Download Latin America Geography

Geography
Vocabulary
Land and Water

 Plateau – A large raised area of mostly level
land
Vocabulary
Land and Water

 Isthmus – A strip of land with water on both
sides that connects two larger bodies of land
Vocabulary
Land and Water

 Coral – The skeletons of tiny sea animals that
form together making a rock like substance
Vocabulary
Land and Water

 Pampas – the flat grassland regions of
Argentina and Uruguay
Vocabulary
Land and Water

 Tributary – Rivers and streams that flow into
a larger river
Regions

 There are three regions that make up Latin
America:
1. Mexico/Central America
2. The Caribbean
3. South America
Why is it called Latin America?
Caribbean Islands
•Over

7,000 islands- archipelago
•Divided into three island groups made of
coral islands and the tops of underwater
mountains.
•Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico
are examples.
Central America

 An isthmus cut in half by mountains. On either
side is the coastal plains.
 The land is fertile volcanic soil so farming is
big for these people.
 Panama Canal
•Built through the Isthmus of Panama to allow
ships to travel between the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans.
Mexican Cat Diagram

The Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre
Occidental are the Mountain Ranges in
Mexico…between lies the Mexican Plateau which is
where most of the population lives (19 million
people live in Mexico City)…why?
South America

The Andes are the second highest and
longest mountain range.
East of the Andes is the rolling highlands
and the Pampas. These features frame
the largest tropical rain forest in the
world…The Amazon
Physical Geography

 The second longest river in the world is in South
America…the Amazon flows 4000 mi. It contains
about 20% of all the fresh river water on the
Earth from over 1000 tributaries.
 Other systems: Lake Titicaca is the highest lake
in the world and lies high in the Andes Mountains.
Physical Geography

Climate and Vegetation
 El NiÑo – A warm water current that occasionally
flows in the Pacific off the coast of South
America.
 Elevation – The height of land above sea level.
Climate

 The climate of Latin America is vast. Everything from
80” of rain in the rain forest to the Atacama Desert in
Chile and the Sonora Desert in Mexico.
 The Caribbean has a great climate yet during June to
November is hurricane season.
 What factors affect climate? How does elevation
affect climate?
 The southern part of Argentina has an arid
climate…the region is called Patagonia.
Natural Resources

 Hydroelectricity – Using the power of rushing water to
generate electricity.
 Many Latin American countries rely upon only one crop
or resource for their income. This causes problems if
the price for that commodity drops. The country and
their people suffer. That is why many of the countries
are trying to diversify their industry to keep this
from happening and to prosper.
Natural resources

 Mexico and Central America –
 Precious Metals -Silver, gold, copper, etc.
 Agricultural Products- coffee, cotton, sugar cane, and bananas.
 The Caribbean –
 Agricultural Products- Sugar cane, coffee, bananas, cacao,
citrus fruits.
 Bauxite from Jamaica
 Nickel from Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
 South America –
 Many of the same minerals and oil from Venezuela.
 Trees and medicines from the rain forest and fish from the
waters.
 Farming-wheat in Argentina