LATIN AMERICA

Where is Latin America?

•Find Mexico on a World Map...

…and move southward

Latin Americ

a

WHY is it called Latin America?

•Latin is a language•The two widely spoken

languages are Latin-based

Portuguese is

spoken in Brazil

And Spanish

just about everywhere else!!!

www.skokienet.org/ festival/cultures.html

What physical characteristics do we need

to know?

•In Central America and northern South America, it is

TROPICAL In northern Mexico and southern South America, it is TEMPERATE

CLIMATE

Along with climate,

•In the Southern Hemisphere:

•Remember that SEASONS are REVERSED:desreverREVERSED:desrever

•When it is winter in the USA...

…it is summer in South America (and southern

Africa & Australia &

Antarctica)

Weather and Climate

• Caribbean and Central America – Hurricanes

• El Nino: cyclical climate event that involves the movement of large masses of warm water across the Pacific. Causes change in rainfall patterns.

Physical Features• Mountains in Latin America:

• Sierra Madres split along Mexico’s coasts

• Andes along west coast of South America

• Just like the west coast of the USA, the Andes mountains are

VOLCANIC

Sierra Madres

ANDES MOUNTAINS: The longLatin America Maps - Due Fridayest chain and 2nd highest

mountains in the world!!

Mountains in Latin America can be split into agricultural “zones” as you move higher up the mountain. This is called “vertical zonation”

Tierra Caliente crops that like hot

temperatures

Tierra Templada crops

that like temperate land

Tierra Fria no crops,

just grazing

Snow caps

Mt. Aconcagua: Tallest Mountain in the region:

23,000 ft

Another look at Vertical Zonation in the Andes Mts.

Mountains affect on Mexico City

• Higher elevation = colder temperatures for latitude

• Very Heavily Polluted– Altitude contributes to amount of pollution– Mountains prevent pollution from leaving

•Along with volcanoes, western South America and parts of Central America experience

EARTHQUAKESEARTHQUAKES due to the constant motion of the Earth’s tectonic plates-

Just like in California!!

But California can handle the earthquakes MUCH

better because of building codes and earthquake-

proof structures that are built in the states.

Unfortunately, Chile, Peru, and other countries in

Latin America don’t follow any type of building codes and whole villages can be

wiped out in an earthquake!!!

More Physical Features:

• There are MANY islands in Latin America

• The Caribbean Islands are called the “West Indies” or the “Greater

and Lesser Antilles”• The Caribbean Islands are well

known for their agriculture and tourism

Greater (Bigger) Antilles

Lesser (Smaller) Antilles

•The Galapagos Islands (off the west coast of Ecuador) are known for their Tortoises and other scientific studies of plants and animals.

Does Charles Darwin ring a bell?

Ga-LAP-ah-goes Islands

•The Falkland Islands are controlled by the United Kingdom

•The British defeated the Argentines in the Falkland Island War of 1982

•These islands have a HUGE military advantage because of the location to the Strait of Magellan...

•...esp. if the Panama Canal is blocked during wartime

“Falkland Islands (Isla Malvinas)

Administered by the UK

(claimed by Argentina)”

Other Physical Chars.Grasslands: huge, flat plains in Latin

America- known for agriculture• The Llanos are in Venezuela; the Gran Chaco are in Paraguay; and the most famous are the Pampas in Argentina

Latin American Cowboys are

called Gauchos

Latin American Cowboys are

called Gauchos

We’re usually found in grassland ranches…like the Llanos in Venezuela

Or the Pampas of Argentina….

where the best beef cattle in the world is raised!!

Llanos

Pampas

http://www.ran.org/info_center/about_rainforests.html

Rainforests: Costa Rica and

Brazil~ Amazonia (in Brazil) is the largest

in the world!

“Amazonia”

Unfortunately, we’re being cut down and set aflame to make room for interior farmland and construction!!!!

OUCH!!! This is called “Slash and Burn”

Agriculture

What climate factor is

responsible for this climate

Rain Forest

• Average Temp = 80

• Avg. Rainfall = 100 in

• Found in tropics (low latitudes)

• Thick vegetation

Location of Rainforest

Structure of a Rainforest

• 3 layers– Emergent Level: crowns of the tallest trees (90-

120 ft)– Canopy: variety of broadleaf & evergreen trees

(50 – 75 ft)– Understory: variety of shade tolerant trees (20-

40ft)

• All layers have vines and small plants growing on the branches

Structure of a Rainforest

• Only 1 – 2 % of the sunlight reaches the ground due to the canopy– Eliminates small plants at ground level

• The soil of a rainforest in almost completely void of nutrients– Trees get nutrients from small plants

that grow and decay

Benefits of a Rainforest

• Home for a multitude of species• Potential medicines• Oxygen• Unique human cultures: native

people

Rainforest Facts

• 25% of all prescription drugs in the US use chemicals derived from plants and animals

• Everyday over 214,000 acres of rainforest are destroyed

• At the current rate of destruction, 25% of the Earth’s species will be extinct by the middle of the 21st ce.

Deforestation

• Cutting down of trees

Reasons for deforestation

• Farmland

• Mining

• Animal grazing

• Logging

• Urbanization

Effects of Deforestation

• Loss of species• Loss of potential medicines• Changes in weather patterns• Contributes to global warming• Soil erosion

Alternatives to Deforestation

• Responsible companies• Ecotourism• Reforestation• Other means of economic

development

•Coastal Deserts: West Coast of South America ATACAMA DESERT in Chile

One of the hottest and driest places on Earth. 1/16”/yr

www.uni-magdeburg.de/ abp/picturegallery.htm

This clip art is actually “wrong” to use for the Atacama…there are cacti shown!!

THIS is more like it!!!

But why can places be so dry???

The “rain shadow” effect is part of the reason

RAIN SHADOW EFFECT

The Andes Mountains create rain shadows on leeward slopes and cause moisture to be blocked. That’s how we see such dry areas in Latin America. The Andes are so high that they block moisture from the ocean and create grasslands and deserts on the other side of the mountains.

http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~amitp/simblob/rain-shadow.png

Pacific Ocean

ANDES

Windward side of the mountains

Leeward Side or

“protected” side of the mountains

Rio Grande

Rivers in Latin America

The AMAZON!!The largest river

in the world!!

Parana River

Orinoco River

I'm the Rio de la Plata.I’m actually not a river,

but an estuary… the large water feature where fresh water from a river meets the salt water of the sea.

Waterfalls and LakesAngel Falls- world

highest uninterrupted waterfall

Lake Titicaca: world’s highest navigable lake

Lake Maracaibo: extension of Caribbean Sea; rich in oil reserves

Lakes in Latin America

Natural Resources

• Oil found in Mexico and Venezuela• Gold, Silver and Copper in MX,

Brazil and Chile• Forest Products in the Amazon

Panama Canal

• Physical features make it hard to travel around. Magellan first European to sail around South America. The very southern most tip is called Cape Horn and its is famous for its severe storms

• Shorter (thousands of miles shorter), safer route created with the Panama Canal.

Impact of Panama Canal

• Brought change to Middle America• 75000 workers built what is still

regarded as one of the engineering wonders of the world.

• Completed in 1914, the canal made a huge impact on world trade.

Aerial View of the Canal

The canal works with a system of locks

IMPACTS of Physical Features?:

• Location of urbanization?• People settle along coasts,

•High population growth rate?•YES! Arable land means more

food• Large cities are called:

MEGACITIES•Sao Paulo Rio Mexico City

And the MOST important factor from

Latin America???

Of course!!!!Didn’t YOU think

coffee too?