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Latin America
Introduction – Location –
Physical Characteristics
GCU 122 – World Regional Geography
Jason Donoghue
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
Introduction
• Lecture accompanied by these
presentations will make up the bulk of this
course.
– Take good notes, and you will be successful.
• Each presentation will tackle a different
aspect of the region we are covering, but
will be presented in the same format.
Location – Latin America
• Latin America includes all of the countries south
of the United States from Mexico all the way to
the tip of Argentina in the south.
– Latin America was the name given to the area in the
nineteenth century by the French to discourage
British interests in the region.
• The name has stuck, and serves to help define the region as
the languages spoken throughout Latin America are Latin
based languages.
– Spanish – ¾ of Latin Americans speak Spanish.
– Portuguese – The other quarter, primarily in Brazil speak
Portuguese.
Relative Location
Different Regions
• For our purposes we will
look at Latin America in
two separate regions,
each with their own subregions:
– Middle America
• Mexico
• Central America
– South America
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Caribbean North
Andean West
Brazil
Southern Cone
Regions of Middle America
Mexico
Central America
Middle America
Mexico
Mexico City Mexico
Acapulco Mexico
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Guatemala
Belize
Honduras
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
Central America
Regional Disputes
• Despite apparent shared
physical characteristics
and shared colonial and
economic backgrounds,
the region of Latin
America is contested and
unclear.
– Two clear physical breaks
are typically used to
separate regions.
• the isthmus of
Tehuantepec in Mexico
• the isthmus of Panama in
Panama
Regions of South America
Caribbean North
Colombia
Venezuela
Guyana
Suriname
French Guiana
Andean West
Peru
Ecuador
Bolivia
Brazil
Southern Cone
Argentina
Chile
Uruguay
Paraguay
Excluding Nations
• At times the Latin distinction is used to disqualify
some countries from being included in the region
described as Latin America.
– Belize and Guyana – English Speaking
– French Guiana – French Speaking
– Suriname – Dutch speaking, and still under Dutch
political control
• For our purposes though we will included these
countries in our review of the region.
POLITICAL
MAP
Angel Falls – Venezuela
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•
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Colombia
Venezuela
Guyana
Suriname
French
Guiana
THE NORTH (CARIBBEAN SOUTH AMERICA)
Machu Picchu Peru
• Ecuador
• Peru
• Bolivia
THE WEST
(ANDEAN
SOUTH AMERICA)
Part of the Amazon River –
Brazil
Satellite Image of Brasilia Brazil
BRAZIL
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•
•
•
Chile
Paraguay
Uruguay
Argentina
THE SOUTH
(SOUTHERN CONE)
Patagonia - Argentina
Physical Characteristics – Latin
America
• The physical landscape and characteristics of
Latin America vary widely including striking
mountain ranges, enormous river networks and
high plateaus.
– Two of the largest features that dominate the region
are:
• The Amazon River Basin
– Network of rivers that runs downward and eastward from the
Andes, covering about 2.3 million square miles.
• The Andes Mountains
– 5000 mile long chain of highlands and valleys that mostly runs
parallel to the west coast of South America.
Physical Geography
• LAND BRIDGE
– Serves as a land bridge connecting
North America with Latin America
• NATURAL HAZARDS
– Some of the physical features leave the
area exposed or prone to the following
natural hazards:
• EARTHQUAKES
• VOLCANOES
• HURRICANES
I wonder
why?
Physical Geography
Mexico
•
Three major mountain
ranges dominate
Mexico:
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–
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•
Between these ranges
stretches the Mexican
Plateau (Also called
Mesa Central)
–
•
Sierra Madre
Occidental
Sierra Madre Oriental
Sierra Madre del Sur
Provides flatter,
cooler and wetter
environments for
agriculture and
settlement.
On both the Pacific and
Gulf coasts lie many
resort towns which
draw huge tourism
business.
Physical Geography
Middle America
•
•
Tectonic activity
along the Sierra
Madre produces
earthquakes and
volcanic activity in
this region.
Caribbean Sea and
Pacific Oceans
sandwich the narrow
landscape.
– This does provide
opportunities for
tourism, but also
for threat from
hurricanes.
Plate Tectonics
Distribution of Earthquakes and
Volcanoes
Physical Geography
The North - Caribbean South America
•
This area is dominated by three major features:
– Lake Maricaibo – Which can be seen on many satellite images. World class oil
deposits lie here (about 4% of the worlds oil reserves), and just off the coastal
areas in Venezuela.
– Llanos – An important grassland region right in the middle of Venezuela
– Orinoco River – Flows along the Guiana Highlands splitting Venezuela, and into
the Caribbean Sea.
Physical Geography
The West – Andean South America
• Andes Mountains
– Dominate the region
– Slow westward drift of
the South American
plate colliding with the
Nazca plate causes SA
plate to uplift thus
creating the Andes
Mountains.
• Lake Titicaca
– Located on the border
of Peru and Bolivia
– Highest commercially
navigable lake in the
world at 12,507 ft.
above sea level.
Physical Geography
Brazil
• Amazon Basin
– Covers more than 2.3
million sq. miles.
– The river and its
tributaries carry
about 20% of the
worlds freshwater
supply.
• Mato Grosso Plateau
– Contains mainly
savannah and
grassland, stretching
from the Amazon to
the Brazilian
Highlands
• Brazilian Highlands
Physical Geography
The South – Southern Cone
• Atacama Desert
– Rainshadow effect
and wind patterns
make this desert in
Chile one of the
driest places on
earth.
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Fertile lowlands on the
foothills of the Andes
mountains.
Lush grasslands receiving
enough rainfall making soil
appropriate for agriculture.
Patagonia
–
• Andes Mountains
• Tierra del Fuego
– Separated from
southern most point
of South America
by the Strait of
Magellan
Pampas
Area includes Andes
mountains to the west and
plateau lands in the east.
Plains are almost bare of
vegetation and mainly
inhospitable.
Mt. Aconcagua
–
Tallest mountain in the
Andes range at 22,834 ft.