Landforms and Resources Landforms and Resources of Latin Americaof Latin America

Regions of Latin AmericaRegions of Latin AmericaMexico

Central America

Caribbean

South America

Brazil

Mountains and HighlandsMountains and Highlands

• The Andes Mountains-– The Andes are a part of the mountain range

that runs through a portion of North, Central and South America.

• United States- The Rocky Mountains• Central America- The Sierra Madres• South America- the Andes

• There are many volcanic peaks throughout the Andes.

Andes CharacteristicsAndes Characteristics• Many volcanoes

• The longest mountain range in the world, nearly 5,000 mile long.

• Creates a barrier between the coastal cities on the west coast and the interior of the continent.

HighlandsHighlands

• The other mountainous regions in Latin America include the following:

• The Guiana Highlands

• The Brazilian Highlands

The Plains of Latin AmericaThe Plains of Latin America There are vast plains regions in Latin America

well suited for agriculture

Llanos: Colombia and Venezuela

Pampas: Argentina and Uruguay

Amazon River Basin: Brazil

The Pampas: Argentina

The Amazon River and Other Major The Amazon River and Other Major River SystemsRiver Systems

• South America has three major River Systems:

Amazon River: Brazil

Orinoco River: Venezuela and Colombia

Paraná River: Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina

The Mighty AmazonThe Mighty Amazon

• Amazon : Flows 4,000 from west to east and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Source is the Andes Mountains close to the Pacific Ocean.

The Orinoco RiverThe Orinoco River

• The Orinoco River flows mainly through Venezuela and Colombia. It creates part of the border between the two countries.

The ParanThe Paraná Riverá River

• The Paraná river begins in the Brazilian Highlands and flows southward through Paraguay and Argentina. It meets with several other rivers to create the Rio de la Plata a very important estuary in South America.

Islands of the CaribbeanIslands of the Caribbean

• Three Main Island Groups make up the West Indies:

The Bahamas

The Greater Antilles

The Lesser Antilles

The BahamasThe Bahamas

• The Bahamas are made up of hundreds of islands off of the southern tip of Florida. Nassau is the capital and largest city in the Bahamas.

The Greater AntillesThe Greater Antilles

• The Greater Antilles is made up of the largest islands in the Caribbean including Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico.

The Lesser AntillesThe Lesser Antilles

• The Lesser Antilles includes the smaller islands in the region southeast of Puerto Rico. They are divided into two groups- the Leeward island and the Windward islands.

ResourcesResourcesGoldSilver

OilNatural gas

Hydroelectric powerCopperTimber

Agricultural Products

Climate and VegetationClimate and Vegetation

Tropical WetRain forest (Brazil)

Tropical Wet and DryLlanos and Pampas (Venezuela and Argentina)

Semiarid Patagonia- Argentina

DesertAtacama Desert-

Chile

Mid-Latitude ClimatesMid-Latitude ClimatesHumid SubtropicalParaguay, Uruguay, southern Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina

Mediterranean West coast of Chile

Marine West Coast Southern Chile, eastern Argentina

Highlands

Vertical Climate ZonesVertical Climate Zones

About 15,000 ft Terra Helada (Mountain Tundra)

Tree Line

10,000-12,000 ft Tierra Fria (Cloud Forest)

6,000 -6,500 ft Tierra Templada (Wet forest)

2,500- 3,000 ft Tierra Caliente (Dry Forest and swamp)

Human-Environment InteractionHuman-Environment Interaction

Agriculture:

Slash-and-burn technique used to clear the land for farmland in the Amazon River basin.

Human-Environment InteractionHuman-Environment Interaction

• Agriculture: Terraced Farming is an ancient technique introduced by the Inca for growing crops on the side of a mountain. This reduces soil erosion.

UrbanizationUrbanization

• Push and Pull factors: People in Latin America are moving from rural areas into urban areas in search of better opportunities. This has created many problems such as the development of slums in the big cities.

Push FactorsPush Factors• Push factors:

reasons why people feel forced to move away from rural areas examples: Poverty, poor medical care, poor educational opportunities, low-paying jobs

Pull FactorsPull Factors

• Pull factors: reasons why people are drawn to live in the cities. Examples: Possibilities for work, education, medical care.

Rapidly Growing CitiesRapidly Growing Cities

City Population (2000)

• Mexico City, Mexico 99,639,000• Buenos Aires, Argentina 37,048,000• Lima, Peru 27,136,000• Sao Paulo, Brazil 16,800,000• Santiago, Chile 15,211,000• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 11,029,300

Urban SprawlUrban Sprawl• Unemployment

• Crime

• Illegal Drug trafficking

• Slums

• Pollution

• Sanitation

• Shortages of clean drinking water and housing

TourismTourism

• Advantages:– Creation of new

jobs– Reduction of the

income gap between rich and poor

TourismTourism• Disadvantages:

– Congestion– Pollution– Strain on local

resources– Resentment and

hostility– Large public debt due to

building tourist facilities