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Chapter 9:The Physical Geography
of Latin America
Where does the name
Latin America come from?
• The two most widely spoken languages
in the region (Spanish and Portuguese)
come from Latin.
Latin America includes…
Mexico
The islands of
the Caribbean
The countries
of Central/
Middle America
…and ALL of
South America
Tierra del Fuego
is the southernmost tip
of Latin America
66.5 N
As you can see,
much of Latin
America
lies within the
TROPICS
…and the stretch of latitude
extends almost all the way to the
Antarctic Circle
Latin America’s BROAD range
of latitude means that there is
MUCH diversity in landforms,
vegetation, and climate types.
The longest mountain system in the world
is found in Latin America.
The Andes Mountains stretch about 5,000
miles along the west coast of South
America.
The Andes are a part of a HUGE mountain system
stretching for about 7,000 miles down the west coasts
of North America and South America.
The Rockies
Sierra Madre
Pacific
Ocean
The Andes
Plates of the Earth’s Crust
Himalayas
This is
part of
the Pacific
RING OF
FIRE
Andes
**Remember that tectonic movement is what creates mountains.
Two examples are…
Tectonic Activity which formed the Andes Mountains
When an ocean plate collides with a continental plate,
the heavier ocean plate dives beneath the lighter
continental plate…SUBDUCTION.
The Andes Mountains have…
• 1. …affected
settlement patterns
in South Americaheaviest populations
in coastal areas
#2. … caused humans to find farming
methods that ADAPT to the mountain
slopes. TERRACED FARMING.
Human-Environment Interaction
• 3. …blocked
travel into
the interior of
South America
from the
Pacific Coast
Mountains
provide a natural
barrier along the
Pacific Coast
Pacific
Ocean
Tierra Helada- “frozen earth”- only
some grazing in this zone for short
periods of time in a year
Tierra Fria- “cold earth”- crops like
potatoes and apples
Tierra Templada- “temperate earth”most people live in this zone. Cotton,
corn, coffee grown.
Tierra Caliente-”hot earth” (rice, bananas,cacao)
Vertical Climate Zones of the Andes
This is the highest peak in the
entire Western Hemisphere
Rio Grande
Since the countries of
Central America and the
Caribbean
are in close proximity to
water/ coastal areas,
those countries
are less dependent on
rivers than
the countries of
South America are.
Important Rivers
of Latin America
Orinoco River
**The Amazon
River System
Parana’ and
other rivers
of southern
South America
source: The Andes
carries more water to the ocean
than the next 7 rivers COMBINED
flows west to east for about 4,000 miles
The Amazon
flows through the
world’s largest
rain forest
fed by over 1,000 TRIBUTARIES
mouth: Atlantic Ocean
discharges more
than 7 million
cubic feet of water
per SECOND
This is all of the land that is drained
by the Amazon River System…it is
close to the same size as the
continental United States
The Amazon
DENSE rain forest vegetation supported by
the tropical climate in the Amazon region
Layers of the Rain Forest
Rain forests such as the Amazon Rain Forest are the
MOST complex ecosystems on Earth.
Scientists have counted more than 2,500 varieties of trees
in the Amazon Rain Forest.
The Amazon Rain Forest covers over 2 million square miles.
Examples of diversity of wildlife in the rain forest…
anaconda
jaguar
ocelot catches a small anaconda
piranha
Here is a method of
getting scientists and/
or tourists into the
depths of the rain forest
The World’s Rain Forests
Notice the VARIETY of climates
throughout Latin America
because of the BROAD WIDTH
of latitude that is covered.
that climates are not
only affected by
latitude. They may
also be affected by…
• elevation/ altitude (such as the Andes
region and Mexico City).The higher the
elevation, the cooler the temperatures.
• proximity (closeness) to coastal areas
that are affected by ocean currents.
The following slides will show A FEW of
the KEY resources found in Latin America:
MEXICO and VENEZUELA are the top
oil producers in Latin America
Oil and natural gas
Precious Gemstones
90% of the world’s emeralds
come from COLOMBIA
COPPER strip mined in the
Atacama Desert in Chile.
COAL
TIMBER from the exotic
trees of the rain forest
Water which produces electricity- HYDROELECTRICITY
Itaipu Dam in Brazil
More KEY landforms
you need to know…
Some other KEY landforms
you need to know…
CERRADO- plains of Brazil
CERRADO
GAUCHOS are the cowboys of
the Pampas
Pampas
Argentina is known for its beef exporting
and leather goods
Pampas of Argentina
Llanos
mostly treeless, grassy plains
found in parts of Colombia and Venezuela
**these plains are most like the Great Plains
region of the United States
More key
vocabulary/
concepts you
need to know…
slash- and- burn agriculture
trees are cut and burned to clear land for farming
one of the reasons for the steady shrinking of
the rain forests worldwide
The World’s Shrinking Rain Forests
Middle/Central
America
An issue facing our current region of study…mostly in
Central and South America
**REMEMBER: push and pull factors
Although agriculture is a main way
of life throughout much of Latin
America, the modern trend is for the
people in this DEVELOPING part of
the world to move from RURAL to
URBAN areas in search of jobs.
Tourism is a GROWTH INDUSTRY in
Latin America
A growth industry is one that is growing rapidly
and providing significant income to a region.
Tourism can have both positive and negative effects on the
region…
Positive impact of tourism
1. tourists spend $ in the region
2. hotels, restaurants, etc… provide jobs for locals
negative impact of tourism
1. pollution
2. income gap between wealthy tourists and less welloff locals can cause hostility/ resentment
3. Local gov’ts can accumulate big debts by borrowing $ to
build tourist facilities
Hurricanes often disrupt tourism in the region
and it can take months for resorts to get
back in business following the severe storms.
Storms can have an economic impact on the region: cost to
rebuild INFRASTRUCTURE; lack of income when tourism is
disrupted.