest city (25
million).
A quarter of the national
population.
Growing at the estimated rate of
500,000 per year through both
natural increase and immigration.
Dominates the national economy,
the national political life, and its
modern cultural life.
Significant environmental problems.
The Regions of Mexico

South Mexico

Major areas of continued
habitation by large
indigenous populations:






The states of Chiapas,
Oaxaca, and of the
Yucatán Peninsula.
20% of the Mexican
population of Amerindian
origin.
Many unassimilated
groups, particularly in
highland areas.
The poorest region of the
country.
Least affected by
development.
Chiapas rebellion of 1994:

Revolt against
landowners.
The Regions of Mexico

Club Mex


Capture the essential international
flavor of Mexico's areas of
concentrated resort tourism
development.
Tourism as economic
development:






Pursued by the government.
Mostly in areas of relatively limited
industrial development.
Created the necessary
infrastructure (particularly
airports).
Allow foreign investors to have
access to rather remote regions
(note Cancún, Ixtapa, Puerto
Escondido).
Construction of hotels,
restaurants, and entertainment
facilities.
Club Mex is much less Mexican
than other parts of the country.
South America

Physiography


Population


Concentrated along the
eastern coast.
Cultural diversity



Dominated by the Andes
mountains and the
Amazon basin.
Exists in most countries
and is expressed
regionally.
A mix of pre-Columbian,
African and European
cultures.
Regional economic
interaction


Been minimal in the past.
Attributed to colonialism.
Amazonian Basin
Andes
Brazilian
Highlands
Pampas
Tropical plantation
Resembles Middle America’s Rimland.
Locations, soils, & tropical climates favor plantation
crops, especially sugar.
Initially relied on African slave labor.
European commercial
The most “Latin” part of South America.
Population of European descent.
Includes the Pampas - temperate grasslands.
Economically most advanced.
Good transportation networks and quality of life.
Amerind subsistence
Correlates with the former Inca Empire.
Feudal socioeconomic structure persists.
Includes some of South America’s poorest areas.
Subsistence agriculture must contend with difficult
environmental challenges (high altitude).
Mestizo-transitional
Surrounds the Amerindian-subsistence region.
A zone of mixture, culturally & agriculturally.
Transitional economic connotations.
Undifferentiated
Sparsely populated.
Isolation and lack of change.
Development of Amazonia may prompt significant
changes.
Regional Divisions

Guyanas





Guyana, Surinam,
and French Guiana.
Borders the
Caribbean Sea.
Limited population
(less than one million
each) and
development.
Poor agricultural
land.
French Guyana



Controlled by
France
serves as a
launching pad for
the Ariane rockets
Part of Eurozone
Regional Divisions

Andean group


Including Venezuela,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru,
Chile and Bolivia.
Andes

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Highest mountain range in the
Western Hemisphere
Many peaks reaching over
20,000 feet in elevation.
Mainly native population
with some European and
Asian influence.
Vast array of mineral
resources.
Large oil reserves:


Venezuela (world’s 7th
largest), Columbia and
Ecuador.
Income used to fund socialist
policies.
Regional Divisions
 Semi-arid


Cities located next to
rivers.
Fisheries very important
due to maritime currents.
 Altiplano




region
aka Andean Plateau
Long corridor linking Peru
and Bolivia.
Plateaus bordered by
mountain chains.
Average 4,000 meters of
altitude.


coastal plain
Highest inhabited region
of the world.
Several minerals.
Regional Divisions

Southern Cone countries
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Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Agriculture




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Important cattle producers and
agricultural exports.
Pampas zone for grazing; fertile plains
in southeast
Region of rich soils and produces vast
amounts of wheat and other grains,
corn, alfalfa, beef, wool, and hides.
One of the major areas of surplus
agriculture in the world.
Opposite seasons are a significant
advantage to export food to the
northern hemisphere.
95% of the population of white
background.

The most European part of Latin
America (Buenos Aires and
Montevideo).
Physical
Features

Amazon Basin



River system drains about
40% of S.A.
Largest tropical rainforest,
2 million square miles (half
the size of the US)
Vast biodiversity


14,ooo mammals, 15oo
birds, 1000 reptiles, 22oo
fish, and 1 square mile of
the rainforest has 50,000
species of insects
Extensive deforestation
Other Physical Features

Patagonia*

Southern end of Andes mountains and
large flat plains rising in terraces to the
Andes

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Colder climate than rest of South America

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Especially in higher altitudes
Ice fields and glaciers
Llanos
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Hollowed out lakes
Tropical grassland plain in Venezuela and
Colombia
Extremes: floods during wet season
Atacama Desert

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Plateau in Andes (on the bend of SA)
Made of salt lakes, lava flows, and sand
Driest place on earth
Interesting…


The name Patagonia comes
from the word patagón used
by Magellan in 1520 to
describe the native people
that his expedition thought
to be giants. It is now
believed the Patagons were
actually Tehuelches with an
average height of 180 cm
(~5′11″) compared to the
155 cm (~5′1″) average for
Europeans of the time
(This is directly copied from
Wikipedia)
Brazil: The South American Giant

Context

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Sub-continent, the
fifth largest territorial
state on Earth.
50% of the South
American territory.
Large agricultural
producer.
The sixth most
populous country
(175 million).
physical and
cultural diversity
Brazil: Agriculture



World's largest exporter
of beef, chickens,
orange juice, sugar,
coffee and tobacco.
Large amounts of
cheap land.
Well-drained tropical
savanna (cerrado):



Traditionally considered
as low fertility.
Application of small
quantities of fertilizers
increase significantly
productivity.
Growing exports to
China.
Brazil: Population

People



Indigenous groups:




Slaves in the mid-16th century to work on the sugar
plantations in the Northeast.
Many aspects of African culture have been
preserved: Brazilian music, food, and religion.
Europeans:



Many of whom are still unassimilated.
Primarily in Amazonia, many who earlier were
incorporated into various mixed races through
intermarriage with other groups.
Africans:


Considered by some to be the most diverse
population on Earth.
Relative harmony, though with vast inequalities.
Mostly from Portugal during the colonial period.
Between 1822 and World War II, Italy (34%), Portugal
(30%), Spain (12%), and Germany (3%) were the
primary sources.
Japanese:

Brazil also counts more than 750,000 Japanese, most
of whom are Brazilian born.
Brazil: Culture
 Carnival!
 Football

2014 World Cup
 Olympics
The stadium’s power will come from a ring of solar PV panels
on the roof, which will also have a “photocatalytic
membrane.” That membrane is able to capture air pollution,
break down the chemicals and remove them them from the
atmosphere
Brasilia




Capital of Brazil;
population close
to 2 million.
Constructed
between 1956 and
1960.
A symbol of Brazil’s
development.
Located in the
interior.


Moving
development
away from the
coast.
Part of a national
plan to stimulate
the development
of the interior.
Brazil: Disparity

Inequalities




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Brazil is the least equal society on
Earth.
The poorest distribution of wealth.
Yields a society of extreme
contrasts: fabulous wealth,
grinding poverty.
Contains the potential for
instability.
GNP per capita-$7,300; Largest
income gap in the realm
Wealthiest 10% of the population:
Own 2/3 of the land.
 Control over 50% of the country’s
wealth.
 Poverty has increased by 50%
since 1980
